From the Vault: Japan outlasts England in double-overtime thriller in Limerick

In From the Vault, World Lacrosse is highlighting classic games from its world championships.

Japan outlasted England in a 7-6 double overtime thriller to claim fifth place in one of the most dramatic games of the tournament. Japan led 6-3 early in the fourth quarter, but England scored three in a row in the final five minutes to tie the game with the last goal coming with 44 seconds to play. After five minutes of overtime, Rinta Fujioka scored the winning goal 53 seconds into the second sudden victory period. Sota Hakozaki notched three points on two goals and an assist.

Japan’s fifth place finish tied its best-ever result from 1996, though there were only five teams in that edition. Japan is the first team outside of this year’s Pool A teams to finish in the top five of the event since it did so in 1996. It was also Japan’s first appearance in this event since 2008.