Assistant coaches shoot for gold

While many of you spent the lazy days of June tuning into (or perhaps TiVo-ing) Euro 2008, you may not have realized that something a little closer to home was happening north of the Danube. The three assistant coaches of the women’s lacrosse team — Michele DeJuliis, Amy Altig and Elizabeth Pillion ’05 — competed in Prague as members of the United States women’s national team to gear up for next summer’s International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations World Cup.

The USA Elite team placed first in the tournament, winning all eight of its matches in five days against teams from England, Germany and Wales. Along the way, the United States conceded only one goal. Though coming out on top was exciting, what meant more to both DeJuliis and Altig was the way in which the team came together off the field.

“Just being with the 18 [players] that we had, the team chemistry that we had — you can’t put a word to it, it was just incredible,” Altig said. “Everywhere we went, everybody always went together. We genuinely wanted to be around each other and play for each other, and the experience of being together was amazing.”

The World Cup was founded in 1982 and is held every four years, much like its more well-known counterpart. The American women have captured gold in five of the seven championships, with the only two runner-up finishes coming on American soil. The current squad will look to avenge a disappointing 14-7 loss to Australia in the 2005 World Cup in Annapolis, Md.

Though Pillion has decided not to continue to play for the national team, DeJuliis and Altig will continue to prepare down the home stretch in hope of making the final cut. Eighteen players and six alternates will be selected on Feb. 1 from a pool of 49 women. Among their competition is another Tiger, senior field hockey and lacrosse standout Holly McGarvie.

DeJuliis, a three-time first-team All-American at Penn State in the mid-1990s, is confident about her performance thus far.

“I feel good [about my chances],” DeJuliis said. “I feel like I’ve put everything out there every time we go to practice. I just try to do everything I can to make sure that I’m effective and helping the team, on and off the field. I like trying to be that leader.”

Leadership would undoubtedly be one of DeJuliis’ biggest contributions to the squad. As the oldest member of the team, she brings an unparalleled amount of experience and insight to the table.

Altig, a two-time all-conference goalie at James Madison, is currently competing against four other goalkeepers for the starting spot but is poised to make the roster as well.

What will perhaps be most helpful to both DeJuliis and Altig between now and February is the advantage of having each other around. “It’s a bonus,” Altig said. “It’s an added bonus of working together and also being on the team together because we can push each other. We know what each other needs to work on coming back from a weekend, so we can improve and make those changes.”

In addition to being confident about their individual chances, DeJuliis and Altig said they feel good about their chances of bringing home gold. Sue Heether recently replaced the legendary Sue Stahl, who coached the national team for 20 years, and has helped transform the culture of the team. The combination of a new coaching staff, veteran experience and young talent will give the American women an excellent chance of reclaiming the throne.

Of course, returning without a gold will hardly be termed a failure. Though the experience of returning to Prague in June and potentially taking the crown will be invaluable, spreading the culture of lacrosse is equally important to DeJuliis and Altig. “If you ask every single person on the team, whether they’re [a part of] the 18, the 24 or the 48, or anybody that is involved in the game, all of us are doing something to try and help the growth of the sport,” DeJuliis said.

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Being selected as members of the national team is a huge individual honor, but both DeJuliis and Altig emphasize that their role in shaping the future of lacrosse is equally important and fulfilling. “It’s just another thing that brings us closer together — how much we love this sport,” Altig said. “That we have the opportunity to represent our country and play at the level we play at, it’s an honor to be able to give that back.”