Meet the 23: U.S. Men’s National Team Set to Defend World Title in San Diego

The 2023 U.S. men’s national team represents the fulfillment of a promise head coach John Danowski made when he took over the program eight years ago — to establish a culture and continuity and fix a broken system that previously amounted to quadrennial all-star teams.

With the staff largely intact and 18 players who have experience with international competition at various levels and in different disciplines, the host Americans will look to become the first team to repeat as world champions in the new millennium.

To do so will require playing seven games in 11 days in San Diego — starting with the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship opener against rival Canada on Wednesday at Snapdragon Stadium (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, ESPN2) — and adapting to international rules that are vastly different from the Premier Lacrosse League.

“It’s more of a mental challenge than it is a physical one,” Danowski said before the team flew to San Diego on Monday. “Lacrosse is still lacrosse. That part doesn’t change. You’re hoping to build chemistry. It’s how willing we are to get to know one another over the next 13 days.”

The U.S. defeated Canada 9-8 on a last-second goal scored by Tom Schreiber in the 2018 gold medal game in Netanya, Israel. Schreiber is one of three captains for the 2023 team along with three-time U.S. team member Jesse Bernhardt and reigning world championship MVP Michael Ehrhardt.

“We have guys who have won, who know what it takes and know how lucky we were,” Danowski said. “We were fortunate to walk away [with gold]. I don’t think there’s a sense of entitlement or overconfidence, especially when you know the talent these other countries have.”

As far as America’s talent goes, we asked assistant coaches Joe Amplo, Seth Tierney and Charley Toomey to dive into each unit.

ATTACK

Kieran McArdle
Rob Pannell
Matt Rambo

As the PLL’s head of competition, Tierney saw up close how Kieran McArdle helped transform the Waterdogs into a champion — and the relentlessness with which the lefty wing attackman pursued a title that had eluded him going all the way back to high school. He finished the 2022 season as the league’s No. 2 scorer with 19 goals and a league-high 23 assists.

“With this maybe being his only shot at winning a gold medal, I think there’s going to be a level of hunger Kieran McArdle is going to bring and a level of thankfulness of having this opportunity,” Tierney said. “He earned it.”

Playing on his third U.S. team at age 33, Rob Pannell is the oldest member of the team. RP3 has showed no signs of slowing, though, finishing fourth in the PLL in scoring (16 goals, 22 assists) in 2022 and ranking second on the Redwoods with 11 points in three games so far this season.

One of Danowski’s favorite stats from the 2018 gold medal game was that Pannell’s only point of the game came on the assist to Schreiber with 0.2 seconds left.

Pannell’s patience is his greatest virtue.

“He’s the maestro back there,” Tierney said. “He’s the guy who’s the coach on the field. He’s got experience in losing a gold medal game and he’s got experience in winning a gold medal game. He understands the difference between PLL lacrosse and international lacrosse. I’m hoping he will control not only the steering wheel but the gas and the brake when needed.”

How does Matt Rambo fit in, then? He’s another alpha righty who likes to operate behind the goal. Tierney likened it to the Jordan Wolf-Pannell combo from 2018.

“Rambo’s a guy that isn’t afraid to have the ball in his stick with the game on the line,” Tierney said. “He’s like a bull dodging to the goal. Having two guys like that who can get above goal line extended by lowering their shoulder a bit may dictate matchups.”

ATTACK/MIDFIELD

Charlie Bertrand
Brennan O’Neill
Michael Sowers

Imagine having to defend any of these players — the three O’s — with a short stick.

That’s what the U.S. had in mind when selecting them as hybrid offensive players who will primarily come out of the box as midfielders with license to invert or attack from the wings if the matchup is right.

A two-time NCAA Division II national champion and player of the year at Merrimack, Charlie Bertrand is the first D-II product to make the 23-man U.S. roster since 1990.

Bertrand’s rapid rise in the sport started with a graduate year at Virginia, where he added an NCAA Division I title to his collection in 2021, and has continued in the professional ranks.

“I like what he’s about,” Tierney said of the 6-foot-3, 220-pound lefty, “dodging downhill, drawing slides and making good decisions with the ball.”

The Tewaaraton Award winner as a junior attackman at Duke, 21-year-old Brennan O’Neill is the youngest player to compete for the U.S. in a world championship since 2002, when the team was comprised largely of collegians. At 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, however, he looks like a pro. He also has recent experience with international rules, having played for the U.S. U21 team that won gold last summer in Ireland.

