2005 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NU vs. UVA

[wlaxphan20]

For anyone who has access to the Big Ten Network as a part of their cable package - they are airing the 2005 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship Game tonight at 8PM. Northwestern vs #6 UVA. This was Northwestern's first national championship that started the dynasty - they were also the first team outside of the Easter Time Zone to win the NC.

Players whose names you may recognize:
Sarah Albrecht - NU
Kristen Kjellman - NU
Lindsey Munday - NU
Amy Appelt - UVA

I don't think those with subscriptions to BTNPlus will have access to this, but I have no idea.

If you aren't watching the HR Derby, it should be fun to see and compare to the sport as it is today.
...And even if you are watching the HR Derby...hopefully you can record it!

The airing slot is from 8-9pm so this may be an abridged version...I don't recall how long the average collegiate game was back then!

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

For anyone who has access to the Big Ten Network as a part of their cable package - they are airing the 2005 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship Game tonight at 8PM. Northwestern vs #6 UVA. This was Northwestern's first national championship that started the dynasty - they were also the first team outside of the Easter Time Zone to win the NC.

Players whose names you may recognize:
Sarah Albrecht - NU
Kristen Kjellman - NU
Lindsey Munday - NU
Amy Appelt - UVA

I don't think those with subscriptions to BTNPlus will have access to this, but I have no idea.

If you aren't watching the HR Derby, it should be fun to see and compare to the sport as it is today.
...And even if you are watching the HR Derby...hopefully you can record it!

The airing slot is from 8-9pm so this may be an abridged version...I don't recall how long the average collegiate game was back then!

Thanks for bringing this up. Very much looking forward to it.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I don't think those with subscriptions to BTNPlus will have access to this.

Affirmative.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Watching a little of this before work. High quality broadcast except for the video feed which is grainy SD. It is more than watchable, however. This is what TV used to look like. The time between goals and draws has been edited out which is disappointing for one main reason--no replays, no multiple angles. BUT it's still women's lacrosse in 2005 and compelling for that alone. I'll enjoy watching the rest and hopefully recording and uploading some highlights.

[DMac]

More than just the draws and time between goals was edited, I never saw a game from that era (before all the rule changes) that didn't have plenty of stoppage, repositioning, and officials' conferences that went on for way too long. This was fun to watch, top notch players, but the pace of the game was/is very distorted in that only the up and down and action was shown. This is what you used to get for the mlax championship when it was broadcast long after the game was played, basically an extended highlight reel condensed to a sixty minute broadcast including commercials.
Was a good game but boy those Va gals really choked, eh? Pipe shots, missed opportunities...they underperformed and let Northwestern steal that one.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I only got through about five minutes of the game before I had to leave for work, but a couple of observations.

Lots of the players wore gloves back then. It’s kind of funny, every time Sheehan Stanwick Burch has a chance, she brings up the fact that she always wore gloves and she doesn’t know why the players of today don’t wear them. Like clockwork.

The boundary/out of bounds lines weren’t really relevant it seems. You could run out of bounds with the ball.

Also interesting, there were no balls along the boundary lines the way there are today. When the ball went out of bounds, you had to chase it wherever it went.

The action was faster than I thought it would be. I don’t know if the stop and start was in place back then for the rules, but it didn’t seem so.

No stick check after goals just sticks raised in the air in the typical hockey post goal posture with both arms raised.

Veeeeddddddy interesting. Looking forward to seeing the rest. Thanks again to wlaxphan20 for the heads up.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

One thing I notice as I continue watching the game (still in the first half tied at 5) it's not as much fun to watch a game when I don't know the players. I "know" Kelly Amonte Hiller but not any of the players on the field. It's a bit of a novelty seeing a game from that long ago, but it wears off soon enough.

The game was broadcast on CSTV. I can't imagine what kind of cable provider one needed back then to catch it. The call of the game was excellent with Joe Beninati doing the play-by-play and Sheehan Stanwick (she wasn't married yet) on color.

Eye goggles were HUGE in size back then.

The game was played on May 22nd. No Memorial Day Weekend talk back then.

It was the first National Championship for Northwestern as a whole since 1941.

