Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Team USA has landed in England. Members of the U.S. women's team will supply occasional blogs to chronicle their journeys to the World Cup. Check out the latest edition of "Mission Log," authored by attacker Alex Aust.
2. Fellow Team USA attacker Alyssa Murray finds herself in an interesting position. The former All-American at Syracuse is an alternate on the World Cup team and on the active roster for the International World Games in Wroclaw, Poland, which follows the FIL event this month.
3. Know your foe: Australia. And the Aussies represented a very formidable foe on several occasions, having won two World Cups and claiming the silver medal four times. But after a bronze in 2013 and no medal in the U19 women's championship two years later, the rebuilding program has an important litmus test in this year's World Cup.
4. Ready for some Major League Lacrosse nostalgia? As the league's all-star game hits Northern California Saturday, Phil Shore takes a look back at the franchise that once called SoCal home, the Los Angeles Riptide. The team reached the championship game in 2008, and cross-country flights to practices at sunset created a bond among players. And a note: if you're a US Lacrosse member, you can purchase discounted tickets to the MLL All-Star Game. Enter offer code USLLAX17.
5. We continued our high school wrap-up with the Northeast Region girls. Garden City (N.Y.) finished atop the Nike/US Lacrosse Northeast Region Top 10, winning its 14th state championship in 22 years. Skaneateles (N.Y.) senior midfielder Kyla Sears battled through injuries to lead the No. 6 Lakers to the state Class D title as the Epoch/US Lacrosse Northeast Region Girls' Player of the Year.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Inside Lacrosse chronicles the career and World Cup journey of Team USA's Kayla Treanor with a feature and video.
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In an interview with Yahoo! Finance, Paul Rabil talks about his recipe for success in the business world, tips for other athletes, and bringing lacrosse more exposure.
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The Needham (Mass.) Times has the story of an emotional year for Needham girls' coach Beth O'Brien, who lost her husband, Joe, to cancer in December before leading the Rockets to the Division 1 state championship a few weeks ago.
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Rogue Lacrosse continues to team with Ballston Spa (N.Y.) senior Brit Douglas to raise money to support combat veterans and their families, reports The Ballston Journal.
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The Northwest Florida Daily News talks with local athletic directors and coaches about the prospects of adding varsity lacrosse teams to high schools in Okaloosa County, Fla. The catalyst that sparked interest was a clinic conducted by the Florida State MCLA team.
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Box lacrosse in a roller hockey rink on Long Island? Maybe, reports The Garden City (N.Y.) News.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
The Thompson Brothers represent one of the most popular and successful families in the game today. Lyle and Miles added to that lore by leading the Georgia Swarm to the National Lacrosse League championship, and the former earned league MVP honors this season. Offensively, they attribute a healthy portion of their exploits to successful execution a simple pick and roll, which they demonstrated at LaxCon earlier this year.
WHAT’S ON TAP
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The Northeast continues our wrap-up of the 2017 high school lacrosse season, releasing the Nike/US Lacrosse Top 10 and Epoch/US Lacrosse Player of the Year for boys’ lacrosse in the region. Find all the rankings here.
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We'll have more previews of the FIL World Cup today, and Team USA's Megan Douty is scheduled to author the "Mission Log" blog Saturday.
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