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La Jolla, CA – June 14 – The USA Men’s National Team lost a heart breaker to Montenegro in front of a capacity crowd at UC San Diego, falling 20-19 in a shootout earlier tonight. Five-time Olympian Jesse Smith was honored throughout the match, serving as captain and playing a few minutes before subbing out of the match to large cheers. The game itself was a back and forth affair, that ended after nine rounds of shootouts with Montenegro’s Dejan Lazovic coming up with a block on Ryder Dodd to secure the win. Johnny Hooper and Max Irving led Team USA with four goals each throughout regulation and the shootout. Adrian Weinberg played the majority of the match with seven saves, including a block in the shootout. West Temkin made his Senior National Team debut seeing time in the third quarter and the shootout. Team USA returns to action on June 26 when they open up a three-game series with Spain, starting at Mt. Sac at 7pm pt. Tickets for the series with Spain are on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here. That match will air LIVE on ESPNU and stream on ESPN+.Â
Team USA got off to a hot start as they responded to an opening goal from Montenegro with four straight to take control early. Four different scorers contributed including Irving, Alex Bowen, Chase Dodd and Ryder Dodd. Montenegro battled back, tying the game at 4-4 earlier in the second quarter, and then pushing ahead at 6-4 moments later. Dylan Woodhead stopped the bleeding for Team USA with a goal in close to halt the 5-0 run from the visitors. Woodhead scored moments late on the power play and the match was tied at 6-6 going into halftime.
Alex Obert gave the United States the lead back early in the third with a score for a 7-6 edge. Once again it was Montenegro fighting back, scoring four straight to snare a 10-7 lead with 2:05 left in the period. The two teams traded goals after that and Montenegro held an 11-8 lead going to the fourth. Team USA spent the early part of the fourth quarter trying to cut into that three-goal deficit but Montenegro stayed tough. With 3:07 left in the match Luca Cupido came through on a power play strike to draw within one at 13-12. It wasn’t long after before Max Irving tied the match with one five USA penalty shot goals in regulation. Montenegro went right back in front by one only to see Irving calmly connect again from the five meter line for a 14-14 score. Each side had a look in the waning moments but regulation ended in a draw and after some deliberation, both coaches agreed to a shootout.
Montenegro took the lead early followed by a key block from Dejan Lazovic. Team USA was able to return the favor soon after as Adrian Weinberg picked up a stop leading to a Johnny Hooper goal and a 15-15 score. The two teams traded goals and misses, only to be even still after five shooters apiece. From there it was on to single rounds and it was Vasilje Radovic with the decisive goal followed by the game-sealing save from Lazovic.
Scoring – Box Score
USA 19 (4, 2, 2, 6) (5) J. Hooper 4, M. Irving 4, A. Bowen 3, H. Daube 2, D. Woodhead 2, R. Dodd 1, L Cupido 1, A. Obert 1, C. Dodd 1
MNE 20 (3, 3, 5, 3) (6) V. Popadic 4, S. Vidovic 3, K. Averka 2, D. Matkovic 2, V. Radovic 2, A. Korac 2, J. Vujovic 1, B. Djurdjic 1, D. Obradovich 1
Saves – USA – A. Weinberg 7, W. Temkin 1 – MNE – D. Lazovic 15
6×5 – USA – 6/14 – MNE – 8/10
Penalties Regulation – USA – 5/5 – MNE – 0/0 – Shootout – USA – 5/9 – MNE – 6/9