Jill Johnson Redfern has your back.

More than being a Hall of Fame player, Redfern was a Hall of Fame teammate, both as a standout player at Ursinus College, earning MVP honors in 1986, and as a 1993 gold medalist with the U.S. women's national team.

“Jill was the type of player that every team needs,” said Kathleen Geiger, who played with Redfern on Team USA. “It was always team-first with Jill. In athletics, you can get caught up in what I produced today, but that was never Jill.”

As a defensive midfielder, Redfern never focused on the glamour. Her focus was winning as a team.

“If you made a mistake, Jill was the first one to say, we got this,” said Florida coach Amanda O’Leary, also a former U.S. teammate. “She was also the first one to come over and congratulate you if you did something well. Playing at a high level, you need to know that teammates have your back and you need to know they’re supporting you.”

Geiger and O'Leary described Redfern, the player, as unassuming and modest, never seeking recognition. When she became head coach at Lehigh in 2008, they continued to witness those same qualities. She has led the Mountain Hawks to six Patriot League tournaments in her tenure, including in each of her first three seasons. She has led the Mountain Hawks to six Patriot League tournaments in her tenure, including in each of her first three seasons.

“I know Jill doesn’t ever seek out honors, but she gets them because that’s how good she was,” said Geiger. “Honors don’t always land on every person who deserves them, so when you have the opportunity to see Jill get an honor that she truly deserves, it means a lot. I’m proud to say that she was my teammate.”

Redfern was a two-time Division III All-American at Ursinus, earning MVP of the 1986 NCAA Tournament after leading the Bears to a national championship. Then in 1998, she was inducted into the Ursinus College Hall of Fame.

“Jill was just tenacious,” said Geiger, an attacker who often went head-to-head against Redfern in practice. “She was very good at smothering her attacker, not letting them get the ball, and if they got the ball, not letting them do what they wanted. She was that defensive midfielder who did a little bit of everything. She wasn’t a goal scorer and wasn’t a player who stood out in the stat sheet, but you definitely missed her if you didn’t have her.”

Her playing career culminated with a gold medal performance as Team USA defeated England 4-1 in Edinburgh, Scotland, to claim the 1993 World Cup.  

“That year, we had a group of what we called Philadelphia players,” said Geiger, referencing the team's Philadelphia natives, which included Redfern, O’Leary and herself, the latter two graduating from Temple. “We have lifelong friendships from that opportunity to play together. When you play in the U.S. program, you travel so much and you stay with your teammates so much. You’re in their homes and they’re in your homes. Your friendship is very deep. It’s a friendship that lasts forever.”

Their U.S. friendships blossomed into a lifetime camaraderie full of laughter. Redfern had a "dry sense of humor," but a "fabulous" one, said Geiger. Yet it's her impact on and off the field, as a player and coach, that has earned Redfern national respect. 

“Sometimes, it’s easy to lose sight that the focus of coaches is more than what players do on the lacrosse field,” said O’Leary. “Jill’s players go on to tremendous success in their professions, and are wonderful people. I look at Jill as a mentor and I have the utmost respect for what she does and how she does it. She does it the right way, which is important.”

Ultimately, Redfern strives to uphold the integrity of the game, while being an example for others.

“Jill wants everybody to be successful, but wants the game to stay strong, be played fairly and safely,” said Geiger. “She has protected the game, taken care of the game and has the passion for the game to keep the game strong long past when she’s done coaching.”

“From the first time I ever met her, Jill was one of the hardest-working players out there,” O’Leary added. “She never took a play off. Sometimes, it’s easy to think about taking a breath, but every single time she took the field, Jill played as if it was her last time ever playing. She is super competitive, which is another reason she excelled. She wanted to be the best of the best.”

This September, Redfern is joining the best of the best as one of the newest members of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

“Jill is incredibly well-respected amongst her peers, the people who came before her and the people who will come after her,” said O’Leary. “I’m really proud of the fact that she will be joining this elite group of women. The selection committee got it right.”

Doug Knight, Leslie Blankin Lane, Jim McDonald, Laurette Payette, Casey Powell, Jill Johnson Redfern, Brooks Sweet, Robyn Nye Wood and Don Zimmerman will be inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in a black tie-optional ceremony Sept. 23 at The Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md. The event is nearly sold out. For more information, visit uslacrosse.org/hof.