Heartbreak for Hong Kong lacrosse teams as men and women lose narrowly in finals against Japanese opponents
- Men fail to make it three in a row at the sixth Hong Kong Open while the women also fall short in their final
Lacrosse fans were treated to two first-class finals on Monday, even though the home squads fell on the wrong side of the scoreline in both games.
The Hong Kong men’s representative squad turned in a determined performance, stretching Japan’s Fogo until the final minutes before going down 7-6 at the HKU Stanley Ho Sports Complex in Sandy Bay.
As the sun set on a blistering day that saw many players sporting sun burns postgame, Hong Kong head coach Scott Browning said it was disappointing that they were unable to win their third title in a row.
He did note many players were making their tournament debuts with Hong Kong having also sent another team to an indoor tournament being held in Prague, Czech Republic.
“Be disappointed in this loss,” Browning said to his boys after the defeat. “But relish the experience that you gained in a game like this.”
Forward Evan Mok-Lamme, who scored twice for Hong Kong in the loss, echoed his coach’s statement. Mok-Lamme suited up for Hong Kong last year in the World Championships, which took place in Israel.
“I just told the boys the experience you get from a high-level game like this is invaluable. We showed some real resolve and competitiveness,” he said.
The women’s final was a tense back and forth affair between Hong Kong and Japan’s Keio University Team 1. Keio snatched the lead off a penalty with two minutes to play and held on for an 9-8 win.
Hong Kong forward Hui Ka-hei, who had four goals in a losing effort, said the match could have gone either way.
“It was definitely a 50-50 game, and an accomplishment as we lost by six goals to them in the pool stage,” said the 29-year-old Hui. “Still disappointing and to be honest I think they were just a little bit better than us in some areas like stick.”
Next up for the women is qualifying for the Asia-Pacific Cup this summer.
