Cassese heads to England for World Championships
7/13/2010 3:34:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the next two weeks, Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese will trade in his Brown and White for the Red, White and Blue, as he will represent the United States at the 2010 FIL World Championships, July 15-24 in Manchester England. This will be the third World Championships for Cassese, who won a gold medal with Team USA in 2002 and a silver medal in 2006. Last week, prior to Team USA’s final exhibition game on American soil, it was announced that Cassese and former Syracuse standout Ryan Powell were voted co-captains for the squad.
“I am absolutely humbled and incredibly honored by this selection,” said Cassese, who recently completed his third season as Lehigh’s head coach. “It means a lot to be named captain, but it means more when your teammates are the ones who select you. To be named co-captain of Team USA along with my good friend and lacrosse legend Ryan Powell is without a doubt the highest honor I have received in my entire playing career. We have a tremendous group of leaders on this team, and I look forward to working with all of them to help this team realize its full potential.”
Last week, Team USA played the last of three exhibition games before leaving for England, as the Americans defeated the MLL All-Stars in the MLL All-Star Game in Cambridge, Mass. The win moved Team USA’s record to 2-1 in exhibitions. Team USA opened its exhibition slate with a 12-11 loss to the MLL College All-Stars on June 6 before beating the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association All-Stars 15-8 on June 19.
“Our exhibition slate did not start on an incredibly high note,” explained Cassese. We struggled against the MLL College Stars, but I believe that was a good thing for this team. At the time, it showed us that it was okay to struggle, especially early on in the team building process, as long as we could learn from it and use it to get better.
Cassese continued, “Our exhibition against the PLA All-Stars at Lehigh served as a tremendous momentum builder and re-established the culture of winning that has been so prevalent over the years in the US Lacrosse Organization. In the end, there is no doubt that we made the most progress as a team during our week long training camp at Bryant University (July 5-10), which was capped with a one goal come from behind win against the MLL All-Stars on Thursday night. It was a great week all around for team bonding off the field and installing big picture systems on the field. We learned a lot about who we are and what we have to do in order to be successful over in Manchester.”
Team USA arrived in Manchester Tuesday morning and had a practice scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. The Americans will play the host English in an exhibition game on Wednesday, before the Championships kick-off with the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday. Team USA will begin its quest for Gold on Friday when round-robin competition gets underway against Australia.
“I love our team,” said Cassese. “We have unselfish players. We have incredible coaches. We have a support staff that is second to none. We certainly have enough talent to win the gold medal, but talent is not enough in the World Championship setting. We need to continue to develop as a team and we need to continue to grow as a family. We must take pride in the fact that we have earned the right to wear the Red, White, and Blue, but we must realize that just because we do, doesn't mean we deserve to win.”
Saturday the Americans will face Canada in a rematch of the 2006 Gold Medal Game, won by Canada. Cassese will see a familiar face on the opposing sidelines on Saturday as Lehigh assistant coach Taylor Wray is on the coaching staff for team Canada.
Team USA opens the World Championships on Friday against Australia with the opening face-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (BST) from Manchester England. Pool play continues through July 20, with the semifinals and finals scheduled for July 22 and 24 respectively.
Team USA World Championships Schedule
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Date |
Opponent |
Game Time (BST) |
|
July 16 |
Australia |
7:30 |
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July 17 |
Canada |
7:30 |
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July 18 |
Iroquois Nation |
4:30 |
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July 19 |
England |
7:30 |
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July 20 |
Japan |
1:30 |
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July 22 |
TBD (Semifinals) |
|
|
July 24 |
TBD (Championship Game) |
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