Oct. 29, 2007

by Clare Lochary, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

WASHINGTON, D.C. - After five straight days of steady downpour on the East Coast, the sun came out just in time for the U.S. Elite Team on Saturday morning. The American squad rolled to two consecutive victories over the English national team and Virginia at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., as a part of the Hoyas' fall play day. The U.S. team beat the English by a 10-4 margin, and topped the Cavaliers, 7-4.

"It was closer than I'd like it but we did some good things. And for having two people on the field who have international experience, I think it was a nice showing for us," said U.S. head coach Sue Heether.

The U.S.-England match-up concluded the English team's weeklong tour in the States. They scrimmaged several NCAA programs, but the U.S. national team provided their stiffest competition. The Americans raced to a 7-2 lead in the first half before the English slowed the Americans' offensive juggernaut.

"We did the thing we said we wouldn't do, and that was negative turnovers," said English national team coach Lois Richardson. "It's disappointing. I'm not disappointed in the second half. But that opening 10 minutes, we allowed them to panic us."

The England game marked the Elite team debut of Penn State midfielder Jessica Lieb. Lieb was promoted from the Developmental Team roster after Elite players Kelly Berger and Meredith Frank were sidelined with injuries. (Berger tore her anterior cruciate ligament during the U.S. Elite Team Stars & Stripes clinic in Portland, Ore., earlier in October; Frank recently tore her Achilles tendon.)

"I don't think we skipped a beat putting [Lieb] in," said Heether.

Adding a new player to the mix is no small task for the U.S. team, which has relatively few chances to practice as a complete group. Facing a cohesive Virginia squad presented a particular challenge. While the smooth-operating Cavaliers held their own against the nation's best, the U.S. team came out on top, 7-4. The low-scoring game was the result of some dazzling goalie play by both Elite keeper Devon Willis and Cavalier Kendall McBrearty.

"Playing with them, it's so much fun," said McBrearty, who regularly faces the Elite team as a Developmental Team goalie. "It definitely makes you more aggressive, because you know they're so aggressive."

The Georgetown play day also featured nine unscored scrimmages between seven Division I programs, including the host Hoyas, Virginia, Loyola, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Dartmouth and Duke. Caroline Cryer, one of four current college players on the Elite team roster, had to divide her loyalties between the U.S. squad and her Duke teammates.

"It was fun getting back out there [with the U.S. team]," said the Blue Devils' senior attacker.

Cryer will have to do the same balancing act in January at the Champions Challenge at Disney's Wide World of Sports, when the Duke's men's and women's teams will scrimmage against their U.S. team counterparts. The Johns Hopkins women's team will also attend the event in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., scheduled for Jan. 26-27, 2008.

"I don't think we set a tone. Even though they looked the right attitude, they didn't feel the right attitude," said Heether. "We're looking forward to January."