NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!

June 16, 2011

American Lacrosse Conference Welcomes Michigan
Conference expands to seven teams

The American Lacrosse Conference has accepted Michigan as a member of the conference, effective immediately, according to ALC Commissioner Peggy Pruitt. The addition of Michigan gives the conference seven teams, including four whose primary affiliation is the Big Ten. Michigan joins Northwestern, Penn State, and Ohio State as well as Florida, Vanderbilt, and Johns Hopkins in the league, which just completed its tenth year of existence.

“I am excited about the addition of the University of Michigan into the ALC,” said Dr. Peggy Pruitt, Commissioner of the ALC. “The institution brings a reputation of excellence in academics and athletics into a group of equally excellent institutions.”
“The American Lacrosse Conference has a history of producing national champions, and we are proud to become its seventh member,” said Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon. “This will be a great opportunity for our program to play in one of the top lacrosse leagues in the country.”

The American Lacrosse Conference is a lacrosse-only conference that was formed in 2001 as a means to provide more opportunities for the student-athletes at their respective institutions. In 2002 the ALC sponsored its first season, with Vanderbilt winning the league title. In 2004 the ALC received an automatic qualifying berth to the NCAA Championships for the first time. In June of 2006 Florida announced it would be elevating women’s lacrosse to a varsity sport for the 2010 season, and in October of 2006, the Gators joined the ALC. Later that year the conference approved a tournament format and 2007 marked the first ALC post-season tournament.

The league has boasted the top conference RPI in seven of the ten years of competition, a testament to the depth of the conference. Student-athletes at the ALC institutions have consistently been recognized on a national scale, with six of the last six of the last seven Honda Award honorees coming from an ALC school. The ALC has produced six of the last seven national champions, and in 2011, the conference set a national record with all six institutions ranked in the national poll.

Susan Delaney-Scheetz Senior Scholar Athlete Award

Photo of Susan Delaney-Scheetz The American Lacrosse Conference is pleased to announce the establishment of a new award, the Susan Delaney-Scheetz Senior Scholar Athlete Award. This new award will be presented annually to the graduating senior with the highest overall grade point average among our student-athletes. Scheetz, one of the founders of the American Lacrosse Conference, has devoted her life to women’s lacrosse as a player, coach and administrator before her retirement this past March from Penn State University.

From 1986-89, Scheetz was the head coach of Penn State's women's lacrosse team. She was named National Coach of the Year after leading the Nittany Lions to NCAA National Championships in 1987 and 1989. In 1986 and 1988, Penn State was NCAA Division I runner-ups. In four years as head coach, Scheetz compiled a 67-9 record, for an outstanding 88.1 winning percentage. She coached 14 first team All-Americans and sent three players to compete for the U.S. National Team.

For her contributions to the sport of lacrosse, Scheetz was inducted into the 43rd class of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2000. Only 10 individuals out of 200 nominees were chosen for induction. Scheetz also coached one of the other inductees, Betsy Williams Dougherty, who graduated from Penn State in 1984. In 1998, she was inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Pennsylvania Chapter Hall of Fame.

A native of Wilmington, Del., Scheetz graduated from West Chester in 1969, where she lettered in lacrosse, field hockey, basketball and softball. She received her masters degree from West Chester in 1975. Her coaching career began at Indian Lane Junior High School, where she coached for six years. She then went on to coach Penncrest High School from 1976 to 1982 and compiled a 93-20-3 record with one undefeated season, three league champions and one PIAA District/State Championship. In 1985, she coached the Philly I team.

Scheetz has also been involved with lacrosse on a national level. She served on the coaching staff for the U23 Touring Team in 1987, the USA World Cup Team in 1986 where the team won a silver medal, and the USA/Canada Touring Team in 1985. In addition to her National Coach of the Year honors at Penn State, Scheetz has also been honored as a High School Senior All-Star Coach in 1981 and a College Senior All-Star Coach in 1987 and 1989. She received both the NCAA 10th Anniversary Award and the IWLCA (Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association) Recognition Certificate in 1991. Scheetz is also a member of the West Chester University Hall of Fame.

