McBrien set for second round of U.S. National Team tryouts
7/21/2011 4:02:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - For the second straight year, a Lehigh women's lacrosse player has advanced to the second round of U.S. Senior National Team tryouts. After Lauren Dykstra and MaryLeah DiNisco did so last summer, rising junior midfielder Julie McBrien has followed suit this year. The tryouts will take place from July 29-31 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.McBrien and First Team All-Patriot League goalie Alexandra Fitzpatrick took part in the first round of tryouts in late May. McBrien will now compete against the nation's best women's lacrosse players in a challenging three-day tryout at UMBC.
“Julie is such a student of the game and a great example of the things we work on at Lehigh, which is a lot of film reinforcement and individual training,” said Lehigh head coach Jill Redfern. “Getting in this environment will make her even better. It's a tremendous amount of pressure; all those girls have size and speed and power. You can't come back not an improved player.”
“I went into the [first round of] tryouts just having fun, without any expectations,” said McBrien. “I was really happy and surprised when I found out that I made it to the second round.”
McBrien moved from defense to midfield in 2011 and wouldn't disappoint. She finished the year fifth on the Mountain Hawks with 29 points via 18 goals and 11 assists while also registering 30 draw controls and 21 groundballs. Her standout offensive game came against Colgate on Mar. 12 when she posted a career-high six goals behind a career-high five goals and an assist.
Redfern was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1987-93 and has given McBrien advice throughout the process.
“The only advice that I really gave her is that you need to play with a lot of confidence,” said Redfern. “The pace is very fast. If you're shell-shocked from the beginning, it's really hard to catch up and get into the groove. But if you go out there, believe in yourself and you hang in and get some confidence in the first couple games, things will go well for you.”
Lehighsports.com caught up with McBrien and Coach Redfern to talk about this past season, the first round of tryouts and what she's expecting in round two.
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