Caffeine and Napalm: Brennan O'Neill Comes of Age with U.S. Team

SAN DIEGO — Each day here at the University of San Diego, U.S. men’s national team members Matt Dunn, Zach Goodrich and Jake Richard awake to the invigorating aroma of freshly infused coffee in Manchester Village Apartment 325. It’s Brennan O’Neill’s brew.

“I’m a big coffee guy,” O’Neill said. “I wake up every morning with coffee.”

Caffeine in the morning. Napalm at night.

Oney’s Café smelled that much sweeter this morning after its proprietor — a college athlete playing with and against seasoned professionals — scored three goals to lead the United States to a 7-5 victory over Canada in the opening game of the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship at Snapdragon Stadium last night.

A rising senior at Duke just three weeks removed from winning the Tewaaraton Award, O’Neill owned the stage again Wednesday. Playing midfield alongside Tom Schreiber and Michael Sowers and attack on the man-up unit, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound lefty bookended a four-goal U.S. run that turned a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 advantage with 12- and 15-yard stepdown bombs.

“That’s not a college kid,” U.S. goalie Blaze Riorden said. “That’s a grown man out there.”

O’Neill is, in fact, the lone current collegian on the 23-player roster. The 21-year-old who starred last summer for the gold medal-winning U.S. U21 team is the youngest player to suit up for the senior team since the U.S. took a team comprised largely of collegians to Australia in 2002.

There’s some built-in familiarity. O’Neill’s college coach, John Danowski, is the head coach of the U.S. team. And while he might gravitate toward his former Duke teammates in Sowers and JT Giles-Harris, O’Neill said all the pros have made him feel welcome on and off the field in preparation for this tournament.

“I’m already comfortable here,” he said. “These guys are great to me.”

Playing for the U.S. also has given O’Neill the chance to move on quickly from his disappointing performance in the NCAA championship game, when he shot 1-for-9 in the Blue Devils’ 13-9 loss to Notre Dame.

“We want him to know that he is supposed to be here,” said Rob Pannell, who is playing in his third world championship. “He is meant to be here. He was chosen to be here. You saw why tonight.”

Pannell, 33, is the oldest player on the U.S. team and the leader of an offense that struggled to find its footing until O’Neill started stretching the field with his harrowing overhand shot.

“We see that every day in practice,” Pannell said. “We kind of all just laugh when he shoots the ball because he’s got a different kind of power behind it, a different velocity.”

Added Schreiber: “He might lead our team in shots and we’re comfortable with him doing that.”

That’s high praise and confidence from two of the most respected offensive players of their generation.

“As you get older, the better the players are around you and the easier it is to play,” said O’Neill, the nation’s leading scorer with 97 points as a junior at Duke this spring. “It’s so fun playing with guys who can pass at any time and are such skilled players. Any time you play with guys that good, it makes it easy for you.”

In addition to fending off friendly barbs about his barista abilities, O’Neill has been the occasional target of the U.S. team’s kangaroo court — a mock justice system where team members assess each other fines for faux pas.

“Yes, he’s the young guy. And he is particularly quiet and to himself,” Pannell said. “So we have to bring it out of him sometimes. It’s fun to see him come out of his shell a little bit.”

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

O’Neill’s wasn’t the only impressive debut Wednesday. All seven U.S. goals were scored by players who had no previous world championship experience at the senior level.

Then again, Ryan Conrad and Sowers are no strangers to the international stage, having starred for the gold medal-winning U.S. U19 team in 2016. Conrad scored with eight seconds left to lift the Americans to a 13-12 comeback win over Canada in Vancouver.

Connor Kelly, who narrowly missed out on a spot on the 2018 U.S. senior team, and Charlie Bertrand were the other scorers.

Pannell and Schreiber facilitated the offense with two assists apiece.

A CRUCIAL STOP

Following a dominant third quarter in which the U.S. won all four faceoffs and outshot Canada 10-3 while building a three-goal lead, Riorden and special teams helped seal the win in the fourth.

The U.S. went two men down with concurrent penalties by Byrnes and Goodrich. Playing in relief of starter Jack Kelly in the second half, Riorden made a sprawling body save on Dhane Smith. Dunn and Jack Rowlett deflected two additional shots as the U.S. came away unscathed.

“All stops aren’t created equal,” Riorden said. “Two guys putting their body on the line for the sake of this team, that’s what this is all about. Being selfless. It was a big point in this game. We’re mentally prepared and physically prepared for moments like that.”

As for splitting halves in goal, Riorden had no qualms with his role. The three-time PLL Goalie of the Year and 2021 PLL MVP who plays forward in the NLL even warmed up Kelly before the game.

Kelly is an incumbent of sorts, having played for the U.S. team in Israel in 2018 before tearing his ACL in a pool play game against Australia and suffering several setbacks in his recovery from knee surgery. He finished with two saves. Riorden had three.

“I’m here to listen to what the coaches have to say. They decided to start Jack and told me I would play the second half. I didn’t bat an eye,” Riorden said. “Jack Kelly is one of the leaders of this group. His story is incredible. He’s one of the best players in the world. I was grateful to get the chance to warm him up and be behind him. And when my name is called, just like anyone else, respectfully I will fill the role. It’s good to get a team win.”

EHRHARDT HELD OUT

Reigning world championship MVP Michael Ehrhardt practiced this week and carried the flag during opening ceremonies but did not play due to a hamstring injury.

Liam Byrnes started at long-stick midfield.

SIMPLY POSSESSED

U.S. faceoff specialists Trevor Baptiste (8-for-10) and TD Ierlan (5-for-6) combined to go 13-for-16 (81 percent) with 11 ground balls.

Justin Inacio took all Canada’s reps while the team waits to get back Jake Withers, who graduates from firefighter training Thursday.

The possession imbalance further tilted in the Americans’ favor as the result of eight Canada penalties, four of which came in the fourth quarter as the Canadians scrambled to disrupt the U.S. stall.

The U.S. had two possessions that lasted a combined 9 minutes, 48 seconds in the fourth quarter. World Lacrosse does not have a shot clock in the traditional field discipline.