Walker-Weinstein 'Blown Away' By Leadership on U.S. Women's National Team

TOKYO — The U.S. Women’s National Team, its coaches and its support staff all gathered in the narrow hallway on the 20th floor of the Prince Hotel Shinagawa for a team meeting.

Efforts to gain access to a banquet hall a few floors down proved fruitless, so this had to do. Athletes adjust, after all.

They sat with their binders and laptops as they went through a brief scout of Israel, the team’s semifinal opponent Friday at 7 p.m. local time (6 a.m. Eastern time). But just before they talked tendencies, they talked leadership.

“This is all working and thriving because of our leadership,” head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. “I just want everyone to just take a minute to be grateful for the exceptional leadership.”

The product the United States has put on the field through four games has looked effortless — but it’s been anything but. There’s been intentionality behind everything, and the leadership reflects that. Sam Apuzzo, Kenzie Kent, Marie McCool and Caylee Waters were named co-captains because of their lacrosse smarts and ability to lead.

And while they spearhead those leadership efforts, coordinating team bonding exercises and disseminating information from the coaching staff to the rest of the team, others lead in their own way.

Walker-Weinstein praised a handful of other players on the offensive side — Ally Kennedy, Ally Mastroianni and Izzy Scane — for fostering the unselfish personality the offense has developed. She praised Charlotte North for staying engaged and being a motivator on the sideline as she recovers from an Achilles injury. There are others, too, like Sydney Scales being both a shutdown defender and a vocal leader for the unit.

“They're compromising their own individual spotlight or individual success to ensure that we're meeting the mark,” Walker-Weinstein said. “It's almost like the young guys are getting the spotlight, and I think that's just an incredible way to lead. It's incredibly unselfish, and I'm blown away by it.”

When the USA offense is working — which it mostly has during the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship — it’s a sight to behold. The ball flies from the midfield into the attacking zone and then whips around the cage until a good look turns into a great look. Walker-Weinstein wants “layups,” and that can’t happen without an extra pass or two every possession.

The U.S. has outscored its four opponents 83-16, and 54 of those goals have been assisted. Chloe Humphrey is second in the tournament with eight assists, while Eliza Osburn and Apuzzo both have six. Kennedy, Emma LoPinto, Madison Taylor and Brigid Duffy all have five.

This isn’t an offense that’s predicated on a single player initiating through X and racking up assists on her own. It’s a team game. They’ve assisted from X and from goal-line extended and from the wings. Passing creatively, more so than shooting creatively, has become a pillar of the team.

Box scores don’t tell everything, but every USA box score thus far would support the team’s unselfish attitude. The U.S. has received goals from exactly 12 players in each of its four games. Despite the gaudy numbers, nobody has scored more than five times in a game.

“You get here and you want to get yours, but they're not playing like that,” Walker-Weinstein said. “It's just such great leadership. And I think that's why everything's working.”

Instead, players have embraced their roles. Mastroianni could be the top scorer on just about every other team in Tokyo, but she has embraced expending her energy on draws. Against Chinese Taipei, she controlled 13 draws to set a single-game U.S. record and the career U.S. record.

Players like McCool, Kennedy, Duffy and Emma Muchnick have embraced being bulldogs. They fight for ground balls and push the ball up the field. If the layup is there, then great — but they’re more than happy to be a piece of the puzzle rather than the full picture.

That will have to continue up and down the roster as the stakes get higher. It’s win or go home with a gold medal on the line should the U.S. get past Israel, a team that has burst onto the scene in the tournament behind a draw ace in Racheli Levy-Smith and star attacker in Jordyn Lipkin, who leads the event in goals.

After seeing what the U.S. is capable of doing, Walker-Weinstein is feeling good about her chances.

“I knew this was going to be a good team,” she said, “but I'm just blown away at how bought in they are.”