BALTIMORE – US Lacrosse has named 24 players to the U.S. training team for the 2009 Federation of International Lacrosse Women’s World Cup, which will be held June 17-27 in Prague in the Czech Republic. A record 16 nations are expected to compete in the event.

The U.S. training team was selected from a 48-player pool that competed at the US Lacrosse Stars & Stripes Weekend in Syracuse, N.Y. on Oct. 11-12.

"It’s always difficult, but I’ve told my staff, ‘We’re not picking the best 24 players. We’re picking the 24 people that will give us the best team,’" said U.S. team head coach Sue Heether. "We have the best pool of players in the world. There’s no doubt in my mind about that."

The training team will hold a practice weekend in December and will compete along with the remaining 24 players from the player pool (developmental team) during the US Lacrosse Champions Challenge in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., from Jan. 30 - Feb. 1. The final 18 players for the World Cup and six alternates will be selected following that event. Heether left open the option of players not selected for the training team to move up to the World Cup team.

"I told a number of the players, ‘If you think I’m wrong, tell us and show us why in January,’" said Heether.

Headlining the roster is two-time World Cup veteran Quinn Carney. Carney was named to the all-world team after helping the U.S. to the silver medal at the 2005 World Cup in Annapolis, Md. Three alternates from the 2005 U.S. World Cup team — Katie Chrest, Michele DeJuliis and Acacia Walker — were named to the training team.

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The complete training team roster follows:

Attack
Hilary Bowen – Northwestern ‘09
Quinn Carney – Maryland ‘01
Caroline Cryer – Duke ‘09
Lindsey Munday – Northwestern ‘06
Katie Rowan – Syracuse ‘09

Midfield
Sarah Albrecht – Northwestern ‘06
Sarah Bullard – Duke ‘11
Katie Chrest – Duke ‘06
Michele DeJuliis – Penn State ‘98
Whitney Douthett – Dartmouth ‘07
Michi Ellers – Georgetown ‘04
Kristen Kjellman – Northwestern ‘07
Erica LaGrow – North Carolina ‘08
Jessica Lieb – Penn State ‘08
Nikki Lieb – Virginia ‘06
Caitlyn McFadden – Maryland ‘10
Holly McGarvie – Princeton ‘09
Acacia Walker – Maryland ‘05

Defense
Amber Falcone – North Carolina ‘09
Christy Finch – Northwestern ‘08
Regina Oliver – Ohio State ‘05

Goal
Amy Altig – James Madison ‘05
Megan Huether – Duke ‘06
Devon Wills – Dartmouth ‘06

deBeer Lacrosse is the official exclusive equipment and apparel supplier to the U.S. Women’s National Teams Program. Learn more about the company at www.debeerlacrosse.com.

US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, is the national governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse. US Lacrosse has more than 250,000 members in 60 regional chapters around the country. Through responsive and effective leadership, US Lacrosse strives to provide programs and services to inspire participation while protecting the integrity of the game. To learn more about US Lacrosse, please visit www.uslacrosse.org.