After a one-goal nail-biter Saturday evening against the reigning NCAA champion Maryland at the Team USA Fall Classic, the U.S. men’s national team took cues from the Terps when facing 2017 final four contender Towson on Sunday.
“Maryland did a terrific job having long possessions,” Team USA coach John Danowski said. “Yesterday, offensively, I thought the Blue team, when we got to 6-1, we were playing way too fast. We were playing MLL style, dodging out of the box, not taking care of the ball or having those longer possessions.”
Starting strong with a shutout in the first half, Team USA White, a younger roster with half of its players graduating college within the past three years, convincingly handled the Tigers 22-2.
“I don’t think we really thought about it being a one-goal game yesterday,” said midfielder Jake Froccaro, who helped fuel the first half dominance alongside leading scorer Will Manny. “We just wanted to play hard and play our style of play. From the offensive end, we wanted to take it a possession at a time. [Assistant] Coach [Seth] Tierney really preached that. That’s not us vs. Towson. It’s us vs. a possession.”
Froccaro, a 2017 Villanova graduate, also followed cues from a four-time U.S. gold medalist to steer the offense – his uncle, Vinnie Sombrotto.
Sombrotto was a 1997 inductee into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame after winning gold medals with Team USA in 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1994.
“He’s given me a lot of tips on how to prepare for these tryouts and constantly giving me advice,” said Froccaro, who tallied a hat trick before halftime. “He just knows so much about the game that I can really learn a lot from him.”
Spanning generations within the U.S. program “speaks volume about Team USA itself,” Froccaro added. Whether it’s veterans coming back into the fold or former U.S. under-19 players taking the next step to the senior team, including Connor Buczek and Matt Kavanagh who tallied three goals and six points, respectively, against the Tigers, the familial chemistry became the key to success on Sunday.
“The culture of the team is growing,” coach John Danowski said. “There is a tremendous bond and affection that has been created from the coaching staff to the players and I hope players with each other. That was one of our first goals – to create this environment where guys love looking forward to these weekends.”
Froccaro noted a growing respect between the younger additions to the training roster and players like 2014 U.S. silver medalists Matt Abbott and Michael Evans.
Recent college graduates are now playing alongside their mentors – like midfielders Tom Schreiber and Paul Rabil are for Froccaro – becoming students of the game while also becoming teammates.
“They’ve really taken us under our wing,” Froccaro said. “Hopefully, out there, we don’t play like young guys. I think today we proved that we’re younger, but we don’t play young.”
“There’s this brotherhood where the younger guys respect the older guys, learning from them, so when it’s their turn, they’re going to be the leaders,” Danowski added. “They’re going to have this experience.”
The faceoff group of current Denver senior Trevor Baptiste, longtime veteran Greg Gurenlian, and Denver Outlaws’ Tom Kelly has become an evident strength for the U.S.
Together, they won 23 of 26 faceoffs against the Tigers, after winning 15 of 23 against Maryland.
“They build off one another,” Froccaro said. “It’s nice to see how much they’re learning from one another. That’s great for our team and great for lacrosse in general.”
The focus now turns to January for the next U.S. training weekend at the Team USA Spring Premiere in Florida, after which Danowski will name the final roster that will compete at the 2018 FIL Men’s World Championship in Netanya, Israel.
In order to return Team USA to the top of the world after falling to Canada in the 2014 gold medal game, the U.S. has to learn how to manage the game, from subbing to man-up and man-down scenarios, Danowski said.
“Just keep getting better,” Froccaro said. “Coming into January, we want to build off the momentum we built this past week. Obviously, the end goal is to win the championship, so we have to cater everything toward the many games we will play [in Israel].”