Q&A: World Champion Austin Henningsen
7/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
The U19 United States Men's Larosse Team recently claimed the World Championship title after defeating Canada, 13-12, in dramatic fashion in the championship game. Rising sophomore Austin Henningsen was named to the All-World Team after winning 67 percent of faceoffs in the tournament, while incoming freshman Jared Bernhardt was named the Most Valuable Player after totaling 10 goals and five assists in six games.
Austin recently gave some insight on what it was like to play for Team USA and win gold!
What was it like representing Team USA?
It was an honor to put the jersey on for the first time – it was a much different experience from when we put the jersey on in training camp. We knew it was the real deal because we were facing a terrific opponent in Canada on our first day there. It was just a terrific feeling and an honorable moment to be representing the country by wearing the USA jersey.
How do you think the team responded after trailing Canada at halftime in the finals?
Going through the tournament we felt that the only way we could lose was if we beat ourselves. Against Canada we were doing just that up until halftime and we weren't performing well. We came out of halftime and it was an 8-2 deficit and we just came out firing. We knew we could beat them since we beat them in the group stage. We came out firing in the second half and took it to them.
What was going through your head when you officially won the title?
It was a crazy feeling because we were trailing by six goals and then we were able to pull out the win in the final seconds of the game on Ryan Conrad's goal. We just couldn't believe we won after being down by so much. We all knew we could beat Canada going into the game, but I think that's why we were so flat in the first half. Give Canada credit – they definitely gave us a scare – but, in the second half we came out like we should have been playing the whole game and pulled out the win.
What did you see from future Terp Jared Bernhardt?
Jared is a very, very good athlete. He runs like a deer and can really fire the ball. He's a true attackman, but like a lot of guys on the team, his role changed and he played midfield for us. He can run up and down the field so well. I just can't wait for him to come to Maryland and play with us because he's a phenomenal player and athlete.
Did you have a favorite moment from the trip?
It was definitely great to see the assistant coach of the Australian team, Matt Schomburg, who I am good friends with. He trained me to faceoff when I was young and it was great to see him before the game. Before we played Australia he just told me, 'Good luck and take it easy on us.' (laughs)
What did you most gain from the experience?
I think it was just another level of competition to play against. It was a lot different from the college game rules-wise because of the international rules. I wouldn't necessarily say it was as high of a level as college lacrosse because it was U19, but I think it was valuable to play on the international level against different competition.
What are your plans for the rest of the summer?
It has been a long year since we went to the NCAA title game in May, so I'm just trying to get some rest and relax for the rest of the summer.
-TERPS-
