UPDATE: Bella Marie Powell, daughter to Casey and Lisa Powell, was born Wednesday, July 19, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Ontario around 3:30 p.m., after this story was written. See the blog for more details. --MD

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July 19, 2006

Casey Powell could not help but acknowledge the irony, that 18 hours after U.S. teammate Doug Shanahan's first child was born, his own newborn was apparently on her way.

 

Shanahan got a call from Chicago at 6:45 p.m. that his wife, Jess, had just given birth to the couple's first child -- a girl, Riley Lynn. Powell, U.S. team captain for the International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) World Championships, then left the team before Tuesday's game against Japan after receiving word that his wife, Lisa, was also in labor at a hospital in London.

 

"He actually just said something to me [Tuesday] before he found out," Shanahan said of Powell. "He said we must have been snuggling up at about the same time nine months ago."

 

"We conceived over in the Hawaii [club lacrosse] tournament," Powell added proudly.

 

Powell's call, however, was a false alarm. He says Lisa, who's due July 27, could go into labor at any moment. There's no telling.

 

Shanahan, meanwhile, chose to stay in London to complete his task in helping Team USA to its seventh consecutive world title. He was joined here by his mother and stepfather shortly after they left Chicago.

 

"A lot of guys are having a hard time understanding why I'm here," Shanahan said. "But this may or may not be my last chance at a world championship. I tell ya' what, though, I'm definitely going to have more kids."

 

Both players have held important roles for the U.S., which finished 5-0 in pool play -- including a last-second win over Canada on Sunday -- to earn a bye in today's crossover round. Team USA plays the winner of today's crossover game between Australia and Ireland on Thursday at TD Waterhouse Stadium.

 

Powell has been a consistent contributor, garnering 14 points on seven goals and seven assists in four games played. Shanahan, an All-World midfielder in the 2002 championships in Australia, has been Team USA's most reliable faceoff option. He's 42-of-62 (67.7 percent) thus far.

 

In 2002, under then-head coach Jack Emmer, the U.S. team was comprised mostly of athletes just out of college. Seven players (Shanahan, Mike Powell, Matt Striebel, Trevor Tierney, Ryan Boyle, Todd Rassas and Kevin Cassese) have returned for this latest bid at international supremacy. The consensus among them is that this team is more professional, as evident in that all of them have at some time played professionally for Major League Lacrosse, and more mature.

 

The baby boom is reflective of that.

 

Powell and Shanahan are only the most recent to venture into parenthood. Within the last year, Ryan Curtis, A.J. Haugen, Rassas and Roy Colsey (his second) have all become fathers to newborns. Even equipment manager Jimmy Butler, a staple of the U.S. National Teams Program, saw the birth of his second child after a Team USA exhibition June 25 in Philadelphia. Ryan Powell and Christian Cook are both engaged. Pat McCabe, 37, is married with three kids. There are very few among the 23 players who maintain the play-hard, party-hard mantra of those who won the gold medal in 2002.

 

"That team needed to be managed more," said general manager Chris Hupfeldt.

 

"It's interesting," Mike Powell said. "Last time it was obviously a young team, and really I was the youngest. I thought I'd be a bit of an 'older guy' this time, but now all this baby stuff is going on."

 

Of his sister-in-law's pregnancy, he added, '"It's been the talk of the family. She really enjoys watching Casey play."

 

"There are a lot of fathers on this team, and I've certainly been getting a lot of advice," said Casey Powell, who turned 30 in February. "I'm joining the ranks of an older squad. We are older but certainly experienced, not just in lacrosse. It's exciting to share our stories with each other. It's a very special thing to be a father. These guys speak very highly of it."

 

Said Shanahan: "You handle the pressure in a more mature manner. It's very business-like. You know what to expect. A lot of these guys have been around the block, both on and off the field."

 

At times, the team's maturity has reflected in its play, Shanahan said. He referenced Sunday's win over Canada, when John Grant Jr. had apparently scored the go-ahead goal with 17 seconds remaining. But when officials ruled it a crease violation, the Americans were off and running on a fast break -- one which ultimately yielded the legitimate game-winner by Jay Jalbert with three seconds remaining for a 13-12 U.S. victory.

 

"That takes the experience and mentality to get that done," Shanahan said.

 

So are we witnessing the next generation of lacrosse superstars with this baby boom? Maybe in the women's game. Curtis, Haugen, Rassas, Shanahan and, soon enough, Casey Powell are all fathers to young daughters.

 

Colsey's the exception. His two-month old son Kyle joins 2-year-old brother Ryan.

 

"There are a lot of girls being born, so we're hoping to take that U.S. women's title back from Australia (which defeated the U.S. last year in the IFWLA World Cup, the women's lacrosse equivalent of an ILF championship) in 16 to 20 years," joked Casey Powell. "And we're definitely going to keep our kids away from Roy's."