England claimed the bronze medal at the 2025 Men’s European Lacrosse Championship with an impressive 7-4 win against Ireland in the third place play off.
The team rounded off their hard-fought campaign on a high with another strong defensive showing, restricting the Irish to just the four goals and putting the disappointment of Thursday’s semi-final loss behind them.
Danny Hilditch again impressed, leading the way with three goals from midfield, to finish the Championship as England’s top goal scorer and earn a spot on the All-Europe Tournament Team.
England set the tone by scoring after just 19 seconds as Nick DeCaprio, who was also named to the All-Europe Tournament Team, surged forward off a face-off win to fire a long pole goal past the Irish goalie and put his side ahead.
That momentum continued throughout the rest of the first half, England dominating possession and taking their chances: Hilditch, Dan Watson and Ed Loveland all scoring to give England a 4-1 lead at the half.
However, Ireland came charging out of the blocks after the break and capitalised on a number of England penalties to close the gap to just one goal midway through the third quarter.
Ireland continued to put pressure on the England defence, sensing their moment to turn the game around, but they found a resolute defence in front of them refusing to give away the lead.
William Baxter made four big third quarter saves, totalling 11 for the match at 73% and holding the opposition at bay.
Hilditch briefly released the pressure to send England 5-3 ahead, but Ireland grabbed another back to trail by just one at the ¾ time.
Hilditch was involved again in England’s sixth having his shot saved, but Blair Pachereva was first to the rebound, collecting the loose ball and firing home for another two-goal advantage.
There was yet still more defending to be done from a couple of long Ireland possessions, including a two-man up opportunity, but England’s four-man zone saw it off to all but break the spirit of the Irish.
Hilditch completed his hat-trick and gave England and their supporters some relative breathing space for the final couple of minutes as they closed out the match and claimed the bronze medals.
England Points: Danny Hilditch (3G), Nick DeCaprio (1G), Ed Loveland (1G), Blair Pachereva (1G), Dan Watson (1G), Tom Hallam (1A), Alex Russell (1A)