England were defeated 18-5 by a formidable Haudenosaunee Nationals side in their second Pool Play match in San Diego.
England battled hard and managed to ride with the opposition for much of the first-half, however, the relentless speed and movement of the Haudenosaunee attack eventually paid off as they were able to dominate the scoring after the break.
Sean Goldsmith led for England with three points and there was a first Championship goal for Dan Watson, but they were unable to score with such regularity as their opponents.
England were fairly comfortable in the early exchanges, holding their own and for a while matching the free-scoring Haudenosaunee, taking a 2-1 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
More joy at the face-off gave England good possession and they were more considered with their use of the ball, remaining patient and picking the right scoring chances.
Sean Goldsmith drew plaudits from the crowd for his two first quarter scores, in particular a rasping outside shot that flashed past the National’s goalie to round off the opening quarter, while sandwiched in between Nick DeCaprio converted with a smart bounce shot.
However, Haudenosaunee were still able to score five times in the first quarter, Austin Staats, who would finish with eight goals in the game proving especially deadly.
A quiet Q2 just saw Haudenosaunee add three to their total and England were still in relative touch as the teams took the half-time break.
Another three unanswered after the interval then saw the Nationals begin to pull away and despite an eye-catching individual goal from Christian Scarpello, it was 12-4 at the 3/4 time.
It was a diving effort from Watson as he drove from behind that opened the fina quarter and gave England some momentum, but as they chased more goals at the one end, Haudenosaunee were able to take advantage at the other.
As the world has come to expect, Haudenosaunee dazzled with their stick handling and passing combinations, with 12 of their 18 goals assisted and a late six-goal flurry inflated the final score line for the current bronze medallists.
England now have a rest day on Saturday before they take on World Champions USA at 4pm PDT/12am BST on Sunday.
Box Score: England – Haudenosaunee (3-5; 3-8; 4-12; 5-18)
England Scorers: Sean Goldsmith (2G 1A), Nick DeCaprio (1G), Christian Scarpello (1G), Dan Watson (1G), Danny Hilditch (1A)
Haudenosaunee Scorers: Austin Staats (8G 1A), Lyle Thompson (3G 1A), Zach Miller (2G 1A), Randy Staats (2G 2A), Brendan Bomberry (1G), Jacob Piseno (1G), Larson Sundown (1G), David Jackson (4A), Ron John (1A), Jakob Patterson (1A), Kason Tarbell (1A)