Kelly Amonte Hiller knows that her freshman-dominated team has the potential. The coach has watched her players blossom in practice and come together as a team.
“We’ve done a great job preparing,” Amonte Hiller said. “And now we’re ready to play.”
A varsity squad for the first time since 1991, the Northwestern lacrosse team is eager to put its endless hours of practice to use at its two opening games this weekend.
The Cats return only one player from the 2001 club team that advanced to the semifinal round of the U.S. Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates National Club Championships. The 18 remaining slots are filled by two sophomore walk-ons, a transfer and 15 freshmen.
But the young team still boasts an impressive roster that includes five high-school All-America selections.
Despite the team’s youth and inexperience at the collegiate level, Amonte Hiller is optimistic about the season. She said that the focus will be on “improving each day and staying in the moment rather than getting ahead of ourselves.”
The fact that most of the players are freshmen has created a strong bond among the teammates.
“We all started fresh together and are helping each other make the transition to playing college lacrosse,” freshman Sarah Walsh said.
Her teammates are extremely encouraging and supportive, she said, because they recognize each other’s potential and understand that they must learn to work together.
And they know they have Amonte Hiller, a two-time NCAA Division I Lacrosse Player of the Year, to lead them through the growing pains.
“She focuses more on the process than just winning,” freshman co-captain Sarah Albrecht said.
A legendary lacrosse player in her own right, Amonte Hiller was hired to coach NU’s club team last year after coaching stints at Brown, Massachusetts and Boston University.
A 1996 graduate of Maryland, Amonte Hiller won her Player of the Year awards in 1995 and 1996. She won national championships with the Terrapins in both of those years before focusing her attention on the women’s national team, which she joined in 1993.
The spring season officially opens today at 4 p.m. in Madison, N.J., with a game against Marist (1-1). The Cats then head to Baltimore to take on Richmond (1-1) on Sunday at noon.
Because the Big Ten does not sponsor lacrosse, NU joined the newly formed American Lacrosse Conference, along with Ohio State, Penn State, Davidson, Johns Hopkins, Ohio and Vanderbilt.
The Cats will play their first conference match against Ohio State at Lakeside Field on March 23.
Albrecht knows that her team has a long road ahead. But she and her teammates are focused on this weekend’s matchups.
“We’re really excited to play,” Albrecht said. “We’re a little nervous, but we feel prepared.”
