The United States comes into this contest feeling the effects of physical play. The scoreboard has not reflected as much but the roster definitely has. With England on its heels in the competition after successive losses, these could end up being a physical affair between the two.
Midfield depth might be an issue with Coach Meade, as Kyle Harrison and Dan Burns have both been hit with the injuries. Harrison missed the last game, being replaced in the midfield by Ned Crotty. Fortunately for the United States, if need be, the defensive midfielders and attackmen are versatile enough to make the transition. They won’t be as dynamic as the starting six midfielders, but they will not hurt the team.
David Lawson has been a welcome addition to the roster. His shot for outside forces defenses to step out to him and he can play both ends of the field. Paul Rabil has also been playing a more two-way game than the crowd is used to seeing from him. He was isolated a number of times and didn’t get give up opportunities to score. Kevin Buchanan has registered three points in two of the three games so far in the tournament.
The attack has been working well even though most of the initiation has started from the midfield. Marcus Holman, Garrett Thul, and Ned Crotty have the ability to play both midfield and attack, which has been a benefit for the United States given the recent rash of injuries.
The United States defense has been ruthless on the opposition. They held Canada to just six goals. The combination of Tucker Durkin, Lee Zink, and Michael Evans has been as good as advertised. They are relentless on the opposing players, continually hounding ground balls and making their presence felt all over the field.
The goalie rotation will likely continue until the medal rounds, but it looks like Jesse Schwartzman is the number one by a good margin. In the game against Canada, the defense and goalie needed to stay strong until the offense started clicking. It did and went on an eight-goal run to get the victory. Even though he was injured in recent competition, Schwartzman will be the leader down the stretch and Drew Adams should get the nod against England today.
England has been on the wrong end of the scoreboard in their first three contests. The last game against rival Australia ended with the teams in a scuffle, so the team is obviously eager to get on the right side of the scoring column. The Iroquois and Canada both won big against England. Their last game was a three-goal loss to Australia.
No player on the roster has scored more than two goals in a game so far in this tournament. They are getting shots on goal, but not lighting the scoreboard. The highest goal total for anyone on the roster is three and none have scored in every game. The defense is going to have to be ready for a fight trying to keep the United States off the scoreboard.
With that being said, England has its hands full in this tilt against a heavily favorite United States. Depending on how the coaching staff for the United States uses its players, which might be looking to rest some legs for the contest, the score will likely be lopsided in the contest. Look for the United States to come out quickly thanks to Chris Eck at the face off circle and coast to a 4-0 record.