[wlaxphan20]

That's fair - especially for those who are recent fans, they probably don't feel the same nostalgia. A lot of the names are still relevant thought

Appelt (now Slade) - HC at UMBC
Albrecht - former AC at Harvard, former HC at UNH (coached there until May of this year)
Munday - HC at Southern California
Kjellman (now Marshall) - probably might not be known by recent fans, she was a big part of Nike's women's lacrosse equipment launch and is currently the head coach at Phillips Academy Exeter

Seeing the deBeer UVA was using was nostalgic for me - deBeer sticks marked a big jump forward in head technology similar to the one that took place recently - the head that many of the UVA players are using, the "Apex", was the namesake for the Gait Lacrosse stick that just released a few months ago. The Gait brothers worked on stick development for the company back when deBeer was in business.

I can see how the novelty would wear off though as you have no memories or experiences associated with that era of women's lacrosse.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

That's fair - especially for those who are recent fans, they probably don't feel the same nostalgia. A lot of the names are still relevant thought

Appelt (now Slade) - HC at UMBC
Albrecht - former AC at Harvard, former HC at UNH (coached there until May of this year)
Munday - HC at Southern California
Kjellman (now Marshall) - probably might not be known by recent fans, she was a big part of Nike's women's lacrosse equipment launch and is currently the head coach at Phillips Academy Exeter

Seeing the deBeer UVA was using was nostalgic for me - deBeer sticks marked a big jump forward in head technology similar to the one that took place recently - the head that many of the UVA players are using, the "Apex", was the namesake for the Gait Lacrosse stick that just released a few months ago. The Gait brothers worked on stick development for the company back when deBeer was in business.

I can see how the novelty would wear off though as you have no memories or experiences associated with that era of women's lacrosse.

Did you watch the game? Any thoughts or impressions on the game itself? What was the biggest difference from the game then to today’s game?

[watcherinthewoods]

How about Ann Elliot … now Whiddon, who built the program at CU. And Lindsey Munday, who built the program at USC.

I was impressed with the speed of the game and the pace. May be related to the editing for time. The stall as as a passive aggressive game tactic did not seem as apparent as it became in later years, prior to its death by shot clock. A most welcome change, BTW.

[wlaxphan20]

That's fair - especially for those who are recent fans, they probably don't feel the same nostalgia. A lot of the names are still relevant thought

Appelt (now Slade) - HC at UMBC
Albrecht - former AC at Harvard, former HC at UNH (coached there until May of this year)
Munday - HC at Southern California
Kjellman (now Marshall) - probably might not be known by recent fans, she was a big part of Nike's women's lacrosse equipment launch and is currently the head coach at Phillips Academy Exeter

Seeing the deBeer UVA was using was nostalgic for me - deBeer sticks marked a big jump forward in head technology similar to the one that took place recently - the head that many of the UVA players are using, the "Apex", was the namesake for the Gait Lacrosse stick that just released a few months ago. The Gait brothers worked on stick development for the company back when deBeer was in business.

I can see how the novelty would wear off though as you have no memories or experiences associated with that era of women's lacrosse.

Did you watch the game? Any thoughts or impressions on the game itself? What was the biggest difference from the game then to today’s game?

I did. Although DMac makes a great point about the game being edited to be essentially a highlight reel I was still really impressed with the pace of ball movement, the stick skills, field vision, and physicality of the game. The biggest difference I noticed was tactically - no one played a zone or backer zone. Tactics come in and out of vogue in every sport though. The other biggest differences are probably due to rule changes - shot clock, free movement on the whistle, allowing kicking of the ball, etc. There aren't as many multi-person scrums around a ground ball in today's game probably because there are fewer on the draw. Today's utilization of the substitution box and more elaborate set plays and motions on attack. This is just one game and two teams from 2005 though, I wouldn't use it as a representative for the entire time period. Other teams could have been heavily utilizing things I mentioned I didn't see, especially since this game was edited.

[wlaxphan20]

How about Ann Elliot … now Whiddon, who built the program at CU. And Lindsey Munday, who built the program at USC.

I was impressed with the speed of the game and the pace. May be related to the editing for time. The stall as as a passive aggressive game tactic did not seem as apparent as it became in later years, prior to its death by shot clock. A most welcome change, BTW.

My mistake for leaving out Ann Whiddon, and I thought the same thing about the stall too!!!