“Brennan O’Neill had a fabulous tryout,” Tierney said. “The question became, ‘Are we going to take a guy that hasn’t graduated college yet and throw him into the wolves of the Canadian defense?’”

O’Neill will benefit from the familiarity he has with Michael Sowers, who helped mentor him at Duke when O’Neill was a freshman and Sowers a grad transfer in 2021. This coaching staff puts a premium on second assists, and Sowers could lead the team in that category, Tierney said.

“He’s such a unique cover because he’s so quick with his change of direction, and he’s not afraid of getting to the middle of the field and getting popped,” Tierney said. “When Michael is at his best, he’s dodging and his feet and his eyes are his best attributes.”

MIDFIELD

Ryan Conrad
Connor Kelly
Tom Schreiber

A two-way midfielder with athleticism and endurance, Ryan Conrad memorably scored the game-winning goal with eight seconds left to lift the U.S. U19 team to 13-12 comeback win over Canada back in 2016. Then he led Virginia to an NCAA championship as a senior in 2019. Then came a PLL title with the Waterdogs last summer.

No matter where he plays, Conrad becomes indispensable because of his tireless motor.

“His body is built for a tournament like this,” Tierney said. “When you play seven games, the question comes up, who’s going to be built to play in games six and seven?”

Connor Kelly just missed out on the 2018 U.S. team when he was a senior at Maryland. “That does not go unspoken of,” Tierney said. “He’s probably got a little bit of anger to him because of that. Respectful, but a little bit of anger.”

Kelly brings additional options to the offense as a right-handed attack plugin and stretch shooter, plus built-in chemistry with Waterdogs teammates Conrad, McArdle and Sowers.

A two-time Major League Lacrosse MVP, three-time PLL Midfielder of the Year and former NLL Rookie of the Year, Tom Schreiber has nothing left to prove. He’s the best passing midfielder of his generation and already owns a special place in U.S. team history.

Schreiber brings the same steady hand to the midfield that Pannell does the attack. Tierney likened it to a firetruck with two drivers. “Tom’s in the front, Rob is steering from behind and we’re going to have some passengers in the middle,” he said.

FACEOFF

Trevor Baptiste
TD Ierlan

The two most prolific faceoff specialists in NCAA history are teammates for the first time.

TD Ierlan and Trevor Baptiste rank No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in career faceoff winning percentage and career faceoffs won, not to mention the host of single-season and single-game records Ierlan holds from his time at Albany, Yale and Denver.

Their excellence has continued in the professional ranks, both PLL and NLL. Baptiste joined former U.S. teammate Greg Gurenlian as the only faceoff specialists to be named a pro league MVP when he took home PLL MVP honors last year. He’s been even better so far in 2023, winning nearly 75 percent of faceoffs through three games with the Atlas.

The U.S. went with the hot-hand approach in 2018, with Baptiste urging coaches to stick with Gurenlian during the round-robin game against Canada and Gurenlian ceding reps to Baptiste in the final.

“We hope that chemistry Greg Gurenlian had taught us continues with Trevor and TD,” Tierney said. “The plan is for both to see a lot of action up until playoffs.”

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD

Zach Goodrich
Danny Logan
Jake Richard
Ryan Terefenko
 

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How much of a premium does the U.S. team put on this position? Nearly one-fifth of the 23-player roster currently competing in San Diego consists of these specialists.

Zach Goodrich is one of the most decorated SSDMs in pro lacrosse. The 2019 National Midfielder of the Year at Towson and 2020 MLL Defensive Player of the Year played for the USA Sixes team at The World Games 2022. “His ability to play one-on-one and be disruptive and exciting at the short-stick position — he’s not afraid of that,” Amplo said.

A two-time PLL SSDM of the Year and NLL Rookie of the Year finalist, Danny Logan grew up playing hockey and football and starred in lacrosse at Denver. His uncle, Jud, was a four-time Olympian hammer thrower.

No one wants to dodge anywhere near Logan. “I said it a few months ago,” Amplo said. “I think he’s the best player in the world.”

An alternate on the 2018 U.S. men’s team, Jake Richard is one of three members of that training team to earn a travel roster nod in 2023. The others are his Marquette classmate Liam Byrnes and Connor Kelly.

Whereas Logan plays with a quiet intensity, Richard raises the volume as the most vocal communicator of the rope unit — an important trait when it comes to defending picks and coordinating coverage away from the ball.

A three-time All-American and two-time captain at Ohio State, Ryan Terefenko led all SSDMs with 21 ground balls as a PLL All-Star in 2022.

