Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Step one complete. Team USA went undefeated (5-0) in the Blue Division, defeating England 19-2 on Tuesday to earn a bye into Thursday’s semifinal round.
The U.S. men’s national team will play the winner of Wednesday’s 2 p.m. (ET) quarterfinal between Australia (2-3 in Blue Division) and Israel (2-0 Red).
"Words can't describe the amount of fun this is, and how these guys have really bought into the vision we have of building a team," said U.S. team head coach John Danowski. "It's very quick, but incredibly intense. Not a lot of sleep, but it doesn't matter. You wake up every day in a great mood because it's game day and you're with an incredible group.”
.@USAMLax is 5-0 @rbrownie04 was again, with 4G to fuel the 19-2 win over @englacrosse. He's got 20 goals in @2018WorldLax. Is that good? pic.twitter.com/34Q5gMDVUg
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) July 17, 2018
Team USA’s perfect round-robin was much in part thanks to short-stick defensive midfielder Jake Bernhardt, who spoke up after the U.S. trailed the Iroquois at halftime in its opener.
“I felt comfortable expressing myself to this group, that I don’t want to have any coulda-shoulda-woulda moments,” Bernhardt said. “I just told the guys, ‘Don’t look around for anyone to step up. Someone go make a play. Because we’re the best players in the world, and we shouldn’t have that deer-in-headlights look. We should be out there playing, having fun and doing what we know we can do.’”
England finished pool play with a 1-4 record to place fifth in the Blue Division, while Canada (4-1), which defeated Australia 13-7 on Tuesday, finished second to also receive a bye. Canada will play in Thursday’s first semifinal against either the Iroquois (3-2 Blue), Japan (2-0 White) or Puerto Rico (2-0 Bronze).
Check out the full results from Tuesday’s action at the FIL Men’s World Championship. Plus, here are the results broken down by division.
2. Michelle Tumolo, a former Oregon assistant, Syracuse All-American and Team USA gold medalist, was named head coach of Wagner women’s lacrosse Tuesday.
The news came just four days after Oregon head coach Katrina Dowd resigned from the Oregon program.
Tumolo takes over a program that fellow Orange standout Katie Rowan led to NEC championships in 2016 and 2018. Rowan recently accepted the head coaching position at Albany.
"Wagner has a special place in my heart and I am beyond grateful to be a Seahawk," said Tumolo, whose younger sister Kimmy was a midfielder for the Seahawks from 2013-2016. "I look forward to working alongside my staff and this administration to continue the success of this program. I can't wait to get started and create a bond with this team! Go Seahawks!"
3. Zoe Stukenberg, Maryland’s 2017 Tewaaraton winner, has had a humbling experience in her first year coaching at Patterson High School in Baltimore as a Teach For America core member.
She successfully led the first girls’ lacrosse team to complete a full season with enough academically eligible players, despite a 0-8 record.
“I am passionate about learning more and trying at least for now to make a little shockwave,” Stukenberg said. “This season was a ton of fun. Was I perfect? Absolutely not. All I’m doing is giving them the opportunity to showcase how awesome they are. That’s all they need from me – the chance to show how amazing they are – and they take care of the rest.”
4. It was #WorldEmojiDay on Tuesday and the #LaxEmoji prevailed.
And by a LANDSLIDE, the winner of the Most Anticipated Emoji #WorldEmojiAwards is the Lacrosse! Keep an eye out for this one to hit phones coming soon! pic.twitter.com/09w7he6ptl
— World Emoji Awards (@EmojiAwards) July 17, 2018