[DMac]

I was impressed with the passing and stick handling in general as well, the speed of the girls too. Am not sold on the pace of the game although what we saw was at mach speed but I just can't help but think that we saw the entire game condensed to what, forty-five minutes considering commercial time? I think the pace of the game was/is a little deceiving in that broadcast but it was pretty cool nonetheless. If games back then had been played at the pace we saw in this one I never would have found wlax to be a boring game (rule changes are huge for wlax). I didn't know anybody but I could appreciate the quality of play and skill level of the players, watched it from start to finish (okay, I peeked in on the HR derby a couple of times but mostly during commercial time).

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I was still really impressed with the pace of ball movement, the stick skills, field vision, and physicality of the game. The biggest difference I noticed was tactically - no one played a zone or backer zone. Tactics come in and out of vogue in every sport though. The other biggest differences are probably due to rule changes - shot clock, free movement on the whistle, allowing kicking of the ball, etc. There aren't as many multi-person scrums around a ground ball in today's game probably because there are fewer on the draw. Today's utilization of the substitution box and more elaborate set plays and motions on attack. This is just one game and two teams from 2005 though, I wouldn't use it as a representative for the entire time period. Other teams could have been heavily utilizing things I mentioned I didn't see, especially since this game was edited.

Yes! on the physicality. I was impressed by that too. I thought there was plenty enough game action to get a good sense of the state of the sport in '05. Imagine what a game from the 70's would look like!

Funny about the shot clock. No one watching this game would say there was a need for one. Both teams were very quick to the goal and quick to set up shots.

Kristen Kjellman really stood out in the first half. Fast and deadly accurate. 5 goals on 6 shots--and she hit the post on the 6th. A real sniper and a special player. (Never knew she was a Beantown girl. Went to school not far from me.)

Joe B dispensed some great tidbits of information during the game. For instance: at the time of the game, NU was the only collegiate lacrosse program in the whole state of Illinois and wasn't even recognized as an official high school sport. Crazy how far the game has come since then. That's why when pundits say the sport is exploding across this great land, they ain't ladlin out no Oliver Twist gruel.

Still watching--early in the 2nd half now...

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Here's an electrifying moment for the Wildcats and their fans from the game. This kind of passion in the heat of battle gives me goosebumps. One of the reasons I love this sport above all others.



Another Beantown girl. Massachusetts was well represented on this team.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I can see how the novelty would wear off though as you have no memories or experiences associated with that era of women's lacrosse.

I have to say, as the game wears on into the 2nd half, I’m finding it a lot more compelling. (Did I already thank you for alerting us to this game?)

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Post game story on the game. Still looking for a box score and starting lineups...

https://nusports.com/news/2005/5/22/NAT ... 13_10.aspx

[DMac]

I too thank you for alerting us to this game wlaxphan20, will say again I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

OOW wrote
Funny about the shot clock. No one watching this game would say there was a need for one. Both teams were very quick to the goal and quick to set up shots.

Will say again, this broadcast is very deceiving, you have the game recorded, look at the number of minutes of action you get (I'm bettin' about forty-five) in what you can pretty much figure was about a two hour long game. Here's a part from the article you posted that you didn't see:

Virginia temporarily stopped the bleeding when Chasney netted her fifth of the day, but Northwestern's Munday converted a free-position shot with 12:05 left to make the lead four again, and then the 'Cats controlled the ensuing draw and ran almost seven minutes off the clock before Josephs netted her second of the day with 5:53 to play that made the score 13-8.

