In 2015, the U.S. under-19 women’s national team advanced to the gold medal game in historic Scotland, where women’s lacrosse was born in 1890.

With support from fellow Americans in the U.S. system, the U19 team was confident in their success thus far, having arrived at the championship pitch undefeated.

Back on U.S. soil, current U.S. World Cup attacker Brooke Griffin (Maryland 2015), and defender Kristen Carr (North Carolina 2010) watched their family members – sister Brindi, then a Maryland commit, and cousin Miranda Ibello, now a Hopkins sophomore, respectively – take the field through the event’s live streaming platform.

Griffin, along with her father, had watched Brindi and Team USA progress through the tournament in person in Edinburgh, Scotland, but had to fly back to the states early to attend a Team USA training weekend at the University of Delaware. She and Carr agreed they wouldn’t miss the game.

However, Team USA returned home from the U19 World Championship with a disappointing 9-8 loss to Canada. It was from that point on that Carr and Griffin were determined to flip the script when it was their turn to represent their country.

Together, with this year’s U.S. women’s national team, they decided to kick off the 2017 Federation of International Lacrosse Women’s World Cup on the right foot.

“Brindi led me the way here,” said Griffin. “I watched her go through a loss, so I know that gives me momentum and energy to power that toward this World Cup. We want to win.”

The reigning world champion, having won the last two World Cup titles, did just that with a dominating 19-3 victory over Scotland on the championship pitch Thursday afternoon.

“I remember Cookie Carr, her cousin, Miranda, was on the team and we were watching that loss,” Griffin said. “We looked at each other [and said,] ‘It’s our time. We’re the next team to do it.’ That’s what we’re focusing on. Again, pressure is a privilege. That’s what we keep saying and we love that pressure. That means you’re good, so you should win.”

Team USA made its debut in Guildford, England, today with a few key goals in mind – play with precision and pressure, be proactive rather than reactive and respect your opponent. With seven of nine world titles belonging to the U.S., each country will be aiming to play their best against the best.

“Anytime you play the U.S. team, you know you’re up for a tough battle,” said Scotland coach Dave Simpson, whose team counts winning ground balls, securing draw controls and breaking the staple U.S. ride as wins in their book. “We have a lot of fight. When things don’t go our way, we don’t let it get us down. … It just turns out that the U.S. is such a quality team that it’s just hard to overcome.”

In the first half, it was an even 8-8 battle on the draw, but the U.S. quickly pulled away in the second half to finish ahead 14-10 in draw controls and 6-1 in goals. For her play in between both 30-yard lines, Ally Carey was named Player of the Match with two draw controls and one goal for Team USA. Kelly Rabil and Griffin tied for a team-best four goals, followed by hat tricks for Marie McCool and Kayla Treanor, the latter who topped the stat sheet with six points. Taylor Cummings had a team-high four draw controls.

“[Scotland is] really the essence of working hard and giving their all, so we need to be prepared for that and I think it was a great test to get our feet under us, get the World Cup going and really get that chemistry firing,” Carey said. “I’m really excited for what our offense is going to do the next couple games. It’s just a pretty show to watch and I think that’s the biggest thing. We want to make it a show in a respectful way. Show what the game of lacrosse can be.”

All three of Scotland’s goals were scored on an open net with goalie Devon Wills caught out of her crease in Team USA’s signature pressure defense where doubles are coming from all directions, even behind the goal.

But it’s a risk-reward system that’s more of a reward rather than a risk, according to U.S. coaches, players and even rivals. Carey attributed the open goals to Team USA’s aggressive play. Simpson added that “the U.S. have the athletes to get away with it enough that it makes it worthwhile” thanks to the skill of athletic goalies like Wills and Gussie Johns that match that of a midfielder.

“It hasn’t been a concern for the last 11 years,” said U.S. coach Ricky Fried. “Overall, they took six shots on the day, so it was pretty dominating.”

While Team USA began their first game with some nerves, Griffin said they learned to focus on themselves, “rise above it and be better.” 

But at the end of the day, Carey reflected on being handed her Player of the Match token from one of the very first members of the Scotland team. The history behind the sport, the bond it fosters throughout nations and growth of the game as a whole has been felt by the Americans since they touched down in England.

“I was just in awe because this person was a piece of history,” Carey said. “She really got everything going. Scotland, they encompass so much hard work, grit and intensity. It was such an honor to play them and be here in general. All the girls together would say I am so honored to be here playing our national anthem. Feeling those words and coming into this game against such a historic team and historically intense team was a great, great way to kick it off.”

Added Griffin: “Words can’t really describe it. You get the chills.”