Ivies Help USA Claim Gold at 2010 FIL Championship

Princeton graduate Max Striebel helped Team USA win the gold

USLacrosse.org Coverage

Portions courtesy of Lacrosse Magazine Online
Photo courtesy of worldlacrosse.thisisbrandnew.co.uk

MANCHESTER, England -- Five players with Ivy League ties helped the U.S. men’s lacrosse national team claim gold at the 2010 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship at the University of Manchester in Manchester, England.

Former Cornell standouts Ryan McClay and Max Seibald and former Princeton stars Ryan Boyle and Matt Striebel, along with Brian Doughtery, a Maryland grad who is currently an assistant men’s lacrosse coach at Penn, helped led Team USA’s four-year long rebuilding project that culminated July 24 with a 12-10 victory over Canada -- the team that dethroned Team USA in 2006 -- in the championship final.

“We dreamed of this. This was our destiny,” said Team USA head coach Mike Pressler. “The script was written. We just had to go out there and prove it.”

Team USA’s seventh world title did not come easy. The U.S. seized an 8-4 halftime lead with four unanswered goals in the second quarter. But Canada stormed back, blanking Team USA in the third quarter to tie it at 8. It set up another epic U.S.-Canada, fourth quarter showdown.

Zack Greer gave Canada its first lead of the game after getting topside on U.S. defenseman DJ Driscoll, faking and beating Dougherty on the doorstep to put the Canadians ahead 9-8 with 17 minutes remaining.

Dougherty came up huge with two saves -- including a lunging kick save off his left knee on Kevin Crowley -- on a man-down possession to keep Team USA within a goal.

Team USA attackman Brendan Mundorf rewarded him by scoring off a quick flip from Ryan Powell with a low, right-handed release – tying the game at 9 with 12:18 remaining.

John Grant Jr. answered for Canada, posting up U.S. defenseman Shawn Nadelen, getting topside, rolling back outside and dunking a goal on Dougherty to put the Canadians ahead 10-9 with 9:56 left.

That’s when Ned Crotty, not much of a factor for Team USA in the early rounds, got untracked. The team’s youngest player and 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy winner with Duke, Crotty tied it at 10 on a low-to-high riser off a Mike Leveille feed with 8:50 left.

Less than three minutes later, Crotty scored the go-ahead goal on a phenomenal bounce shot as he fell to the ground. The ball flung off the turf and found a space under the crossbar and above the stick of Canadian goalie Chris Sanderson.

Canada turned the ball over with about four minutes remaining and Team USA possessed the ball the rest of the way. Sanderson kept it at a goal by taking a Leveille shot off the lid of his helmet. The U.S. corralled the rebound and called timeout with 2:30 left.

Despite pulling Sanderson from the game and doubling the ball with an extra field player, Canada could not regain possession, committing a number of fouls and chasing the likes of Team USA’s Seibald and Matt Zash.

After a series of penalties, Leveille scored on an empty net with 1:16 left to seal the victory. Canada could not create the turnover it needed. The game ended with the ball in the stick of Boyle, a three-time Team USA member, in the corner.

Midfielder Paul Rabil finished with three goals and was named the MVP of the 2010 FIL World Championships. Leveille added three goals. Mundorf and Crotty scored two apiece. Seibald was also named to the championships’ All-World Team along with Rabil.

Grant led Canada with three goals and an assist. Greer added two goals.

Dougherty finished with 15 saves, his highest total of the tournament, for Team USA. Sanderson made 10 saves in the loss.