Aug. 7, 2007
by Matt DaSilva, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - The flock came about 20 minutes too late.
With 2:20 remaining in an International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations (IFWLA) Under-19 World Championship preliminary Monday between archrivals United States and Australia, four geese made their twilight descent under the stadium lights at Trent University and directly above the multicolor-clad crowd of 950 people, many of whom ducked and covered for fear of bombardment.
Fourteen more geese sauntered in under those lights, momentarily masking the scoreboard, which confirmed they had already missed the day's deluge, an 18-6 U.S. victory that sealed the top playoff seed and a quarterfinal meeting Wednesday against the winner of a crossover game between Scotland and the Czech Republic.
A pair of Long Island products in Shannon Smith (six goals) and Shaylyn Blaney (five goals, one assist) inflicted the most damage Monday, as the U.S. defeated its three Pool A counterparts (Australia, Canada and England) by a combined 53-17 score.
Emma Hamm added three goals to earn player-of-the-match honors for the U.S., while Allyson Carey contributed two goals and an assist in the onslaught.
"There's just so many weapons out there," said U.S. head coach Wendy Kridel.
Australia, the only team that has ever defeated the U.S. in IFWLA U-19 play (in the 1995 championship game), is considered a chief rival in international lacrosse - especially after the senior-level Australians won the 2005 IFWLA World Cup in Annapolis, Md.
But the Aussies (0-2-1) had stumbled early in this tournament, losing to Canada and tying England in two surprising preliminaries. Their primary weapon, Northwestern All-American Hannah Nielsen, bruised her thigh in a collision during the England game and was limping during pre-game warm-ups Monday.
Unsurprisingly, more physical play ensued, as the U.S. took an 8-3 halftime lead thanks in large part to five goals off free-position opportunities.
"Every game has been physical so far," said Smith, an adept ball-handler in tight spaces. "Checks are being thrown, or you cut through and people are holding you down - you've got to work harder."
When Blaney scored at the 27:22 mark to make it 10-3, her hesitation face dodge leaving Australia's Brooke Butkiewicz sprawled helplessly across the turf, it appeared as if the U.S. would roll uncontested.
But Nielsen, who set an NCAA single-season record for assists in 2007, took advantage of the extra attention she was paid 27 seconds later when she swung a feed across the cage to Abbie Burgess, who shot it past U.S. goalie Emily Geary.
After Hayley Sofarnos used the U.S.'s Mia Hurrin as a shield to send another goal past Geary on the ensuing possession, Nielsen again found a target - Bonnie Wells - on the doorstep. Burgess, Sofarnos and Wells scored on consecutive possessions to pull Australia within 10-6, prompting a timeout from Kridel.
"It was timing, because I was going to call timeout after two [Australia goals], but [assistant coach] Jess Wilk convinced me not to," Kridel said, smiling. "I said, `Jess, are you sure?' Then I looked over and saw them score again. I told her I should have called timeout the first time."
Kridel's nerves did not project onto the players.
"Basically, Coach kind of smiled and said, `Relax,'" said U.S. midfielder Colleen Magarity, who joins Nielsen at Northwestern in the fall. "It's different here. No matter how much you're up, it feels like you're tied."
It wasn't even close after that, as the U.S. closed on an 8-0 run that included five goals in four minutes following the timeout.
First, Carey exploded downfield after a whistled restart and dealt Smith, who scored nonchalantly with a high fake and low finish with 23:30 remaining. From there, the goals fell like dominoes - Karri Ellen Johnson unassisted at 22:32; Blaney freezing another defender en route to a goal at 21:21; Hamm on a feed from behind from Chelsea Robinson 17 seconds later; Smith on a free position at 20:11; Blaney checking the ball away on a ride and beating Australia's backpedaling goalie at 18:51; Hamm on a backhand at 12:46.
It was 17-6 before Australia could control another draw. The U.S. capped its dominant second half when Geary, who had struggled to see the ball earlier, stopped a streaking one-on-one with Nielsen, and Smith connected on a feed from Blaney at the other end with 4:12 remaining, confidence beaming everywhere.
"We got to being down 10-6, and then I think hey put their foot on the pedal," Nielsen said.
IFWLA U-19 World Championship Results - Monday, Aug. 6
Japan 17, Wales 6
Czech Republic 11, New Zealand 8
Haudenesaunee 16, Germany 4
U.S. 18, Australia 6
