Jan. 30, 2007

January usually doesn't have a lot to offer, in terms of women's lacrosse. For teams, it's a time for cold, grey practices, usually dominated by dull strength and conditioning drills. For fans, there's little to do but wait. A notable exception to this rule was the Champions Challenge, held January 27-28 at the Disney Wide World of Sport Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., where the U.S. Elite and Developmental teams hosted a clinic and faced off against two top collegiate squads. Both the weather and the competition were delightfully hot.

The clinic, held Saturday morning, paired the U.S. Developmental team with middle school players and the US Elite team with high school players. The 130 attendees were delighted with the chance to mingle with the sport's elite, a rare treat in the Sunshine State. On Sunday, they got the chance to see their idols in action.

The competition day began under grey skies, when the U.S. Developmental squad scrimmaged Northwestern, the defending national champions. The Wildcats displayed the speed and skill that garnered them back-to-back titles, with Tewaarathon winner Kristen Kjellman leading the way with three goals to build an 11-5 lead. The U.S. squad rallied towards the end, going on a 4-0 run, including two in the final minute, but it wasn't enough to catch Northwestern, who posted an 11-9 win. The U.S. Elite's squad had an easier time of it, routing UMass 19-2.

Even after the defeat, the Minutemen proved to be aptly named. Immediately following the Elite game, they walked back on the field to face the Developmental team. It was another lopsided game - the US team won 17-2 - but the score belied the feisty play of goalie Lauren McCarthy, who kept a level head while being bombarded by many of the best college players in the game. McCarthy recorded 10 saves in the Elite game.

"She's a fifth year senior, and she's got the most experience on the team," said UMass coach Alexis Venechanos. While a 36-4 combined finish was something of a letdown, Venechanos said the experience was invaluable for her young team, which carries seven freshmen. "It's a great opportunity to play in the sun."

The sun finally did break through around noon to warm the slightly chilly spectators. In addition to schoolgirl fans and their parents, the crowd included a high count of snowbird grandparents of the collegiate and national team players, who were happy for the rare opportunity to see their granddaughters play a game in Florida.

As the weather heated up, so did the competition. The tournament's premier event was the meeting of the Elite team and the Northwestern Wildcats. At last year's inaugural Champions Challenge, the Wildcats beat the Elite team, 14-9 and it was apparent that everyone was eager for a rematch.

While the Champions Challenge is largely billed as a fun-in-the-sun spring break excursion, no one at Elite-Northwestern game had that "I am playing in an exhibition game that doesn't count" look in her eye. Everyone played hard, to the tune of four total yellow cards. Northwestern jumped to their biggest lead of the game with a 6-4 lead early in the second half on two consecutive goals from Aly Josephs, but the Wildcats never quite managed to pull away from the Elite team. After Hilary Bowen scored to give the Wildcats a 7-6 lead, the U.S. team went on a six-goal run in which four different players scored to post a 12-7 win.

"We had a lapse at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half. You could see the confusion on the field. After halftime, we got back together and they composed themselves," said U.S. Elite coach Sue Heether. "They realized they could play and they went out and played for themselves as the U.S. national team."

Not to be outdone by the out-of-state teams, the match-up between Florida and Central Florida, two club teams that play in the US Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates structure, proved to be the most closely contested match of the day. While the Gators led 6-4 at halftime, the Knights battled back to a gain 10-9 lead late in the second half. Florida responded with three quick goals and seemed to have the game wrapped up, but Central Florida's China Mansfield tied it in the final seconds. The Knights won in overtime, 13-12, on Jenn Steven's goal.

"We tightened our defense and played smarter on offense," said UCF coach Tom Hopkins. "We never feel like we can't come back in a game. We feel we can score quickly once we fix what's broken."

"Florida lacrosse is growing very fast," Hopkins added. "The level of play is much higher each season."

Maybe it's all that sunshine that makes the sport grow so quickly.