Jan. 27, 2008

by Clare Lochary, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

[CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE PHOTO GALLERY]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Duke gave the U.S. Developmental team a scare earlier Sunday, but the Elite team did not flinch.

Elite beat Duke, 19-4, in a dominating effort over the Blue Devils, who tied Developmental earlier Sunday at the US Lacrosse Champions Challenge at Disney's Wide World of Sports. In its third and final game of the exhibition, Elite balanced its smothering ride with a precision offense to shut down the Blue Devils, ranked No. 3 in Lacrosse magazine's NCAA Division I preseason poll.

"We told them we wanted them to come out hard from the beinging. Today they were just head over heels on offense, defense, everything," said Elite assistant coach Jenny Ulehla.

The Elite team that fell behind 5-1 against Devolopmental squad Saturday was nowhere to be found Sunday. Whether it was two games under its belt or the Florida sunshine (which finally made its debut just before the game), the team looked relaxed and confident.

Elite midfielder Sarah Albrecht said the team's nerves had calmed considerably since yesterday's 14-7 comeback win against Devo.

"It's hard not to be excited to play lacrosse together for the first time in months," said Albrecht. "We saw each other much better and pushed the transition. We had to give each other enough space to do our thing, and the 1-v-1s were there today."

Elite drove hard to the goal, building a 10-2 halftime lead. Duke goalie Kim Imbesi had the unenviable task of trying to stop the best shots in the game, but she enjoyed the chance to test her mettle.

"I knew I was going to get scored on a lot, but it's fun to play against people from Duke like Katie Chrest, and against people who I grew up hearing about," said Imbesi. "We can go to practice next week and say `OK, this is what we need to do to beat the best.'"

The Elite-Duke game was physical. Duke garnered three yellow cards, resulting in a man-up situation for Elite midway through the second half.

Elite's Quinn Carney also took a tumble near the crease and left the game with a sprained right ankle just before halftime.

Developmental team hits stride against Hopkins

After a loss to the Elite team and a tie with Duke, the U.S. Developmental team finally secured a win Sunday, defeating Johns Hopkins, 11-4.

Megan Burker (Stanford '06) led Devo with two goals and four assists, while nine other players scored at least one goal. Hopkins' Kirby Houck left the game in the second half with leg cramps.