Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 7/13/08
Matt Dolente (Malvern Prep/Johns Hopkins ‘11) won 19 of 28 face-offs and scored a goal and was named to the All-World team to help the U.S. defeat host Canada, 19-12, Saturday, 
giving the Americans their sixth consecutive International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) U-19 World Championship.
The game was played before a crowd of 3,400 fans at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.
The U.S. finished 7-0 in the tournament and extended its all-time record in international competition to 36-0, dating back to the championships’ inception in 1988.
Dolente was named the tourney’s Most Outstanding Midfielder. Also on the team from Philadelphia were midfielders Matt Mackrides (Malvern Prep, Penn State ’12) and James Green (Central Bucks East/Ohio State ’10) and defender John Lade (Randolph, N.J./Villanova ’12). Haverford School coach John Nostrant was an assistant.
Team captain Craig Dowd (East Northport, N.Y./Northport HS/Georgetown ’10), Dean Gibbons (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City HS/Harvard ’11), and Nick Elsmo (Edgewater, Md/Severn HS/Virginia ’11) led the Americans with three goals each..
“It was a lot of pressure. You try not to talk about it, but there is that pressure to win,” said U.S. head coach Chuck Apel. “But the kids had a pretty good handle on it. It’s still lacrosse, and they’ve all played for a thousand years. It’s what they do best.”
Team USA built a 7-3 first-quarter lead behind a series of extraordinary individual efforts, including two unassisted goals by Dowd. Six of the Americans’ first seven goals were unassisted.
Canada stormed back in the second quarter, scoring four unanswered goals within the first 10 minutes. Adam Jones (Canisius) used a one-handed cradle and dove as he scored to tie the game at 7 at the 10:48 mark.
Two minutes later, the U.S. answered. After Mackrides hit a pipe, the rebound caromed to Tony Mendes (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill/Maryland ’11), who swung it to Elsmo. Elsmo split dodged, faked high and shot high to beat Canadian goalie Remington Steele (Robert Morris) and put the U.S back up by one. An extra-man goal by Mendes made it 9-7 at the 3:01 mark.
On Team USA’s final possession of the first half, Dowd found Josh Amidon (Lafayette, N.Y./Lafayette/Syracuse ’11) on a feed from behind the goal with 34 seconds remaining. The U.S. led 10-7 at halftime.
Jones scored the third of his game-high five goals at the 16:57 mark as Canada closed within 10-8. The U.S. responded with three unanswered goals in the next three minutes by Ryan Young (Manhasset, N.Y./ Manhasset/Maryland ’11), Elsmo and Gibbons to take a 13-8 lead.
Jones tallied two more goals, the second of which came on a delayed penalty against Ghitelman with 6:12 remaining in the third quarter. In a critical man-down sequence for Team USA, backup goalie Tyler Fiorito (Phoenix, Md./McDonough/Princeton ’12) made a point-blank stop on Jones, then stuffed Jones high once the penalty expired.
Team USA led 14-11 after three periods before outscoring the Canadians 5-1 in the final quarter to seize control. Tim Donovan (Parkton, Md/Loyola Blakefield/Johns Hopkins ’11) scored twice and Gibbons and Dowd each recorded their third goal in the decisive final quarter.
Mendes (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill HS/Maryland ’11), Donovan and Rhamel Bratton (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington HS/ Virginia ’11) finished with two goals apiece for the U.S.
Adam Ghitelman (Syosset, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor/Virginia) finished with 19 saves in goal for Team USA.
U.S. Goals: Dean Gibbons 3, Nick Elsmo 3, Craig Dowd 3, Anthony Mendes 2, Tim Donovan 2, Rhamel Bratton 2, Ryan Young 1, Matthew Dolente 1, Andrew Feinberg 1, Josh Amidon 1
U.S. Assists: Dowd 2, Young 2, Mendes 1, Donovan 1
All-World Team
A Craig Dowd (USA)
A Emmett Printup (Iroquois)
A Jayson Card (Canada)
M Kevin Crowley (Canada)
M Adam Jones (Canada)
M Matt Dolente (USA)
D Brock Sorenson (Canada)
D Peter Fallon (USA)
D Jason Johns (Iroquois)
G Adam Ghitelman (USA)
Most Outstanding Attackman – Craig Dowd (USA)
Most Outstanding Midfielder – Matt Dolente (USA)
Most Outstanding Defenseman – Peter Fallon (USA)
Most Outstanding Goalkeeper – Adam Ghitelman (USA)
Most Outstanding Player – Adam Jones (Canada)
