July 22, 2006
LONDON, Ontario--Gary Gait has been suspiciously quiet, Tom Marechek has been surreptitious about his return, and Jeff Zywicki has been a bigger threat than anyone would have imagined.
But when the U.S. men's national team steps on enemy turf one last time at TD Waterhouse Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the players' focus will remain on stopping the 6-foot-2, 220-pound player quizzically known as "Junior."
John Grant Jr. of Canada has been the most productive player in the 2006 International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) World Championships. Grant ranks atop scoring leaders with 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) and, in a 13-12 loss to Team USA in the round robin, he imposed his will. The U.S. tried three different (and reputable) defensemen on Grant -- Ryan Curtis, Nicky Polanco and John Gagliardi. Of the three, only Gagliardi could keep him in check.
Even then, Grant got the inside step on Gagliardi to score the apparent go-ahead goal with 17 seconds remaining before getting called on a crease violation. The U.S. capitalized on the call with Jay Jalbert's game-winner with three seconds remaining. At first, Grant denied he was in the crease, "but after further review, I might have been," he said Thursday.
Expect to see Gagliardi guarding Grant again, this time with an ILF championship in the balance.
"They sent three guys at me with whom I've had a hard time in the past. Gags, I think he got the best of me," Grant said. "That's the match-up I expect to see."
By all accounts, the most intriguing action for Team USA will be on its defensive end. With Curtis, Gagliardi, Polanco, Pat McCabe and Todd Rassas in close, Kyle Sweeney at long-stick middie, and Christian Cook doing a little bit of both, it's a defense that's worth marveling. But the expected return of Marechek, who has yet to play in an ILF game because of a hamstring injury, makes Canada four-deep at an attack worth equal marvel.
Should Marechek play, it could bump Zywicki (23 goals in seven games) or Grant up to midfield. Since the U.S. has concerned itself with closing any options within 10 yards of the goal, putting one of those shooters at midfield would present a wrench in its defensive design.
Gait's the wild card. Quietly, he has 17 goals in these ILF games, his final farewell as a lacrosse player. Because Gait is left-handed, Polanco (also a lefty) will draw him.
"Gait's just been really quiet. I think he's got it all [planned] out, being quiet and watching for our (slide) calls," Polanco said, "and [Saturday], he's going to go off."
But Grant seems to be the centerpiece. He's a dodger from behind and a dangerous feeder from up top if the Canadian offense is inverted. He had four goals and two assists Sunday against the U.S., which tried in vain to keep Grant, an immovable force, away from the cage.
On Friday, during Team USA's final practice before the gold medal game, defense garnered much of the attention. Only faceoffs (the U.S. was dominated by Canadian faceoff specialist Geoff Snider) were of comparable concern. In close, the Americans want to force Gait inside and keep Grant outside. Otherwise, U.S. assistant coach Mike Caravana is calling for swift slides on Grant, with recovery falling on the short-stick defensive midfielders.
"[Grant] is very talented, very creative and very unorthodox," said Caravana, the defensive coordinator. "He can pass the ball in ways we don't see all the time in the American game...He's very strong and he's adept at catching the ball in tight spaces. People forget he was the (NCAA) player of the year at the University of Delaware."
Said Grant: "I'm going to focus on my game, not what they do."
That, for the U.S., is precisely the problem.
Notes: Caravana also expected Gait to "step up and go out strong in his last game," and suggested that getting physical with Marechek might be the best way to neutralize him. "Maybe he'll hit the pipe instead of putting one in," he joked...As of Friday night, the U.S. had yet to name its starting goalie for the championship game. Trevor Tierney and Chris Garrity have split halves in every game, including Thursday's semifinal against Australia. While Tierney (.652 save percentage) has been more consistent, Garrity (.581) caught fire against Australia and had two doorstop saves Thursday that, Caravana said, "changed the complexity of the game..." Kevin Cassese (19-of-39) has told coaches that he'd be OK with fewer faceoff repetitions in favor of Kyle Harrison (25-of-39) and Doug Shanahan (47-of-69), citing his ineffectiveness against Snider in the round-robin game.