Logan and Terefenko were part of the same draft class and thus far have been on parallel paths as two of the most impactful d-middies in the PLL. “We’re going to rely on those two guys more than anybody,” Amplo said.

LONG-STICK MIDFIELD

Liam Byrnes
Michael Ehrhardt

The 2019 PLL Defensive Player of the Year, Liam Byrnes is Marquette’s all-time leader in ground balls and caused turnovers. He’s a vacuum.

But it’s another V-word that comes to mind when seeing Byrnes in a U.S. team setting.

“Liam’s versatility is why he’s on the team,” Amplo said. “He’s an extremely good long-stick middie and has a very good stick. He’s proven at the pro level he can play close. And he could also pick up a short stick if we need.”

A four-time PLL LSM of the Year with the Whipsnakes, Michael Ehrhardt became the first defender to earn world championship MVP honors since Hall of Famer Dave Pietramala in 1990 when he was named the top player of the tournament in 2018. The 31-year-old has amassed 363 ground balls, 92 caused turnovers and 84 points in 100 games played at the professional level.

Besides Schreiber’s game-winner, the most enduring image of Israel five years ago might have been Ehrhardt dislodging both ball and stick from Lyle Thompson’s hands in the 2018 opener against the Haudenosaunee. Over the ensuing two weeks, Ehrhardt went from relative unknown to household name.

“What can you say about Big Mike? Every time I’m with him I’m just wowed by his presence and his ability to make plays,” Amplo said.

DEFENSE

Jesse Bernhardt
Matt Dunn
JT Giles-Harris
Jack Rowlett

Only a handful of players have had the longevity to qualify for three U.S. teams. Jesse Bernhardt is among them. An 11-year pro and four-time all-star, Bernhardt, 32, is the heart and soul of the defense.

“He’s turned into an elite leader. He’s just a world-class communicator,” Amplo said. “The defense is different when he’s not out there. It’s noticeable. He’s the connector.”

A fixture in the U.S. national teams program for the last five years, Matt Dunn is a five-time all-star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year as a pro. On an all-righty close defense, Dunn could be the pick for trickier righty-on-righty matchups because he’s so fundamentally sound.

“He’s steady. He’s the guy no one is going to notice and that’s a good thing,” Amplo said. “When you evaluate everything, he might be the best guy out there. A glue guy. He’ll fill any role.”

As one-on-one defensemen go, however, few are held in higher regard than JT Giles-Harris, the 2021 Schmeisser Award winner at Duke and 2022 PLL Defensive Player of the Year with the Chrome. He’s got a football pedigree that makes him easy to trust on an island. “He’s a world-class athlete,” Amplo said, “and his one-on-one ability is high end.”

A two-time PLL All-Star, Jack Rowlett has made a name for himself in the league with his array of takeaway checks and playful sense of humor. He has a mean streak, too. You need that on occasion. “His compete level was as good as we saw throughout the tryouts,” Amplo said. “I like his aggressiveness.”

GOALIE

Jack Kelly
Blaze Riorden

As All-American goalies for college teams whose high-risk, high-reward approach to defense often left them exposed, Jack Kelly and Blaze Riorden speak to the value of reps. They’ve both seen a lot of rubber.

Kelly didn’t think he’d ever play again after tearing his ACL while playing for the U.S. in the 2018 world championship and suffering a series of setbacks in his recovery. This is why he kept coming back, the opportunity to finish what he started in Israel. He returned to pro lacrosse in 2021, won the starting job with the Redwoods in 2022 and was sensational last summer for the U.S. Sixes team at The World Games.

Riorden’s stock has gone through the roof since the advent of the PLL in 2019. He’s a three-time PLL Goalie of the Year and was the league’s MVP after leading the Chaos to the title in 2021. He currently stands atop the PLL with a 64.6 save percentage through three games this season.

Riorden is no stranger to the international stage either, competing as a forward on U.S. box teams in 2015 and 2019. He’s simply one of the most versatile stars in the sport.

Toomey spoke of the goalies as a collective. “Both are great communicators when they’re getting the team and defense organized. And when there’s a breakdown, they’re making stops,” he said. “Their hands are quick. There’s no wasted movement. That comes from reps.”

Toomey also noted that neither goalie allows many rebounds, which limits second-chance opportunities.

“I look at both of them and I can’t tell you one flaw on either side of it,” he said. “One’s a righty (Kelly), one’s a lefty (Riorden) and both are just high-level guys that catch the ball and do a really do good job leading defense.”