National Teams Debut at Stars and Stripes Weekend

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The US Lacrosse Women’s Division National Teams Program debuted its three squads on the field of play on Sunday, October 1 as part of the organization’s inaugural Stars and Stripes Weekend at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School near the nation’s capital. The 2006-07 Elite, Developmental and Under-19 Training squads entertained visiting college and club teams for a day of scrimmage-games that capped off a weekend of team practices and instructional clinics for youth and high school lacrosse players.

College teams at North Carolina, Richmond and Virginia joined two Mid-Atlantic club programs to provide the opposition for the U.S. teams. Sunday’s play-day attracted about 1,000 parents, fans and youth players from the area.

The most dramatic contest proved to be an 11-11 tie between the Tar Heels and the U.S. Elite team. Kristen Kjellman scored on a pass from Lindsey Munday with 30 seconds left to tie the game for the Elite team, which rallied from an 11-9 deficit late in the contest. It was Munday’s third assist of the game and the third goal for Kjellman, who is now a senior at Northwestern under Wildcats assistant coach Munday. Earlier, Georgetown alumna Michi Ellers netted her second goal of the contest to put the U.S. in striking distance. Kristen Taylor and Melissa McCarthy scored three goals apiece to pace North Carolina.

"It’s our first time as a unit playing against someone else," said Sue Heether, head coach of the Elite team, which was selected following a three-day tryout in August. "The attack’s working well. In the critical scoring area, we seem to be putting the ball in the net from bad angles – which is nice. It makes us happy that we’re winning, but we’re not utilizing the best part of the field. So, we’ve got some work to do."

Earlier, the U.S. Elite squad scored a 14-5 win over Virginia. The Wildcat duo of Kjellman (4g) and Munday (3g, 2a) again led the way for the U.S., which also benefited from three markers from national team veteran Quinn Carney (Maryland ’01).

"Starting a new team and getting to play with each other is a little hard at first," said Munday. "Getting that chemistry going is something that we’ve been working on."

The U.S. Developmental team used four goals and two assists from Mary Key (Johns Hopkins ’07) to pull away from North Carolina, 10-6. Key accounted for three goals during a nine-minute, 4-0 run for the U.S. that turned a 6-4 lead into a commanding 10-4 advantage. She assisted Megan Burker (Stanford ’07) and Jessica Lieb (Penn State ’08) before tallying an unassisted marker at 13:05 to seal it. Blair Weymouth (Virginia ’09) scored three times in the first half for the U.S., while the Heels got good balance with six players tallying goals.

U.S. goalie Amy Altig (James Madison ’05) went the distance and made a number of saves from point-blank range to help keep North Carolina at bay.

"The thing that she does well -- even if she’s not playing as well as she can – is that she’s still a real presence in goal," said Developmental team head coach Amy Patton. "That’s what shined today – her presence and her command of the defense.

"I was pretty impressed with the way we played. Defensively, we’re playing a high, high-pressure defense. On both ends, that creates some sort of tempo that you’re trying to control -- forcing the play defensively, and then on attack, having the poise to work for the good shot."

The lone team preparing for an upcoming International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations (IFWLA) competition is the U.S. U-19 Training team, a 24-player squad also selected at an August tryout. This team will compete in the 2007 IFWLA U-19 World Championship, which is set for Aug. 3-11 in Ontario, Canada. The U-19 squad handled the Skywalkers club, 15-6, before pulling away from M&D, 9-7.

"The goal for the weekend was just to get to know each other, to get comfortable on the field," said Wendy Kridel, head coach of the U.S. U-19 Training team.

"We started out, as we might have expected, a little nervous with a little overcompensating for nervousness – you get some slow feet, a quick stick, a few more fouls than you wanted to. We were able to settle down and play more comfortably."

For more information on the US Lacrosse Women’s Division National Teams Program or to make a donation in support of the 2007 U.S. U-19 team, please visit www.uslacrosse.org and click on "National Teams."

U.S. Elite Team 14, Virginia 5
Goals
USA: Kristen Kjellman 4, Quinn Carney 3, Lindsey Munday 3, Katie Chrest 2, Michele DeJuliis, Acacia Walker.
UVA: Ashley McCulloch 2, Whit Hagerman, Megan Havrilla, Yeardley Love.
Assists
USA: Michele DeJuliis 2, Lindsey Munday 2, Sarah Albrecht, Lindsey Biles, Michi Ellers, Allison Evans, Leigh Jester.
UVA: Kate Breslin, Allo Perry.
Saves
USA: Devon Wills 5, Laura Shane 3.
UVA: 15.
Draw Controls
USA: 11. UVA: 10.

U.S. Elite Team 11, North Carolina 11
Goals
USA: Michele DeJuliis 3, Kristen Kjellman 3, Michi Ellers 2, Amy Appelt, Katie Chrest, Lindsey Munday.
UNC: Melissa McCarthy 3, Kristen Taylor 3, Chrissy Rude 2, Jess Allen, Christina Juras, Chelsea Parks.
Assists
USA: Lindsey Munday 3, Sarah Albrecht, Quinn Carney.
UNC: Chrissy Rude 2, Kelly Taylor, Kristen Taylor.
Saves
USA: 5.
UNC: 9.
Draw Controls
USA: 15. UNC: 9.

U.S. Developmental Team 10, North Carolina 6
Goals
USA: Mary Key 4, Blair Weymouth 3, Jessica Lieb 2, Megan Burker.
UNC: Jess Allen, Meg Freshwater, Christina Juras, Melissa McCarthy, Chrissy Rude, Julia Ryan.
Assists
USA: Mary Key 2, Caroline Cryer.
UNC: (None.)
Halftime: USA 5-3.

U.S. Under-19 Training Team 15, Skywalkers 6
Goals
USA: Erin Brennan 3, Shaylyn Blaney 2, Jordyn Kirr 2, Kailene Abt, Sarah Bullard, Allyson Carey, Virginia Crotty, Karri Ellen Johnson, Josie Owen, Chelsea Robinson, Shannon Smith.
Skywalkers: Christie Kaestner, Corey Donohoe, Maria Fortino, Colby Rhea.
Halftime: USA 8-5.

U.S. Under-19 Training Team 9, M&D 7
Goals
USA: Sarah Bullard 3, Josie Owen 2, Kailene Abt, Shaylyn Blaney, Karri Ellen Johnson, Colleen Magarity.
M&D: Jacqueline Doherty 2, Rachel Serio 2, Kathryn Collins, Jacqueline Orona, Kira Paterakis.
Assists
USA: Shaylyn Blaney, Sarah Bullard, Emma Hamm.
M&D: Alicia Krause.
Halftime: Tied 5-5.