DYLAN MOLLOY OF LACROSSE


Lacrosse at its Best Determination


Capt. Ben Harrow showed us the power of determination. Here are seven other stories that had the sport beaming with pride.


Brown carried its high-tempo offense into the NCAA tournament. However, eventual Tewaaraton winner Dylan Molloy broke his foot in a second-round win over Johns Hopkins. Molloy appeared done for the season, but Brown advanced to the final four and, somehow, Molloy made it onto the field.


He came equipped with two insoles in his shoes and a clam-shell apparatus that protected his foot. That and a shot of lidocaine got him through the game. Brown lost to Maryland in overtime. The effort might have won him the


Tewaaraton if it wasn’t decided before then. UMASS-LOWELL DUO


UMass-Lowell teammates Kelly Moran and Noelle Lambert have a bond that extends beyond the field — and they relied on it this summer.


HAMPTON ESPN’s


“SportsCenter” staged a two- hour celebration of lacrosse — unprecedented exposure for the sport — surrounding the Feb. 13 debut of the first Division I team from a historically black college.


The occasion marked the culmination of the late Michael Crawford’s mission to bring lacrosse to campus. Crawford died Dec. 28, 2010, from sudden cardiac arrest. His mother, Verina, found coach Lloyd Carter and the two worked to establish a club team.


But varsity?


ESPN? No one would have dreamed that.


U19 COMEBACK Team USA


entered the 2016 FIL U19 Men’s World Championships with the weight of seven consecutive titles — but also three straight silver medals for other U.S. teams — on its shoulders. But Team USA knew playing in Coquitlam, British Columbia, against Canada would be a challenge.


Like expected, the


teams met in the gold medal match July 16. Canada jumped out to a 6-0 lead and took an 8-2 advantage at halftime. Team USA mounted a second- half rally that tied the game at 12 with three minutes left. Team USA won the ensuing faceoff and Ryan Conrad scored the game-winner with eight seconds left to complete the improbable comeback.


UWLX


It was a moment years in the making. Digit Murphy led the way, crossing over from hockey to establish the first- ever professional women’s lacrosse league.


Forty players were selected in the inaugural United Women’s Lacrosse League draft April 13, with teams rounding out their rosters. The UWLX made its debut on May 28 at Lehigh as a four-team league with the Baltimore Ride, Boston Storm, Long Island Sound and Philadelphia Force.


The four teams met almost every weekend in the summer, culminating with the first-ever UWLX championship game on July 31 — won by Devon Wills and the Sound.


BRENDEN MALLOY He may not


have won the US Lacrosse National Championship title, but Brenden Malloy shined at the eighth- annual event July 22- 24 in Indianapolis. Malloy, who was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a disorder that made his body prone to sprains, strains, dislocations and fractures, had dealt with 20 fractures, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia in his hands and soreness since his youth.


That made his performance even more impressive. Malloy, the midfielder from Nati Lax Bros’ out of the Cincinnati area, won 19 of 25 faceoffs in a semifinal loss to Colorado and finished on the all- tournament team.


Lambert was driving a moped with Moran on the back seat when she lost control, veered left and hit the side of an oncoming dump truck on July 30. Moran suffered injuries to her arms, legs and feet, while Lambert had to have her left leg amputated above the knee. Both vow to play again.


ARMY WOMEN


Army made school history Feb. 13, when it fielded the first official women’s lacrosse team at the Academy. The result was a 14-9 loss to Manhattan, but it meant much more for the women of West Point — another glass ceiling-shattering moment for women in the military.


ONE LOVE RIDERS


It would have been impressive enough had Ryan Lukacovic and Michael Rhoads just biked cross-country. But the Virginia teammates accomplished even more. They rode from Charlottesville to San Francisco raising $15,614 for One Love Foundation, an organization that provides resources and education to address relationship violence.


RACHEL HALL Former Temple goalie Rachel Hall won her biggest battle off the field.


On April 29, 2015, Hall was hit by a vehicle while riding her mountain bike in Philadelphia. She suffered life- threatening injuries including a fractured skull, brain damage and a broken leg. Her playing career ended on that day. However, Hall had another goal to accomplish and on May 4, she did just that. Hall, who earned her diploma while in the hospital, walked in Temple’s athletics graduation, just over a year after the accident that almost ended her life.


36 US LACROSSE MAGAZINE December 2016 USlacrosse.org


©KEVIN P. TUCKER; ©LOGAN WHITTON; ©PAUL YATES; ©JOHN STROHSACKER; ©AJ MAST; ©ARMY; ©MARGO REED


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