KIDWCKED
07-22-2010, 10:43 PM
c/p from tsn by the a/p
MANCHESTER, England -- It was considered inevitable when the world field lacrosse championship began and now the clash is booked: Canada and the United States will again meet in the final.
Canada defeated Australia 15-6 and the U.S. drubbed Japan 20-5 in the semifinals Thursday, setting up the matchup.
"I think it'll be a great game," said David Huntley, Canada's head coach. "It's been the game everybody's thinking would happen and it's happened.
"Both teams have another gear left and it has all the makings of being a terrific lacrosse game."
During the round-robin phase, Canada edged the U.S. 10-9.
The U.S. won eight and Canada two of the previous 10 world tournaments, which are held every four years. Canada won it all in 1978 and in 2006.
Geoff Snider scored three goals in having his best game of the tournament against Australia. Garrett Billings, Rhys Duch and Kevin Huntley got two each, John Grant, Kevin Crowley, Brodie Merrill, Dan Dawson, Mark Steenhuis and Ryan McClelland chipped in with one each and Chris Sanderson earned the goaltending victory.
The score didn't reflect Canada's early problems getting things going. Attacker Zack Greer sat out with what Huntley said was a case of food poisoning and his absence forced changes in the offensive scheme of things. It took a while to adjust.
It was 2-2 at the end of one quarter and Australia led 3-2 early in the second quarter.
Then came the turning point. Crowley dodged a check and fed Billings for a clean shot resulting in a tying goal before Snider won the ensuing faceoff and ran through the Aussie defence to score the goal that put Canada ahead for good.
"You see what opens up and if it opens up you make the play," Snider said. "That's one thing coach Huntley has worked a lot with me on -- making educated decisions around taking chances.
"The opportunity was there and I took a chance and it worked out for the best."
Grant made it 5-3 with one of the trick shots for which he's famous. He was being checked as he ran towards the crease and, with one hand on his stick, swung it to shoot between his legs and bounce the ball in.
"I've been doing it for a few years now," he said. "It was at a crucial and we were kind of reeling there.
"It was a good time for it, but I've got to play much better."
Grant left the field muttering about "the six open nets I missed" and Steenhuis said the goal of getting to the final was accomplished after a strong 5-0 fourth quarter but "we have lots to think about and reflect on this game to see where we went wrong and what to correct for the next one."
Alex Brown scored two goals for the Aussies.
"It was a really good game by the Aussie boys," he said. "We came into the game as underdogs but we still had a strong belief we could tough it out with the best.
"We can improve a lot going forward. I'm really proud of the boys."
Brown's team has played both Canada and the United States and he picks Canada to win.
"I like Canada because its inside ball movement is by far better than that of the Americans," he said, "and there's no egos."
The Australian defence is comprised of a big and rough bunch of checkers who got away with a lot of unpunished fouls Thursday. Late in the first quarter, star Canadian defender Merrill was slashed between the legs and had to leave the game for 10 minutes, and there was no penalty assessed.
Canada's coach wasn't going to quibble about how slow his team started.
"The Australians came out strong," said Huntley. "They played terrific in the first quarter but I thought our guys played pretty well, too.
"We missed some easy chances. It was a close game (early on) and credit to them for hanging in there but credit our guys for staying focused and finally pulling away."
Huntley is well aware of what his team will face Saturday as the Americans try to win back the title they yielded four years ago in London, Ont.
"They have a great big-game goaltender in Brian Dougherty, their defence is solid -- great sticks and off-ball guys -- and at the midfield they've got a lot of two-way guys who can defend but also play great offence, and their attack has some terrific finishers and passers," he said. "I don't think there is any one aspect of their game that scares us. We respect all parts of their game."
MANCHESTER, England -- It was considered inevitable when the world field lacrosse championship began and now the clash is booked: Canada and the United States will again meet in the final.
Canada defeated Australia 15-6 and the U.S. drubbed Japan 20-5 in the semifinals Thursday, setting up the matchup.
"I think it'll be a great game," said David Huntley, Canada's head coach. "It's been the game everybody's thinking would happen and it's happened.
"Both teams have another gear left and it has all the makings of being a terrific lacrosse game."
During the round-robin phase, Canada edged the U.S. 10-9.
The U.S. won eight and Canada two of the previous 10 world tournaments, which are held every four years. Canada won it all in 1978 and in 2006.
Geoff Snider scored three goals in having his best game of the tournament against Australia. Garrett Billings, Rhys Duch and Kevin Huntley got two each, John Grant, Kevin Crowley, Brodie Merrill, Dan Dawson, Mark Steenhuis and Ryan McClelland chipped in with one each and Chris Sanderson earned the goaltending victory.
The score didn't reflect Canada's early problems getting things going. Attacker Zack Greer sat out with what Huntley said was a case of food poisoning and his absence forced changes in the offensive scheme of things. It took a while to adjust.
It was 2-2 at the end of one quarter and Australia led 3-2 early in the second quarter.
Then came the turning point. Crowley dodged a check and fed Billings for a clean shot resulting in a tying goal before Snider won the ensuing faceoff and ran through the Aussie defence to score the goal that put Canada ahead for good.
"You see what opens up and if it opens up you make the play," Snider said. "That's one thing coach Huntley has worked a lot with me on -- making educated decisions around taking chances.
"The opportunity was there and I took a chance and it worked out for the best."
Grant made it 5-3 with one of the trick shots for which he's famous. He was being checked as he ran towards the crease and, with one hand on his stick, swung it to shoot between his legs and bounce the ball in.
"I've been doing it for a few years now," he said. "It was at a crucial and we were kind of reeling there.
"It was a good time for it, but I've got to play much better."
Grant left the field muttering about "the six open nets I missed" and Steenhuis said the goal of getting to the final was accomplished after a strong 5-0 fourth quarter but "we have lots to think about and reflect on this game to see where we went wrong and what to correct for the next one."
Alex Brown scored two goals for the Aussies.
"It was a really good game by the Aussie boys," he said. "We came into the game as underdogs but we still had a strong belief we could tough it out with the best.
"We can improve a lot going forward. I'm really proud of the boys."
Brown's team has played both Canada and the United States and he picks Canada to win.
"I like Canada because its inside ball movement is by far better than that of the Americans," he said, "and there's no egos."
The Australian defence is comprised of a big and rough bunch of checkers who got away with a lot of unpunished fouls Thursday. Late in the first quarter, star Canadian defender Merrill was slashed between the legs and had to leave the game for 10 minutes, and there was no penalty assessed.
Canada's coach wasn't going to quibble about how slow his team started.
"The Australians came out strong," said Huntley. "They played terrific in the first quarter but I thought our guys played pretty well, too.
"We missed some easy chances. It was a close game (early on) and credit to them for hanging in there but credit our guys for staying focused and finally pulling away."
Huntley is well aware of what his team will face Saturday as the Americans try to win back the title they yielded four years ago in London, Ont.
"They have a great big-game goaltender in Brian Dougherty, their defence is solid -- great sticks and off-ball guys -- and at the midfield they've got a lot of two-way guys who can defend but also play great offence, and their attack has some terrific finishers and passers," he said. "I don't think there is any one aspect of their game that scares us. We respect all parts of their game."