Advantage or Distraction? U.S. Prepares for World Championship on Home Soil

SAN DIEGO — A local sports reporter asked U.S. head coach John Danowski on Tuesday if he thought playing the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in the United States gave the host Americans an advantage. He was audibly surprised by the answer.

“I think it’s a little bit of a distraction, to be honest,” Danowski said during media availability at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium. “Last time around, we were in Israel. Lacrosse was a fledgling sport in the Middle East. It was an unbelievable experience, the experience of a lifetime for all of us. But we were able to kind of travel in anonymity. Nobody knew or cared who we were.

“Here, it’s a little different. There will be more family here. There will be more friends. Guys are going to have to handle the distractions a lot differently than we did last time.”

All eyes will be on the U.S. and Canada on Wednesday, as the North American neighbors renew the most heated rivalry in lacrosse at Snapdragon Stadium (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT) and on national TV (ESPN2).

The last time the two shared the world championship stage, the U.S. defeated Canada 9-8 on a buzzer-beater by midfielder Tom Schreiber.

“It’s unique,” Schreiber said Tuesday. “Competing against these guys, I played with a handful of them three days ago on [the Archers]. We were on the same side. I play in Toronto [for the Rock] in the winter. I know a lot of those guys well. I’m sure it’s the same for them. We can separate it. It’s us versus them and we’ll be friends after.”

Danowski said opening world championship play against Canada will allow the U.S. to establish benchmarks for what it needs to work on before a probable — if not guaranteed — rematch in the medal round.

“The beauty of this tournament is it’s seven games in 10 days,” he said. “There’s no other tournament like this at this level with this level of athletes. Anything can happen.”

Ten of the last 12 games between the U.S. and Canada in world championship play have been decided by three goals or fewer. After a dominant run by the U.S. from 1982-2002, Canada closed the gap, including gold medal wins in 2006 in Ontario and 2014 in Denver. When you combine the scores of the last eight games between the teams, it’s 80-79 Canada.

The margin has never been narrower.

“Probably not too many secrets out there in terms of a scouting report,” said defenseman Jesse Bernhardt, a three-time U.S. team member. “We’re representing our country. They’re representing theirs. Everything means a little bit more.”

Bernhardt seems to be savoring this world championship journey more than the previous two. One of three U.S. team captains along with Schreiber and long-stick midfielder Michael Ehrhardt, the 32-year-old has encouraged younger players to soak in the experience.

The meals together. The teambuilding sessions. The conversations. The jokes. All of it.

“This is something most guys will remember for the rest of their lives,” he said.

It also was not lost on Bernhardt that while this is the fourth time the men’s world championship will be held in the U.S., it’s the first time the event is happening on the West Coast.

“I’m a guy who grew up in Orlando, Florida,” said Bernhardt, whose older brother, Jake, also played for the 2018 U.S. team and whose younger brother, Jared, was MVP of the 2016 U19 world championship. “Coming from a nontraditional [area], I understand the growth of the sport from when I started playing this game until now. In San Diego, the ability to bring top-notch talent in the world to a location like this is super exciting. Hopefully, a lot of people can come out and see what this sport has to offer.”