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Record Participation, Exhibitions Highlight Day 1 at WDNT
 BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Record participation numbers and exhibitions featuring the U.S. team and the nation's top high school seniors and club-level players highlighted the first day of the 72nd annual US Lacrosse Women's Division National Tournament, presented by YOLO Sportswear and the Heather Leigh Albert Foundation, at Lehigh University today.
A record 44 teams are competing in the high school division, comprised mainly of juniors and sophomores, for the Valerie Walchak trophy, awarded annually to the division champion and symbolizing the nation's top region-based team. Nearly 70 teams, including some 1,400 players at the high school senior level, college club level and post-collegiate club level, are participating in the two-day event, which also honors valuable contributors to women's lacrosse from the past year.
Some of the action from Lehigh:
Team Play Better as U.S. Edges Club All-Stars, 7-6
A searing, low-to-high rocket shot started on a move from behind the cage by Michele DeJuliis with 3:00 to play allowed the U.S. team to edge a team of club all-stars, 7-6, tonight before about 500 at Ulrich Field. The victory broke a two-year hex the U.S. had in its annual exhibition against club-level greats at the National Tournament.
But coach Sue Heether isn't as concerned about wins as losses at this point as she is about her team's improving play, which she says she saw more of in this game.
"We improved tremendously from January," said Heether, referring to her squad's exhibition loss to Northwestern in Florida four months ago. "Today our defense was much, much improved. I was very impressed by that. In the midfield, we did not concede it or open it up as much as we did against Northwestern.
"We actually got into our offensive set a couple times. With them getting comfortable with our offensive set, which is different than what they're used to in college, I think it'll be much more productive as we go along. But tonight when we did execute, we had two wide-open goals and they saw the light bulbs go off. They looked at each other and had a little more confidence in everybody."
DeJuliis' blast put the U.S. ahead, and it appeared in control after winning the ensuing draw and milking the clock. But Kelly Berger threw the ball away and later drew a card to give the Club team hope. With about 15 seconds left, an aggressive U.S. defense forced another turnover on its own end to seal the win.
Mallory Poole led the Club team with two goals, but it was a similar sizzler by Danielle Warner that got the crowd buzzing. With her team trailing 5-3, Warner caught a pass on the wing about 8 yards from the goal. She fired a rising blast past the outstretched stick of defender Caline McHenry and past a whiff by goalie Amy Altig with 18:30 to play.
"I grew up with all boys since I've been playing lacrosse, and they used to make fun of me because I would always come on head-only to the cage," said Warner of her excellent placement from the wing.
"It's an unbelievable feeling," she added about going up against the U.S. team, tonight comprised of a mix of players from the Elite and Developmental squads.
Teammate Lisa Staedt provided the fourth of the game's five ties by beating otherwise-stout defender Regina Oliver for a goal at 15:20. Five minutes later, a cutting Katie Doolittle put the U.S. ahead thanks to an on-time assist from Kelly Kasper. Julie Stone tied the game for the last time on a pass from Club teammate Tara Schoen at 7:15.
Mary Key led the U.S. with two goals and an assist. The game was tied at 1, 2 and 3.
"I’m really happy," said Heether, also enthused about the abundance of player Intent to Stand forms for the August tryouts for the U.S. team. "They've gotten to know us and their comfort level with us has grown."
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White Rallies, Cruises Past Blue in All-Star Game
Kaitlin Donovan scored three of her team-high four goals in the second half to lift the White team to a 13-8 win over the Blue in the annual National High School Senior All-Star Game at Ulrich Field. The White trailed at the half, 7-5, but Donovan scored just over a minute into the third quarter to continue what turned out to be a 9-1 game-closing run for the White.
After Chrissie Casey scored with 18:08 to play to put the Blue up 8-7, Donovan corralled a rebound and evaded three defenders to tie the game for the last time at the 15:15 mark. She then punctuated her team's three-goal, 2:02 spurt later on with an unassisted marker on a fast break, securing an 11-8 lead. The Blue team did not challenge much in the second half.
