Seven Deadly Threats: Kayla Treanor's Plans for the Greatest Attack Ever Assembled

U.S. Women’s National Team offensive coordinator Kayla Treanor has a single word or phrase to describe each of the seven players aiming to comprise arguably the greatest attacking unit anyone’s ever seen when the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship begins this weekend in Tokyo, Japan.

She can rattle them off without much thought. It’s clearly something she’s spent plenty of time daydreaming about. Who could blame her?

In Treanor’s opinion, Sam Apuzzo is “the best player in the world.” Charlotte North is simply “electric.” Izzy Scane’s “an absolute beast.” Madison Taylor is the “most incredible competitor.”

Emma LoPinto? She’s just “smooth.” Chloe Humphrey’s “special.” Kenzie Kent leaves Treanor lost for words. “One of one” is what she eventually settles on.

Combined, they account for 1,950 goals, 773 assists, 2,723 points and six Tewaaraton Awards at the collegiate level. “Wow” is the word Treanor and the rest of the coaching staff hope fans utter when they see these seven in action.

“Our three pillars for offense are that we want them to play unselfish, we want them to play fast, and we want them to be creative,” Treanor said. “Creative is in there because it’s really important.”

There aren’t any “me, me, me” personalities on the roster, though it’s impossible to gloss over that each of the seven were alpha-type players on their respective college offenses. Apuzzo and Kent coexisted quite nicely at Boston College, as did Scane and Taylor during the two seasons they overlapped at Northwestern. But largely, each individual was the go-to star.

Treanor doesn’t want the killer instincts that come with being that talented to go away. In fact, she wants them to lean into those traits. She wants them always playing confident.

“Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] talked about when he was coaching the U.S. [men’s basketball team], like, ‘Don’t leave your ego at the door. Bring it in this room. We need you to be you and be your best,’” Treanor said. “That’s so true. I think about that coaching this U.S. team.”

Treanor can captivate the offense whenever it huddles together at training camps. She’s played alongside or coached with several of its parts, but when she speaks, the respect she’s earned as is evident.

Head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein has given her assistants autonomy to implement what they please, and Treanor has knowledge in spades. She cheers loudly when she sees her players succeed in a drill or implement a new part of the offense.

The Treanor YouTube highlights were on repeat for many of these players growing up. She’s the all-time leading scorer in U.S. National Team history. She coaches how she played.

“I hope people want to watch how I played. That’s a great compliment,” Treanor said. “I never wanted to be a boring player. I wanted to be electric and fun to watch.”

Her players certainly take after her. Watch any game, college or professional in the Women’s Lacrosse League, and you’ll see their flare on display.

North, perhaps the biggest face of the women’s game between her professional career and work as an analyst on ESPN, is 11th all time with 23 goals for the U.S. women’s team. No. 1 all time is Treanor with 44.

Humphrey and Taylor share the NCAA Division I single-season goals record with 109. Scane is second all-time in Division I with 483 points. LoPinto scored 125-plus goals at two schools. Kent sat out with 2018 season to play ice hockey and came back in 2019 to post a career-high 127 points.

“It’s hard to get it wrong with this group of players,” Treanor said.