Teammates on Kristen

Tough Cookie! When she sets up to mark someone one-on-one, it’s a scary thing… a fierce, determined player…really fun to watch...strong in transition…reads space very well as a defender…has a ‘don’t mess with me’ attitude…lighthearted and fun off the field.

U.S. Team

• Making first FIL World Cup appearance
• One of three former Tar Heels on the roster (Falcone, Russell)
• U.S. National Team (2011-13)

College

• IWLCA All-America first team (2010)
• All-ACC first team (2010)
• North Carolina’s all-time (174) and single season (64) leader in draw controls

Off the Field

• Assistant women’s lacrosse coach at Delaware

Getting to Know…

• Nickname: Cookie
• Other sports played in high school: Soccer, basketball
• Visited any foreign countries: Greece, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain
• Favorite athlete from another sport: Mia Hamm
• Best advice received from a coach: “Crush it.”
• Strengths as a player: Strength, speed, passion and being a student of the game.
• What should every player at your position be able to do on the field: As a defender, you need to communicate (talking and listening) and play as a unit.
• Most important part of your game preparation: I take at least 5-10 minutes to warm up and cool down before every workout. I take pride in my workouts and want to get the most out of them. I try to think about what my “future self” would say about this workout.
• Game-day ritual: I listen to the “Inches” speech by Al Pacino from “Any Given Sunday.” It’s hard to pick just one line that I like, but if I did: “In any fight, it is the guy who is willing to die, who is going to win that inch…Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you. You are going to see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows when it comes down to it, you are gonna do the same thing for him.”
• Tip for young players: Have fun, try something new, ask questions, never settle.
• Best lacrosse moment: I have to say it is a toss-up between beating Maryland at home on senior day in 2010 and beating Notre Dame in the NCAA quarterfinals in 2009 (junior year), which took North Carolina to the Final Four for the first time since 2002.