As for the state of the game in '05, I'm not so sure this broadcast is a good example of what kind of state the game was in. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I don't remember one draw in this game when a whistle was blown and one team was awarded the ball after the fustercluck that usually ensued after the ball went in the air on the draw and the two armies began battling for it (hence the 3v3 on the draw rule change to the game). This was absolute commonplace in the game (drove me out of my mind) but I don't remember seeing that once in this game, every draw was pretty clean. Another thing I don't remember seeing is a fast break stopped and everyone repositioned because a trailing girl got her stick in the halo (another thing that drove me nuts...hence, the play on rule change). You know that had to have happened several times in this game. Will say again, if wlax typically looked like this (pace of play and up and down action) there never would have been any talk about rule changes to improve the game. What would you want to see changed after watching this broadcast (if you were in the stands watching this game you probably would be thinking differently about that)?
Another interesting tidbit Joe B dispensed was K. A. Hiller's recruiting athletic looking girls on campus to come and give lacrosse a try....the landscape is just a little different today, that aint gonna happen at the D1 level. This used to happen in the days of yore in mlax too when coaches recruited the football boys to come and play lacrosse. That aint happenin' anymore either.
I am very thankful to keepers of the game for making the rule changes to the game that they did. It's an absolutely gorgeous game (I love the sticks and the way they make you play the game...unlike the bagged sticks in the mlax game) played by superb athletes and today's game much more resembles what this broadcast makes the '05 wlax game look like. It weren't quite like that and you know it, hence major rule changes....thankfully.

[wlaxphan20]

I agree DMac, definitely not a comprehensive example of the game in the mid-2000s and a lot due to the editing to fit in an hour timeframe. Those ground ball scrums were frustrating for both players and spectators - thankfully another rule change they made several years ago was the elimination of the empty stick check foul in ground ball scrums (still in play if only 2-3 players are involved and it is obvious).

I did love that story about KAH chasing down those sisters running on campus, recruiting them to the team, and having them wind up to be All-Americans. I know UMass recruited a soccer player or two in 2016 and essentially used them as match-up defenders for face guarding. And Courtney Waite (2012-2015) was going to play D3 soccer and Jenny Levy had to convince her to come play D1 lacrosse at UNC and she turned out to be an All-American and USA team member. However, Waite had experience playing lacrosse, and was not completely new to the game, so there's a difference. But, the days of plucking other athletes off campus and from other athletic teams definitely isn't as prevalent as it used to be.

This seemed to be a production of the B1G Ten Network, and I hope they make more. Specifically some of the games I'd like to see again are:

2006 - NU vs. Duke in the NCAA semi-finals, game went into OT
2007 - NU vs. UNC in the season opener (UNC won 9-8 in OT so I doubt the B1G Network will air that...)
2009 - NU vs. Penn in the NCAA semi-finals, game went in to double OT - I wonder if anyone remembers who scored the game winner and how she scored it
2010 - NU vs. Maryland in the National Championship

I also hope the ACC Network follows suit, especially since they have such a rich lacrosse history!

[seacoaster]

I agree DMac, definitely not a comprehensive example of the game in the mid-2000s and a lot due to the editing to fit in an hour timeframe. Those ground ball scrums were frustrating for both players and spectators - thankfully another rule change they made several years ago was the elimination of the empty stick check foul in ground ball scrums (still in play if only 2-3 players are involved and it is obvious).

I did love that story about KAH chasing down those sisters running on campus, recruiting them to the team, and having them wind up to be All-Americans. I know UMass recruited a soccer player or two in 2016 and essentially used them as match-up defenders for face guarding. And Courtney Waite (2012-2015) was going to play D3 soccer and Jenny Levy had to convince her to come play D1 lacrosse at UNC and she turned out to be an All-American and USA team member. However, Waite had experience playing lacrosse, and was not completely new to the game, so there's a difference. But, the days of plucking other athletes off campus and from other athletic teams definitely isn't as prevalent as it used to be.

This seemed to be a production of the B1G Ten Network, and I hope they make more. Specifically some of the games I'd like to see again are:

2006 - NU vs. Duke in the NCAA semi-finals, game went into OT
2007 - NU vs. UNC in the season opener (UNC won 9-8 in OT so I doubt the B1G Network will air that...)
2009 - NU vs. Penn in the NCAA semi-finals, game went in to double OT - I wonder if anyone remembers who scored the game winner and how she scored it
2010 - NU vs. Maryland in the National Championship

I also hope the ACC Network follows suit, especially since they have such a rich lacrosse history!

I attended the 2006 Semifinal at Nickerson with NU and Duke; it was a spectacular game, and a nail-biter. I do think neither of those teams would beat BC this year or Maryland in 2019. This issue to me is depth, stick skills, and the use of and breakdown of the zone defenses. Today, the number of superfast, superskilled players now dwarfs the number then. And the coaching and strategizing has ticked up a few notches. And it's going to get even better.