Apuzzo, Scane Embrace Defense in Sixes

The sounds of clapping and cheering rang out of Meeting Room No. 3 in the Tianfu International Hotel Complex’s Apartment 7.

What was once a film session between the coaches and players on the U.S. Women’s Sixes National Team had turned into a watch party — one that reached its peak when assistant coach Michelle Tumolo turned on the highlight reel of U.S. attackers playing defense.

The tradition started Aug. 7, after the first game of The World Games, when captain Sam Apuzzo scored and immediately caused a turnover that led to a Chloe Humphrey goal.

On Aug. 8, the projector screen showed Izzy Scane breaking up a play with an aggressive yet effective check. The room went wild, patting Scane on the back and asking for more highlights.

“It was awesome being in the room with the literal best players on Earth,” Scane said. “Then you turn and they’re patting you on the back and cheering when you did something right.”

Over the five-day international competition in Chengdu, China, the team had plenty of highlights from which to pick, as it outscored opponents 129-50 in five games en route to the gold medal.

Head coach Lindsey Munday constructed her roster with the best offensive players in women’s lacrosse, including Tewaaraton Award winners like Apuzzo, Scane, Charlotte North and Chloe Humphrey. She did not bring a defensive specialist, allowing midfielders like Cassidy Weeks, Ally Mastroianni and Ally Kennedy to take command of the defense.

Munday hoped that her attack could contribute on defense, as is necessary in the sixes discipline, but not even she could imagine just how much buy-in she would get from her offensive personnel.

“I am so proud of the attackers embracing the defense and taking pride in that side of the ball,” Munday said. “The girls enjoy it and take it seriously. It’s easy to cheer on an awesome attack highlight, but to see our players truly get excited about making stops and cheering everyone on throughout the defensive stops is huge.”

The product that fans saw on the field was years in the making. The earliest adopters of sixes had to figure out a concept that could translate to the new discipline. Apuzzo was among the first U.S. players to compete in sixes, battling the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League and United Women’s Lacrosse at the IWLCA Presidents Cup in 2018.

Apuzzo, coming off winning the Tewaaraton, loved the new format, but even then started to strategize in her own mind.

“It was very much like, ‘How is this going to operate?’” Apuzzo remembered asking herself. “’Are people going to play a zone? Are they going to play man-to-man? Conceptually, are people going to care about defense or is it going to be high-scoring, goal-to-goal play?’”

Sixes was a discipline in its infancy back when Apuzzo first played it, but she returned for The World Games cycle last summer, hoping to find her way onto the 12-player roster bound for China.

She knew that she’d have to step up her game on the defensive end, and she borrowed some of her instincts from her time playing midfield growing up on Long Island. She even spent time at midfield at Boston College.

“I played attack all preseason of my freshman year and then the first game came around and they said, ‘You’re going to be on the midfield line,’” Apuzzo said. “At halftime, they told me, ‘Yeah, you’re going back to attack.’ No complaints here.”

Despite her ability to score goals at will during her college career, Apuzzo always felt like her game was suited so that she could contribute on defense if needed.

Sixes presented that need.

“I’ve always felt I was a good riding attacker,” Apuzzo said. “It felt comfortable for me, so I latched onto that part of my game. You can give back to your team so much more than scoring goals. Being able to work hard to make sure your defense doesn't have to play defense, that’s where you can make your mark.”

Scane, too, entered the U.S. training pool feeling like her skillset matched that of a successful sixes player. She made her sixes debut at the USA Lacrosse Experience in Indianapolis last fall.

In many ways, Scane was the attacker most prepared to handle shifting responsibilities. She began her career at Northwestern as a low defender before she became one of NCAA women’s lacrosse’s all-time leading scorers.

“The reason I got put on defense was because of the aggressive athleticism that you need to play there,” Scane said. “I tried to channel that confidence and aggressiveness and try to throw people off when you approach. I tried to switch gears into that mindset, but it was a little easier last time.”

Scane used her physical advantage to slow down opposing offenses in transition, occasionally spending time in the penalty box if she was too aggressive.

She provided one of the highlights of the tournament when she stripped Australian legend Hannah Nielsen, pushed in transition and helped the U.S. score before the halftime buzzer in a 25-13 victory.

“No one expects you to be good on defense,” Scane said. “Everyone looks at you as an attacker thinking they can go after me on-ball. When you do get those turnovers and play great defense, it’s huge. It’s the absolute worst as an offensive player when that happens to you, so it was satisfying to flip the script and be super aggressive on them.”

Before the U.S. Women’s Sixes National Team celebrates its gold medal win at the Atlas Cup next weekend at USA Lacrosse headquarters, Munday reflected on the mentality that she instilled in her team. 

She knew the challenge she presented to the U.S. attackers, and they answered the call.

“These players are the best in the world, and they take so much pride in everything they do, so the defense was no different,” she said. “It’s a pride thing — we don’t want anyone to be able to say, ‘We have an attacker on me’ and find a matchup. If you have an attacker on defense, you need to be ready to really earn that goal because it’s not coming easy, no matter who is on you.”