Her contributions to lacrosse and athletic administration include being a member of numerous committees during her career. Some of her responsibilities have been the NCAA Lacrosse Committee from 1987-1989 and 1998, serving as chair from 1989-1993; the USWLA (U.S. Women's Lacrosse Association) Collegiate & Brine All-American Selection committee, and the IWLCA Nominating Committee.

ALC Names All-Conference Teams; Cullen named Player of the Year
ALC Tournament to take place in Nashville

The American Lacrosse Conference honored 24 student-athletes and one head coach as the end-of-season honors were announced today. Florida’s Kitty Cullen, who leads the nation in goals scored per game, was tabbed as the Conference Player of the Year while her mentor, Florida’s Amanda O’Leary, was named the Coach of the Year. Northwestern freshman Alyssa Leonard, who leads the conference and ranks in the top-10 nationally in draw controls, was tabbed as the Rookie of the Year and Dana Cahill from Penn State was named the Goalie of the Year. Florida, the top seed in the 2011 ALC tournament, led all schools with six selections, including three on the first team, while Northwestern, the reigning champions, led all teams with four first-team honorees. Johns Hopkins, Penn State and Ohio State each were recognized with four student-athletes between the two teams, while Vanderbilt claimed two honorees.

ALC All-Conference Honors

Coach of the Year: Amanda O’Leary, Florida
Rookie of the Year: Alyssa Leonard, Northwestern
Goalie of the Year: Dana Cahill, Penn State
Player of the Year: Kitty Cullen, Florida

From L-R: ALC Coach, Rookie, Goalkeeper, and Player of the Year

Cullen leads the nation in scoring with 4.25 goals per game (68 goals in 16 games) and helped Florida achieve to a No. 2 national ranking on April 25, the highest ranking in poll history for a second-year team. Cullen’s 74 points ranks her third in the conference in points per game; she set the Florida record for goals in a game, scoring seven in a game twice. A Tewaaraton Trophy nominee, Cullen is a two-time National Player of the Week and earned the conference Offensive Player of the Week honor four times in 2011.

Cahill helped the Nittany Lions to the No. 3 seed in the tournament and a top-15 ranking nationally. The junior goalkeeper ranks in the top-20 nationally in save percentage and she ranks second in the conference in ground balls per game. The National Defensive Player of the Week on March 21, Cahill is a two-time conference honoree in 2011.

Leonard leads the conference in draw controls, and she plays a significant part in Northwestern’s leading the nation in draw controls per game. Twice the National Rookie of the Week, Leonard is also a two-time conference Rookie of the Week who ranks in the top-10 nationally in draw controls per game.

O’Leary mentored the Gators to the top seed in the 2011 ALC tournament and a No. 2 ranking nationally, marking the highest ranking for a team in their second year of play in poll history. Florida enters the ALC postseason with a top-five RPI and forged a 14-game winning streak that included wins over five ranked teams.

ALC First Team	ALC Second Team
Ashley Bruns, Florida	Gabby Capuzzi, Ohio State
Dana Cahill, Penn State	Taylor D'Amore, Johns Hopkins
Ally Carey, Vanderbilt	Jackie Eastman, Penn State
Kitty Cullen, Florida	Lindsey Gysin, Ohio State
Maggie Dunbar, Penn State	Janine Hillier, Florida
Sam Farrell, Florida	Haydon Judge, Florida
Alex Frank, Northwestern	Alyssa Kildare, Johns Hopkins
Colleen Magarity, Northwestern	Courtney Kirk, Vanderbilt
Alayna Markwordt, Ohio State	Mikey Meagher, Florida
Colleen McCaffrey, Johns Hopkins	Candace Rossi, Johns Hopkins
Shannon Smith, Northwestern	Jen Steadman, Penn State
Taylor Thornton, Northwestern	Brittney Zerhusen, Ohio State