The Aussies, who captured the gold in 1986 and most recently in 2005, haven't taken their eyes off the prize. Alternates Cass Cursaro and Kristen Stone have been added to the roster, and along with a talented group that has a wealth of World Cup experience, Australia is still a favorite to compete for gold.
"It's a tragedy," Australian coach Max Madonia said of losing Adams. "It's tough. But the good thing about it is that we're still spirited. We're ready to play some ball. It's a missing piece from the puzzle that's just going to get rearranged in a different spot."
Stacey Morlang (Loyola), who was named an All-World midfielder in 2009 and Courtney Hobbs (Maryland) are two captains who will lead Australia on the field, while Adams will still be a leader from the sidelines.
"Everyone needs to step up and play their role within the team," Madonia said. "Things don't change a great deal. We just have one significant person who is not with us. We'll still have the same process. Jen's a great on-field leader and we'll still have her on our bench so that's an exciting thing for us."
Morlang is the Australian's draw specialist and a great two-way midfielder while Hobbs, who played more of an offensive role in college, is more of a defensive midfielder for the Aussies. Goalie Sue McSolvin is playing in her fourth World Cup and Tess McLeod (Maryland), a smart defender who can anticipate plays, will be playing in her third World Cup.
Hannah Nielsen, the two-time Tewaaraton winner at Northwestern and current assistant at the University of Colorado, is a creative and athletic midfielder who makes plays and Sarah Mollison (Maryland) is a savvy quarterback presence. Overall, the Australians bring a very free-flowing game to the field, relying less on drawn up plays and breaking down the X's and O's as they do creativity and quick decision-making among a group of players that know each other extremely well.
"I think 2009 was a really good example of it being too reliant on X's and O's," Madonia says. "Believe me, we do X's and O's, but it's more about how they see the game and how they can control the environment within the game. Lacrosse can get hostile, and the way we go about our process of coaching is about empowering our team and setting up scenarios where they're under pressure and they have to make decisions."
The U.S. and Australia are typically the heavy favorites for World Cup gold, and this year is no different. The U.S. came out with a 12-11 win over Australia the last time the two teams met, which was in October at the U.S. Lacrosse Stars and Stripes Weekend in California.
"I was really impressed with the U.S. in San Francisco," says Madonia. "I think it opened up our eyes and was a good opportunity for our team to experience that kind of pressure. The U.S. is extremely good, extremely skillful and very well-coached. We're creative. We're impetuous. We're skillful. I think it's a good mix of different cultures in terms of philosophies of coaching. It will be interesting to see how it all melds together and who gets the upper hand at the end."
insidelacrosse.com
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar