Peter Friedensohn?s children gave him an awesome Father?s Day gift this year. Then they topped it, just in time for his birthday.
Friedensohn, a practicing physician in Quincy who was instrumental in founding Milton?s youth lacrosse program, sometimes still can?t believe it all happened. ?Recruited? to help coach Israel?s women?s lacrosse team by his youngest daughter, Alyson, Friedensohn and his kids ? Alyson, Caitlin and Molly, along with son Blair ? traveled to Amsterdam just after Father?s Day to compete in the 2012 European Championships. By the time he celebrated his birthday July 20, everyone had returned home from the June 25-30 event as a champion.
?It was not something we had anticipated,? said Friedensohn, a standout during his days at Dartmouth who co-coached the women?s team with Bonnie Rosen, a National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee who coaches the women?s team at Temple University. ?At times we had our work cut out for us as coaches.?
The Israeli women?s team, which participated in the Festival portion of the Championships (true ?national? teams participated at a different, higher level) featured an eclectic mix of talent and experience.
Some of the 10 players who came to the tournament from Israel had never played at an elite level. That wasn?t the case with the U.S-based players of Jewish descent, but some of them ? including Molly Friedensohn, the senior player on the roster (she?ll soon turn 29) and Caitlin, 27 ? hadn?t played competitively since graduating from Columbia and Tufts universities, respectively.
There was chemistry, though. The Friedensohn sisters, all Milton Academy products, performed as if they?d shared the same field forever, even though they?d never played on the same team together. Alyson, the youngest of the group at 22, also had a pre-existing connection with scoring star Kim Dubansky, a teammate at Johns Hopkins University.
?As the week evolved,? Peter Friedensohn said, ?it did become a team.?
The Friedensohn sisters were a major factor. Although all three are more accustomed to playing the attack position, Caitlin was switched to defense, Alyson played midfield and Molly stayed up front. Molly and Alyson finished second and fourth, respectively, on Israel?s scoring list.
?They had what was like a sixth sense for each other,? Friedensohn said. ?Towards the third or fourth day, we were controlling the whole length of the field, and my daughters were integrated, link-to-link-to-link. It was really cool. That chemistry I was hoping for did happen.?
As busy as Friedensohn was coaching, certain moments became immediately indelible. Some were of a religious or cultural nature, with a team visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and the traditional post-game exchange of team pins with a club from Hamburg, Germany, especially powerful.
On the field, there was Israel?s tournament-opening goal, scored by Molly on a pass from Alyson, a game-extending defensive stop by Caitlin in Israel?s 8-7, overtime win over Global Players (a barnstorming group of American and British players, Global Players had beaten Israel twice in round robin competition, and held a 6-3 lead in the final), and Molly?s pass to 17-year-old Felicia Tissenbaum for the OT winner in the final. Earlier in the day, Israel had come from behind to beat USA Starz in the semifinals.
?Molly played unbelievably well, for someone who hadn?t played in a long time,? Friedensohn said. ?She can still shoot.
?Caitlin completely bought into the fact that she was the center of our defense, and Alyson played fabulously well, really helped us just dominate midfield.?
Meanwhile, Dartmouth-bound Blair was leading Israel?s men?s Festival team, playing goal (his usual position) in the semifinals and final, while also taking turns on defense during the round robin games.
There?s a chance that some members of the Friedensohn family will participate in future, higher-profile international events, such as next year?s Women?s World Cup in Oshawa, Ont., or the 2014 Men?s World Cup in Denver. However that works out, none will forget winning Festival titles at the 2012 European Championships ? especially their father.
?It was an incredible experience,? Peter Friedensohn said. ?I can?t even tell you how proud I am.?
Mike Loftus may be reached at mloftus@ledger.com.
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