BOX SCORE

BRADENTON, Fla. — If John Danowski was looking for clarity before he goes into one of the biggest deliberations of his coaching career, he didn't find it. But if he's looking for solace, he might find it in that he really can't choose wrong when he's picking from a pool of the best lacrosse players in the country.

Following Saturday's Team USA Spring Premiere at IMG Academy, Danowski, the head coach of the U.S. men's team, and his staff will make the final selections for the 23-man travel roster to compete in this summer's Federation of International Lacrosse Men's World Championship in Netanya, Israel.

It's no easy task.

Excited to tune in for final session of @USLacrosse process. Having witnessed the commitment it takes to continue through the final stages with @MarcusHolman1 @WillManny_1, it’s a true testament to all these players who have gotten to this point. True warriors, and proud of USA.

— Adam Ghitelman (@adam8taylor) January 6, 2018

Saturday's game went to overtime, with the White team pulling away for a 9-7 victory after the Blue team had roared out of the gates to a 4-0 lead after the opening quarter.

"These things are very difficult to evaluate because no one's played for two months," Danowski said. "You've got 45 great players out there, but they haven't played."

Defense reigned supreme, with both offenses running into outstanding goaltending and determined defenses.

"Everything was earned," Danowski said. "It's a little bit of familiarity offensively. The guys know each other so well since this was our fourth time together (since tryouts last July). It's much tougher for the offensive guys. They're trying to play together, they're trying to please the coaches, they're trying to do what they do best."

The four goalies — Drew Adams, John Galloway, Jack Kelly and Brian Phipps — combined to make 30 saves and all four had save percentages over 55 percent. Phipps made 10 saves in the second half and overtime while allowing just three goals to help spur the White team to its comeback victory. He also had a key interception in front of the goal late in regulation to thwart an opportunity for the Blue team.

"I thought Brian Phipps was terrific," Danowski said. "He was certainly the MVP if you had to pick a guy today."
 

Faceoffs also played a big role in the game with the Blue team winning four of five draws in the opening quarter to help jump out to the 4-0 lead before the White team won six of the nine draws over the next two quarters.

The tandem of Trevor Baptiste and Greg Gurenlian of the Blue team ended up drawing even with the White team's Brendan Fowler and Tom Kelly, as the quartet split 22 faceoffs. Baptiste had the best individual day of the group, winning 7-of-11 draws.

Fowler and Kelly helped the White team bounce back from its slow start, and the Blue team was held scoreless for more than two quarters of play as the White team scored six straight goals to take a 6-4 lead before Ryan Brown ended the Blue drought late in the third quarter.

After Rob Pannell tied the game 7-7 with 12:59 to play in the fourth quarter, neither team found the back of the net again in regulation, and they went scoreless in the first overtime period.

In the second overtime period, Connor Kelly buried an outside shot past Galloway to give the White team an 8-7 lead with 1:53 to play, and then Matt Abbott picked up a loose ball following a near turnover for the White team and scored on an empty net with 0:48 left to ice the victory.

Now the focus shifts to Danowski and his staff to make the final roster decisions. The process began when Danowski was named the head coach in late 2015 and brought the team together for the first time here at IMG Academy for a 22-6 victory over Denver two years ago.

"We're trying to evaluate on seven times together (since January 2016), we're trying to evaluate on some chemistry, we're trying to evaluate on a tournament in the Middle East where there's going to be six games in nine days. You have all these different factors that swirl around your head about what would be best for this particular team."

NOTES: Three players on the U.S. team were unable to make the trip to Florida — Tom Schreiber had a National Lacrosse League game with the Toronto Rock on Saturday night, and defensemen Michael Evans and Michael Manley both missed the game due to travel issues with the weather in the Northeast...Ned Crotty and Joe Nardella did not play due to injuries...the two teams combined to go 0-for-8 on extra man opportunities.