June 8, 2008
by Corey McLaughlin, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. - Andrew Feinberg intends to make the most of his second chance with the United States Under-19 team.
On a scorching 93-degree afternoon at Cold Spring Harbor High School, Feinberg, originally left off the U.S. roster following tryouts last July, led all scorers for Team USA with two goals and an assist as it defeated a team of Long Island all-stars, 11-9, in an exhibition game Sunday.
It was an important performance for Feinberg, who is competing with Grant Catalino (Maryland) and Kory Kelly (Rutgers) for the final roster spot among 23 that will compete next month in the ILF U-19 World Championship in British Columbia, Canada.
The position became vacant when projected starting attackman Steele Stanwick suffered an injury during the high school season that will prevent him from participating.
Feinberg, who'll be a sophomore next fall at Brown, was the only player from the welcomed back trio to register a point.
"It's an honor to be invited back," Feinberg said after the game. "You're given second opportunities for a reason. Hopefully I can take advantage of this and make the team."
Team USA head coach Chuck Apel said he and his staff will resolve the final roster spot after the team plays June 14 at Bridgewater (N.J.) High School in the second of five exhibition games leading up to the world championship, which begins July 3.
The first exhibition Sunday began sloppily for Team USA, as it trailed 3-0 more than 15 minutes into the first 20-minute quarter and struggled to sustain any offense. At times, players and coaches appeared confused with substitutions, which Apel attributed to the team having just two practices under its belt, both without full-field simulations.
Long Island, led by Corey Winkoff (Penn) with four goals, took advantage and held a lead until midway through the second quarter, when the U.S. went ahead, 6-5.
"We struggled with the substitutions and what we were doing a little bit, but we expected confusion," Apel said. "We got a better handle of it in the second half. I think we'll be OK after this."
Team USA was more settled and successful in the second half. A 6-6 halftime tie inflated to a 9-6 lead at the end of the third quarter. The U.S. held Long Island scoreless for nearly 35 minutes, thanks largely to the second-half efforts of John Lade (Villanova), Max Schmidt (Maryland) and Peter Fallon (Brown).
"We ball-watched in the first half a little bit on defense," Apel said, "but we tightened up a lot in the second half."
After sputtering early, the offense also eventually found its rhythm, as Long Island appeared to wilt under the sizzling sun in the second half. Jack McBride (Princeton) and Penn State-bound Matt MacKrides joined Feinberg in scoring twice. Apel saw room for improvement, though, citing reasons not uncommon to an all-star team.
"We took the ball to the goal a little too much," Apel said. "We're very good when we keep the ball hot and move. We're not quite as good when we just dodge and shoot. We have some guys that can do that, but we're very good when we move it around."
Midfielders galore
Team USA's three midfield lines consisted of:
1. Josh Amidon (Syracuse), Rhamel Bratton (Virginia) and James Green (Ohio State).
2. Craig Dowd (Georgetown), Anthony Mendes (Maryland) and Brian Shemesh (Rutgers).
3. Tim Donovan (Johns Hopkins), Nick Elsmo (Virginia) and McBride (Princeton).
Ryan Young (Maryland) and MacKrides were also peppered in at midfield during the fourth quarter, and Apel said the combinations will be fluid.
"That's a work in the progress," he said. "With the international rules, it's going to be hard to have set lines, but we'll keep kids together as much as possible. We'll work that out game by game."
Goalies, too
Adam Ghitelman (Virginia) played the first half for Team USA, and Tyler Fiorito (Princeton) the second. For Long Island, Tim McCormack (UMass) and Sean Brady (Duke) alternated quarters. Brady was possibly the most impressive of the four, making at least five saves with scorers on the doorstep.
And don't forget faceoffs
Matt Dolente (Johns Hopkins) established himself as Team USA's primary faceoff specialist. He took every faceoff and won roughly three quarters at the 'X' against a variety of opponents.