"We got warmed up a little bit. We got used to each other," said Casey, a Holton Arms (Va.) product bound for Duke. "We had more fun and talked more [in the second half]."
Early, it looked like a convincing win would be on tap for the Blue. Carter Foote (St. Stephen’s-St. Agnes, Vanderbilt) scored the first two goals of the game and added a third later in the half as the Blue jumped to leads of 4-1 and 7-4. Old Dominion-bound Nicole McMahon went on a personal three-goal run, in just under two minutes, midway through the half to bring the White even at 4-4. Foote's final marker again provided the Blue with its largest lead before Kelly Haggerty scored on a pass from Rachel Cornicello to start the White's game-changing run with 5:10 remaining in the half.
"We kind of fell apart. Everyone just got tired," said Foote. "We got an adrenaline rush in the beginning, but after halftime we just fell apart."
Cornicello and Haggerty each scored twice for the White, while Foote's three tallies easily led all Blue team scorers.
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Post-Collegiate Club Division Debuts
"We're just happy to be here" may be a sports cliché, but don't tell that to the ladies of the US Lacrosse Women's Division Post-Collegiate Clubs Council (WDPCC). The council debuted its own division of play at the National Tournament, drawing four teams and players from the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.
In previous years, members of this growing constituency would latch on to club-level teams comprised mainly of college-aged players. But the increase in participation in the sport following graduation fueled the demand for a WDPCC division of play.
"It says something about the history of the game," said Liz Schatz, who played on the Midwest team. "It's been building. There are people out of college still interested in playing and competing together because they love it."
"It's a great experience for people who have been out of school for a while, want to have fun and still be competitive, but maybe not as much as the collegiate players," said Kate Killen of Boston.
In addition to competing on the field together, the group had a social function Saturday night and met with WDPCC leadership to network and discuss growth opportunities.
"There needs to be more coordinated tournaments like this," said Meredith Mell of Summerville, Mass. "It's hard, when people are working full-time, to coordinate. If there could be more help from US Lacrosse from person who had as a percentage of her job to coordinate more of these types of tournaments. If it were more coordinated, you'd probably get more teams.
"This is great because of the attitude about why you’re here," said Mell.
"You love the game," added Killen.
"You also don’t feel like you're with some of the younger players who are trying out for the Developmental team, or are getting recruited, who put it at a different intensity level."
For more information about women's post-collegiate club lacrosse, visit www.uslacrosse.org/wdpcc.
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Still a Crowd
With the NCAA having moved its 2006 Division I semifinals and championship game to this weekend for the first time, some had thought National Tournament participation would suffer given the NCAA-mandated absence of Division I coaches. College recruiting has long been an aspect of the National Tournament.
The evidence suggest otherwise. A record 44 high school division teams participated. Rising seniors and rising juniors showcased their talents to Division II and III coaches on hand, but participants offered that the recruiting opportunities were second behind the overall experience athletes gained while participating in the National Tournament.
"It's still a great opportunity to come and play with girls from different schools that are all really good players, that you wouldn't get to play with normally," said Caroline McCarthy of Mid-Atlantic 1. She is a junior at Georgetown (D.C.) Visitation.
The opportunity to compete against some of the nation's top players remains a lure.
"Just to be out with these girls that can really bring it – it's awesome," said teammate Natalie Wills, a sophomore goalie at St. Mary's (Md.), who added she felt honored to be selected.
Mid-Atlantic coach Kathy Jenkins, also the coach at prep power St. Stephen's-St. Agnes (Va.), is a veteran of the National Tournament.
"We did not see lower [numbers] at ours," said Jenkins. "We actually had more (144 players for eight teams) at tryouts this year. We did not see that as an issue.
"I think it's so much fun for them to play with other really top-notch players and work together as a group. They'll see these girls in college. It's a great experience for them."
