WORLD CUP continued from page 37
midfield to the defense to the goalies, and it was relentless. “Everybody has a common goal. And the other piece I really like, when the other team clears the ball, you don’t feel like you’ve failed. You want to keep doing it, because the goal is to make them work to clear the ball,” Fried said. “Teams that play us know they can’t relax ever.” No one could handle the ride. Not the speedy English, nor the slick-sticked Australians, nor the rough-and-tumble Canadians. It broke everyone. “It’s a special moment in our game,” midfielder Kelly Berger said. Not everyone could leave Oshawa with a medal, but they could leave with an idea of how to get one. “It’s like you’re seeing a celebrity,” Grace Son, an American-born player for Team Korea, said of Team USA. “You see them on the field, and they’re doing things you never imagined that you could do, and it’s just amazing. It’s really inspiring.” The Haudenosaunee finished in seventh place, a big improvement on their 11th- place finish at the 2009 World Cup in Prague. Though they lost to Team USA 20-1 in the quarterfinals, the game was a milestone of sorts, marking the first time the two teams had met in FIL competition. “It gives us more of an idea of what we need to move toward,” said former Syracuse goalie Amber Hill, who saw the loss as an important moment in the Haudenosaunee’s development. “We’re like, ‘Oh, we love you!’ while we’re playing them. And we’ve got to get past that to be competitive,” she said. With the clock in the championship game running down, Team USA had a chance to pass the ball down the line so everyone could have a final touch. It went from attack to midfield to defense to goal, a miniature version of the ride accomplished in just a few seconds. “Being able to finish with the ball, that was an awesome moment for me,” Huether said. Huether, who plans to retire, got a beautiful end to her FIL career. For the rest of the world, though, the journey has just begun—a journey inspired by the best lacrosse ever played. LM
Clockwise from above:
Defender Gina Oliver, who came out of
retirement to play for the U.S., exhales after the gold medal victory.
Team USA captain Lindsey Munday
spearheads the attack
as Wales’ Becky Thomas gives chase.
Wills flashes her speed as she races Canada’s Abbey Friend to the ball.
NO LACROSSE ON THE SABBATH Team Israel forfeits medal round,
citing national identity There were four first-time World Cup participants: Israel, Finland, Latvia and Hong Kong. Israel, peppered with American-born players, had the best finish (eighth) and also created the most controversy. A week before the games began, the Israel Lacrosse Association announced its team would not play on Sabbath, the Jewish holy day that starts at sundown Friday and ends at sundown Saturday. While the FIL accommodated Israel in the round robin, it declined to make adjustments to the medal round. As a result, Israel forfeited its game with the Haudenosaunee, whose seventh-place finish was the best in program history. “It’s not a religious issue; it’s a national identity issue,” said Scott Neiss, executive director of the ILA.
— Sean Burns 40 LACROSSE MAGAZINE September 2013>> A Publication of US Lacrosse
©TIM BATES/GAME DAY PHOTOGRAPHY (GO, DW); ©JC PINHEIRO (LM, MP); ©JAY JOHNSTON/GAME DAY PHOTOGRAPHY (JS)
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68