This article appears in the March edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.
It may have taken five years to don the red, white and blue again, but it took just five minutes for Katrina Dowd to find her groove.
Dowd, the leading scorer of the 2013 U.S. World Cup team, returned to the field with Team USA at Spring Premiere in January. She had a wide-open look on goal about five minutes into the game Jan. 26 against England on the campus of Stanford University.
But instead of shooting like her 2013 self, she flipped a flashy underhand pass beyond the reach of two defenders to Kayla Treanor, top scorer of the 2017 World Cup, who put it away after several stick fakes.
“I fit into their style of play,” Dowd said. “They really want attackers that love the game, attackers with great stick skills that are selfless that also know how to show up and make plays.”
And for the first time since being cut from the training roster in 2014, Dowd was Dowd again. She didn’t skip a beat. Playing on what she called her dream line alongside Treanor and Michelle Tumolo, she helped lead the U.S. to a 14-8 win.
“When coach [Jenny Levy] said it’s going to be you, Tumi and Treanor, I’ve been waiting for that,” Dowd said. “I thought that could be quite the combo.”
Dowd’s five-year wait included emotional moments personally, coast-to-coast changes professionally — she was named Oregon’s head coach in 2016 before returning to North Carolina as associate head coach under Levy in 2018 — and new opportunities internationally.
After stepping away from Team USA, Dowd accepted a position as an assistant for Canada.
“She’s a really high-end coach with a great mind for the game,” Levy said. “Bringing in both her college coaching experience and the World Cup coaching experience from 2017, and now to put that back on the field with her skill set, is just really that next-level player-coach.”
According to Dowd, Levy understood why she took the time away from Team USA.
“You never think you’re going to be the one that gets cut,” Dowd said. “But it did happen to me. It was a long time being off the roster, but part of that journey was I just couldn’t imagine not staying in the game. I couldn’t imagine not being at a World Cup, and that opportunity when Gary [Gait] called, it was, just for me, I’m a laxer.”
Dowd’s career arc with the U.S. team started in 2009, when she flew last-minute to Prague as a potential injury replacement for Whitney Douthett in the World Cup. Douthett suited up, so Dowd filmed games and provided moral support.
Four years later, she set a World Cup record with 26 goals.
“So many things have changed. But it’s still that same surreal feeling,” Dowd said. “Every player wants to aspire to be on that team. The dramatization of me getting cut and coming back just went away when I stepped on the field. It’s just about playing and connecting with your teammates.”
Dowd, who has competed in the UWLX and WPLL, joked that she’s a young 30. “I didn’t put a lot of miles on my legs,” she said with a laugh.
Still, to prepare for Spring Premiere, Dowd increased her speed work with UNC trainer Erik Hernandez and lifted weights four times a week while also jumping into Tar Heel practices.
What made the transition back even smoother was her knowledge of the game. “I always trust my brain,” she said. “Lax IQ is unguardable.”
“Katrina has changed the game,” Treanor said. “We’re all the lucky ones to be able to play with Katrina Dowd. She has one of the most brilliant minds in lacrosse.”