"That [recruiting] is a minor part of the reason for coming," said Steve Kroll of Baltimore. "Look at the experience. You can see, it's a wonderful experience, and that's what counts."
Kroll's daughter, Cindy, attends Bryn Mawr School and would like to play collegiate lacrosse. She played on the Mid-Atlantic 2 team.
"Both my daughters benefited from playing in this tournament when they were in high school, significantly," said Cathy O'Boyle, whose daughters currently attend Johns Hopkins and Princeton, respectively, and played for Mid-Atlantic 2 team at the club level. "I don’t think that the main purpose of this tournament should be recruiting, but certainly it's some of the first real good looks that their coaches got to see them. That was an opportunity that you can't put a value on."
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Saturday, May 27 Scores
High School Division
Upper Atlantic 1 def. Mid Atlantic 5, 18-3
New York 1 def. Mid Atlantic 6, 17-2
Mid Atlantic 1 def. Upper New England 1, 18-2
New York 2 def. Mountain 1, 10-7
Upper Atlantic 3 tied New York 5, 9-9
Upper Atlantic 2 def. Great Lakes 1, 14-6
Mid Atlantic 3 def. Pacific 1, 15-7
Mid Atlantic 8 def. Southeast 2, 13-4
Mid Atlantic 2 tied New York 4, 10-10
Northwest 1 dev. South Central 2, 15-5
Mountain 2 tied Great Lakes 3, 6-6
Upper Atlantic 6 def. South Central 1, 13-3
New York 6 def. Great Lakes 2, 13-9
North Central 1 def. Lower Atlantic 1, 12-5
Mid Atlantic 1 def. Central 1, 15-3
Lower New England 2 def. Pacific 1, 21-2
Upper Atlantic 4 dev. Upper New England 1, 9-7
New York 3 tied Mid Atlantic 5, 5-5
New York 2 def. Southeast 1, 17-3
Lower New England 1 def. New York 5, 10-7
Mid Atlantic 4 def. Great Lakes 1, 10-5
New York 4 def. Lower New England 3, 15-3
Upper Atlantic 7 def. Lower New England 4, 10-8
Southeast 2 def. Southwest 1, 14-9
Mid Atlantic 6 def. Upper Atlantic 5, 7-5
SC1 def. C1, 8-6
NY6 def. LNE5, 16-8
UA6 def. Pac2, 21-4
UNE2 def. SC2, 12-3
MA2 def. LNE3, 9-8
MA1 def UA4, 18-2
Mt1 def. SE1, 16-4
NY1 def UA 5, 18-2
MA4 def UA2, 14-8
MA3 def LNE2, 13-8
UA1 def. NY3, 13-4
UA7 def. SC2, 17-0
UNE2 def. NW1, 12-11
MA8 def. Mt2, 17-7
NY6 def. NC1, 16-4
GL3 def. SW1
GL2 def. LA1
Seniors-Only Division
MA1 def. MS 1, 17-2
MS 1 def. NE1, 9-7
NY1 def. Pac1, 18-6
UA 1 def. Pac 1, 21-3
Club Division
Mid Atlantic 1 def. New York 1, 10-5
Mid Atlantic 2 def. New England 1, 14-6
Pacific 1 def. Upper Atlantic 1, 7-4
Mid Atlantic 3 def. New York 2, 12-8
New England 2 def. Southwest 1, 10-3
Upper Atlantic 2 def. Upper Atlantic 3, 9-2
New York 3 def. Upper Atlantic 5, 7-3
Upper Atlantic 4 def. Mid Atlantic 4, 13-6
MA2 def. NY1, 12-8
Pac1 tied MA1, 9-9
UA1 def. NE1 17-4
NY3 def. NC1, 16-5
Post-Collegiate Club Division
Boston def. Chicago, 11-6
Philadelphia def. West Chester, 14-3
Philadelphia def. Boston, 9-4
West Chester def. Chicago, 9-4
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