SPARKS, Md. — Elizabeth Hillman and Ally Murphy have been named as the captains for the 2019 U.S. Women’s U19 lacrosse team.
"I'm really excited to have Elizabeth and Ally serve as captains for this team," said head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "They represent the USA and this group in an incredible way. Our cohesiveness as a group is so important and they will lead us to be humble and hungry at the world championship.
"Elizabeth is a tough competitor and really pushed the team to achieve at all of the little things and Ally is a selfless team player that brings people together. They balance each other extremely well. We are excited for their leadership in the tournament."
Hillman, a native of Fallston, Md. who starred at Bel Air High School, recently completed her freshman season at the University of North Carolina. She was the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2018, according to Inside Lacrosse, and helped the Tar Heels reach the NCAA semifinals this past spring. A dynamic two-way midfielder, Hillman played in 20 games for North Carolina and had 12 points, 11 groundballs, 11 draw controls and seven caused turnovers in her rookie campaign.
Murphy is one of the team’s most experienced players, having recently completed her sophomore season at the University of Massachusetts. Murphy was a four-year letterwinner at Wantagh (N.Y.) High School before heading to UMass. The defender earned second team All-Atlantic 10 honors in 2019 after helping UMass to a 15-4 record and the A-10 regular season title. In two years at UMass, Murphy has played in 34 games with 13 goals, four assists, 45 groundballs, 27 draw controls and 16 caused turnovers.
The World Lacrosse Women’s U19 World Championship runs from Aug. 1-10 in Peterborough, Ontario. The U.S., looking to reclaim gold after a string of four straight world championships ended with a loss to Canada in the gold medal game in 2015 at the last U19 world championship in Scotland, opens its schedule on Aug. 2 against Australia.
The U.S. women’s national team trains and plays using best-in-class products provided by Nike (apparel and footwear), Brine (equipment), STX (equipment), SISU Guard (mouthguards), The Pearl by Guardian (balls) and DJO (sports braces).
In addition to these partners, Greenfields, Krossover, MedStar Sports Medicine and Sports Performance Tracking are official sponsors of the U.S. national team program. Team training is also aided by products from Motive Pure, NormaTec Recovery and Athletic Republic.