U.S. Offense 'A Work in Progress' After Mixed Results Against Australia

SAN DIEGO — John Danowski had a message for his offensive players after a second straight so-so showing to start the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship.

Get mad.

Asked what the next step for the U.S. would entail after the team scored just two second-half goals in a 12-3 victory over Australia, Danowski did not sugarcoat his response.

“I think we get a little angry about our performance,” he said. “When we moved the ball in the first half offensively, we played with great humility. I thought we were dynamite. In the second half, we kind of lost that.”

After grinding out a 7-5 win over Canada in the world championship opener Wednesday, the U.S. (2-0) unleashed its offense in the first quarter with a five-goal flurry. Kieran McArdle punctuated the run, finishing a Rob Pannell feed in front after a series of quick passes.

The U.S. capitalized on some more crisp passing in the second quarter, including an extra-man sequence in which Tom Schreiber hit McArdle with a look-away feed and McArdle tossed it behind the back to Matt Rambo for another dunk on the doorstep.

Up 10-2 at halftime, the U.S. looked poised to run away with the game. But Australia (1-1) clamped down in the second half, mixing between zone and man and playing physical at the point of attack. Goalie Ryan Sparks made 11 saves.

“It’s human nature when you jump to a 10-2 lead that you think it’s going to be 20-4. But the opponent has a say,” Danowski said. “The Australian team has a lot of pride and they did a phenomenal job. Tip your cap to our opponent.”

The U.S. shot just 2-for-19 in the second half and was 0-for-4 on extra-man opportunities over the final 30 minutes, often settling for outside shots that did not drop or trying to carry the ball through traffic in the middle.

“We lacked some leadership on the offensive end,” Danowski said. “It was pretty quiet when things weren’t going our way. You can’t have that.”

Rambo paced nine different scorers with two goals and two assists. Pannell added a goal and two assists, while Schreiber and Michael Sowers contributed two goals apiece.

Almost all that production came in the first half, however.

“I thought we got a little selfish in the second half,” Danowski said. “We were trying to run by people and we couldn’t. We dropped the head of our sticks a bunch shooting, missed the cage. We had some opportunities and some looks.”

If there was any solace Friday, it was that the defense proved impenetrable for the second straight game despite being without close defenseman Matt Dunn and long-stick midfielder Michael Ehrhardt, who were held out due to injuries.

Going back to the opener against Canada, the U.S. defense has allowed just two even-strength goals in the last 95 minutes of game play.

Jesse Bernhardt, a three-time U.S. national team member and one of three captains on this team, anchored the effort with four caused turnovers and three ground balls. He credited the unit collectively.

“Guys do a good job of putting guys in the right spots,” Bernhardt said. “Sometimes you’re the beneficiary of somebody else’s work. You just might show up on the stat sheet and they might not.”

A bright spot for the offense? The attack unit came to life. After combining to shoot 0-for-11 with six turnovers against Canada, the trio of McArdle, Pannell and Rambo contributed nine points.

Pannell and Rambo are both X attackmen for their Premier Lacrosse League teams and still getting used to playing together behind the goal — especially since McArdle operates out of the lefty slot Rambo would otherwise occupy.

“It’s a work in progress until the last day,” Danowski said, “and until it gets to zeroes.”

The U.S. also generated more transition, including a second-quarter goal off the faceoff wing by Ryan Terefenko.

“We did get out over the top,” Danowski said. “That was something we wanted to see, if we could get out from the defensive end.”

It’s a quick turnaround for the U.S., which continues pool play Saturday against the Haudenosaunee, who defeated England 18-5 in their tournament opener Friday and figure to put more pressure on the U.S. offense to keep pace.

Opening faceoff at Torero Stadium is 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT (ESPN+).