There is only one thought on the minds of Team Canada and Team USA parents this morning as they head to breakfast at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Turku, Finland.
That is Saturday's game.
Team Canada had never beaten Team USA at the U19 level until Saturday, an 11-9 overtime thriller. The team did come close in 2008 in Coquitlam, when it lost the preliminary game by a goal. That said, the final that year was a bit of a blowout with the USA defeating Canada, 19-12, to retain its World Championship status for the sixth time.
The full box score and recap of Saturday's game can be found here.
So what has changed in 2012? For Canada, the most obvious differences between 2008 and 2012 are tw-ofold. First, the last Team Canada featured only a small number of players who had played extensively in the United States at either the prep school or the NCAA level. Fast forward to the 2012 edition and we see Team Canada stocked with players such as Wes Berg (Denver), Chad Tutton (North Carolina), Reilly O?Connor (Georgetown), Turner Evans (Ohio State), Dan McDermott (NYIT) and Jesse King (Ohio State), who have a full season of NCAA experience under their belt. The balance of the team is fully committed to NCAA Division I and II programs; this is not a box lacrosse team playing on grass.
The second difference is coaching. Canadian teams have always been coached by gifted coaches, but this year?s team is being led by two coaches in Taylor Wray (Saint Joseph's) and Matt Brown (Denver) who are active coaches in the NCAA and have been mentored by some of greatest coaches in U.S. lacrosse history, including Mike Pressler and Bill Tierney. This is the best coaching staff Canada has ever had at the U19 level.
Team USA enters the tournament as favorites, but as U.S. lacrosse veteran Jack Emmer said ?we?ve watched Canada play, and we?re not taking them lightly,? In contrast to Canada, Team USA Coach Tim Flynn is a high school coach (from New Jersey) but he has extensive experience with the format of the U19 Worlds, having served as an assistant coach in the past. Tom Duquette is the key assistant coach, a former Virginia legend and a high school coach with more than 400 wins under his belt. The Canadian coaches are all in their 30s and coach collegiate, the U.S. coaches are all in their 50s and coach high school; the contrasts are intriguing.
The other differentiator with Team USA is its focus on speed and mobility rather than size and brawn. Indeed, in Team USA?s win over Australia, one might conclude that Team USA is one of the smaller teams in the tournament but also the fastest. This is reflected in the Team USA attack unit that includes Daniel Epp (Harvard), Matt Kavanagh (Notre Dame) and Connor Buczek (Cornell). This group led a Team USA squad that put up 24 goals against Australia. Team USA has the speed and mobility to dominate any team in the tournament.
The game between Canada and Team USA was the penultimate game of the day but there are other games that preceded it. In the first, Germany continued to dominate the B group, beating the Czech Republic 15-7. The Finland vs. Wales?s game was a closer match, but in the end the locals are too strong for the Welsh and win 10-7 in front of an appreciative home crowd.
Australia and England then teed off in a game that was expected to be a romp for Australia. This game was scrappy right from the start with Ryan Hunns from England opening the scoring with a nice rip from the top of the crease. Daniel Kennedy immediately responded for Australia and suddenly it?s 1-1. Both teams traded goals all afternoon and with the score tied at 9 with 2:06 left in the game, Team Australia gained possession and called a time out. On the ensuing possession, Australia turned over the ball and England midfielder Matt Collier took the ball around the back of the net and scored off what appears to be a harmless shot with 49 seconds left in the game. England won the next face-off and hung on to win 10-9 in what was been arguably the best game of the tournament so far.
The marquee game was played on a beautiful summer?s night with Canada in white and USA in blue. Canada won the opening face-off and immediately moved the ball quickly. Reagan Comeault scored to put Canada up 1-0, and then Ryan Tucker responded for USA with a beautiful goal. Canada maintained a long possession and finally at the 8:45 mark of the first quarter Dan Lintner scored for Canada to make it 2-1. Wes Berg added another and the first quarter ended with Canada up 3-1.
Matt Kavanagh opened the scoring for Team USA in the second quarter before Reilly O?Connor scored a beautiful goal from a dodge that started at X to make it 4-2 for Canada. But Connor Buczek scored a nice goal on future Cornell teammate Brennan Donville to make it 4-3. Riley O?Connor and Joel Tinney then responded for Canada and the first half ended with Canada up 6-3.
Team USA came out in the third quarter and scored quickly, with Sean Mahon closing the gap to 6-4. Dan Lintner responded for Canada, and the third quarter ended with Canada up 7-4.
But Canada came out flat in the fourth quarter, and Team USA scored three in a row from Kavanagh, Tucker and Epp to tie it at 7, before Tutton scored for Canada to make it 8-7. With the game almost over, Canada ran into penalty trouble and with 38 seconds left in the game Tucker made a beautiful dodge down the right side to tie it at 8. It?s now on to overtime.
Team USA struck first, earning its first lead of the game. The first OT period ended with Team USA up by one goal. In the second overtime, Berg scored a nice goal from the side of the net to tie it up. Canada then scored a quick man-up goal, and O?Connor finishedthings off with an empty net goal for the 11-9 score.
It was Team USA?s first loss in the 24-year history of the tournament.
Tomorrow?s key games: Canada vs. Iroquois at 6 a.m. EST and USA vs. England at 2 p.m.?
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