Team USA Tops Host Czechs in FIL Indoor World Games Opener
by Neil Stevens | LaxMagazine.com
PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- The United States trailed the host Czech Republic in the second quarter before turning on the jets and flying away with a 14-5 victory in its opening game of the world indoor lacrosse championship Saturday.
''The Czech Republic did a great job,'' said U.S. forward Casey Powell. ''They're a tough team and they came out hot.
''They've come a long way in a short period of time. It's just great to be here and get this game under our belts to start the tournament. It was a very good opening ceremony and it's a pleasure to be here and represent this great sport. We just hope to do our best in this tournament.''
Brendan Mundorf led the U.S. attack with three goals. Sean Morris, Drew Westervelt and Jack Reid had two each and Brian Langtry, Kevin Buchanan, Chris Schiller, Matt Alrich and Mitch Belisle chipped in with one each.
''I think it was a decent start,'' Mundorf said. ''We're happy to get a 'W' first of all. It was good to get out there as a team for the first time in a game.
''With that being said, I think we've got some things to work on both offensively and defensively. We just need to sharpen up a little bit and get used to a system and to who likes to do what in certain situations. It's all part of growing as a team. We're looking forward to getting out there tomorrow and improving. We've got a ways to go before we end up with the Iroquois, and we want to improve in the next two days and get ready to play those guys.''
The United States plays Ireland on Sunday and the Iroquois Nationals on Monday. The winner of the group will earn a bye to the semifinals on Friday.
There have been two previous world indoor tournaments, both in Canada in 2003 and in 2007, and the order of finish was the same: 1. Canada; 2. Iroquois Nations; 3. United States.
The Czech team is pushing towards the podium but remains a ways
off. Jamie Plunkett scored twice and Kyle Ross, Chet Koneczny and
Petr Poupe once for the host country against Team USA.
Plunkett is from Peterborough, Ontario, but he's playing pro
hockey in the Czech Republic and meets residency requirements for
this tournament. He opened the scoring, but goals by Mundorf and
Morris had the U.S. up 2-1 at the end of one quarter.
Plunkett tied it and the Czech Republic snatched a 3-2 lead when Poupe dove from behind the net to tuck the ball behind goalie Erik Miller.
Coach Tom Ryan's players picked up their pace to score the next seven goals. Reid, a defenceman, raced down the floor to score, Mundorf dove across the crease to stuff a ball behind goalie Kurtis Wagar, and Team USA was on its way. Morris and Langtry padded the lead to 7-3 just before halftime.
Ryan rested Miller and sent in Jake Henhawk for the second half. Westervelt and Buchanan made it 9-3 early in the third quarter.
The Czech team finally got its fourth goal at 3:38 of the fourth quarter, when Ross fired a ball past Henhawk. With Wagar rested and a Czech goalie in the nets, the U.S. pulled away again on goals by Westervelt, Schiller, Reid, Alrich and Belisle.
Miller hadn't played at this level for two years.
''I felt pretty good,'' the former pro said. ''We had a good shoot-around in the morning and I got to get my legs back underneath me. When you get into a game, you try to make the first save and build from there. Wags was playing really well at the other end, so I tried to keep up with him.''
Wagar, Ross and Koneczny are Canadians and are eligible to play for the Czech Republic through ancestry. Jim Veltman, the former captain of the NLL's Toronto Rock, is head coach.
Ryan said he was ''very proud of the way we played.''
''We're just putting it together on the fly,'' he said. ''We moved the ball really well and got a lot of nice looks. Defensively, they got a couple of goals early but we really picked it up and put the pressure on them and suffocated them to the point they could only score five goals.''
Ryan did not have all his rostered players at his disposal. Kyle Hartzell showed up during the game. Paul Rabil was playing an MLL game back home Saturday night and will arrive Monday.
The 4,900-capacity arena being used has an artificial green carpet on an Olympic-sized surface used at other times of the year for hockey. Most of the Americans had never played on such a large floor.
''The guys are in pretty good shape, but that floor is a bit wider, and guys really were exhausted at the end of the game,'' Ryan said.
In earlier games, the Iroquois Nationals defeated Ireland 23-3 and England beat Australia 20-8.
