WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY

As a standout college lacrosse player at Syracuse, Becca Block traveled around the Big East conference and the country, her team knocking off some of the strongest programs in the nation and three times reaching the NCAA final four.

After graduating in 2013, the Stratham native moved smartly into the coaching ranks, doing stints at Vermont, Michigan, Florida and -— currently -— Oregon.

But this month’s travel means a little bit more. On Thursday, Block and the U.S. Women’s National Team will open up the defense of its FIL Women’s World Cup title against Scotland in Guildford, England.

The 10-day tournament will give the Americans a chance to reinforce their status as the best side in international play, and give first-time World Cup participants like Block, a 26-year-old defender, a chance to compete at the pinnacle of the sport.

“Obviously, the closer we get to that you can tell it’s crunch time,” she said a couple weeks ago. “The anticipation is high.”

The U.S. team met in Washington, D.C., and flew to London last Wednesday. It scrimmaged Scotland on Saturday and Japan on Sunday, and broke its camp on Monday to travel to Guildford in preparation for Wednesday’s opening ceremony.

This tournament has been nearly five years in the making for Block, who starred at Governor’s Academy and Syracuse alongside twin sister Linley. During what would become an All-American senior year at ‘Cuse, she made the 36-player national team pool leading up the 2013 World Cup but was not chosen for the final roster.

This time around, she secured her spot among the final 18 players when the roster was announced in January.

“The first thing you notice is her speed,” said U.S. coach Ricky Fried, before the team flew to England. “She’s great through the midfield and has really developed as an individual defender. … She can really cover a lot of ground in a short time, which is a key to this defense.

“Not a lot of people prepare for defenders, but her athleticism is really something you notice and have to plan for.”

At Syracuse, the defense Block played was more of a zone style, relying on each player to take care of positional responsibilities.

With the U.S. national team, with which she’s practiced off and on since 2012, there’s more reliance on an aggressive, man-to-man style that forces opponents into mistakes.

“I think every defense, whether it’s zone or man, your main goal is you have to stop players,” said Block. “It was a little bit of an adjustment the first couple years I was on the (national) team, a little more high-pressure than you’d see in college.”

Block is part of a star-studded defense that includes former North Carolina standouts Kristen Carr and Jenn Russell, and Maryland products Alice Mercer and Megan Douty.

“She does a great job,” said Russell. “She’s a tremendous player and athlete in general.”

The U.S. has won this tournament seven times, including the last two in 2009 and ‘13, and is the top-ranked team in international play, followed by Canada, Australia and England. After five pool-play games, it should find itself in the July 19 quarterfinals. The semis are a day later, and the gold- and bronze-medal games will be played July 22.

Later this summer, Block will return to Oregon, where she’ll begin her second year there as an assistant coach on Katrina Dowd’s staff. The Ducks went 9-8 this past spring, losing in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation; next year, the Pac-12 will begin sponsoring women’s lacrosse with Arizona State giving the league a sixth team.

“It’s been awesome there,” said Block. “(The season) didn’t end the way we wanted it to end, but it was fun.”

The next two weeks in England figure to be pretty special for her, too.

“My whole family’s going over, at different times,” she said. “I can’t wait.”

FIL WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

At Guildford, England

All times EST

July 12: Opening Ceremony

July 13: USA vs. Scotland, 10 a.m.

July 14: USA vs. Australia, 10 a.m.

July 15: USA vs. England, 1 p.m.

July 16: USA vs. Canada, 1 p.m.

July 18: USA vs. Wales, noon

July 19: Quarterfinals

July 20: Semifinals

July 22: Bronze-medal game, 7 a.m.; gold-medal game, 10 a.m.