FIL World Championship
two more ground balls than the Canadians, but even when things went right, they went wrong. Canada outscored the U.S. 4-1 in the third quarter. Canada milked away chunks of clock, only to throw daggers with goals after marathon possessions, most notably a Cam Holding goal in the closing seconds of the third quarter to make it 7-2. With or without the ball,
in the semifinal, then it faced a little bit of history. Starting in 2006, when Canada won its first gold since 1978, the side that won the U.S.-Canada pool play game had lost in the rematch in the final. “We’re a day away from it,”
Meade said at practice. “There’s a lot on the line.” At that practice, defensive coordinator Dave Pietramala broke down Canada’s retooled offense since the opener, with Jeremy Noble playing attack and Wesley Berg serving as a distributor at times, too. Faceoff men Greg Gurenlian and Chris Eck, already with deep knowledge of Canada’s Geoff Snider, worked on fast-break shooting to a two-yard sliver of net. The offense threw around the zone, getting everyone a touch. Unseen inside nearby Peter
Barton Stadium, Canada went through its final prep. The next night, Meade spoke in
the pre-game locker room about playing “American lacrosse.” “We need skill, speed and relentlessness,” he said. “We need to play the best defense that’s ever been played. We need to play the most together offense that has ever been played. We need to run them up and down the field… Every guy in this room wouldn’t dare let any other guy down. In essence, this game has been won in every single thing we’ve done up until this point. Now, all we need to do is realize your considerable talent on these guys.”
A Publication of US Lacrosse By halftime, possession was a Left: U.S.
midfielder Paul Rabil, dejected after an 8-5 loss to Canada in the final.
Above: After losing to Team USA in the opener, Canada turned to possession- conscious Jeremy Noble at attack.
big topic. Canada won the ground ball battle 18-8 in the first half and led 3-1 on three Kevin Crowley goals off of loose balls. Pietramala said his unit needed to play harder and be more assertive defending Canada’s two-man games. Offensive coordinator Jeff Tambroni asked for more flow, saying there wasn’t a sense of urgency. “I see this lax attitude like
everything is OK. It’s not OK,” Meade said. “You gotta play with more energy. We’re allowing them to make us play how they want.” The U.S. won three of four third-quarter faceoffs and won
PLACE TEAM HOW THEY FINISHED RECORD PREVIOUS 1 Canada
2 United States 6-1 1 3 Iroquois 4 Australia 5 England
6-1 2 5-3 *
3-5 3 3-5 5
6 SCOTLAND 6-2 7 7 ISRAEL 8 Japan
9 Germany 10 Ireland 11 Sweden
6-2 ** 2-6 4 6-2 6 6-2 9 6-2 10
12 New Zealand 4-4 15 13 Finland
6-2 12
14 Czech Republic 4-3 13 15 Netherlands 2-5 8 16 SWITZERLAND 5-3 23 17 Wales 18 Italy 19 Latvia
5-2 11 5-3 19 5-3 20
* forfeited 2010 games due to passport dispute * forfeited 2010
games due to passport dispute
the U.S. offense never got in a rhythm until it was too late, scoring the final three goals in an 8-5 loss. Canada mixed in zone and slid quickly to Paul Rabil and Rob Pannell, the focal points of the midfield and attack. The starting midfield of Rabil, Kevin Buchanan and David Lawson shot a combined 0-for-10 and Max Seibald was 0-for-6. Only inside finisher Kevin Leveille, at times able to wiggle free, got anything going with three goals. “You make one mistake in this tournament and it can bite you,” Leveille said. Perhaps the defense should
have pressed out earlier, Meade acknowledged. “This is a gigantic game and everybody is disappointed,” he said. “They played like a team that had lost their last game [to us].” The ball is back in Team USA’s
court. LM
PLACE TEAM 20 Poland
RECORD PREVIOUS 3-4 14
21 Hong Kong 5-3 22 22 Turkey 23 Mexico 24 Bermuda 25 Norway 26 Slovakia 27 Belgium 28 Austria 29 Thailand 30 Spain 31 France 32 Russia 33 China 34 Uganda 35 Korea
36 Argentina 37 Colombia
4-4 ** 3-4 28 2-5 18 5-2 24 3-4 17 4-4 ** 3-5 21 4-4 ** 2-5 16 2-5 27 2-6 ** 3-4 ** 2-5 ** 2-5 25 1-6 28 1-5 **
38 Costa Rica 0-6 ** ** first-time participants September 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 45
©TREVOR BROWN (JN); ©SCOTT MCCALL
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