Welcome to Minnesota Devon Wills and Hilary Bowen!

Devon Wills and Hilary Bowen were in Minnesota this weekend for Minnesota Elite Academy's Fall Guest Coach Series.  They provided goalie and field clinics and small group sessions for all area players in grades 2 - 12.  In addition, they gave instruction to a free coaches clinic for area youth and high school coaches.

Not only are Devon and Hilary amongst the world's best lacrosse players, they are generous with their lacrosse knowledge, passionate about growing the game, and are very nice and fun.  We look forward to more from these two amazing women!

Devon Wills is a two-time World Cup gold medalist as Team USA's goalie - the world's best goalie! She is currently defensive coordinator for University of Southern California women's lacrosse team. Prior to USC, Devon was assistant at University of Denver and her alma mater Dartmouth.  As a player at Dartmouth, Devon was a four-time All-Ivy League performer.

Hilary Bowen is currently University of Southern California's offensive coordinator. Prior to USC Hilary was an assistant at Mount St. Mary's in Maryland. As an attack player at Northwestern, Hilary was an offensive force in helping her team win the NCAA championship title each year, receiving MVP in the last 2 championship games. Hilary was a US All-American player in her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. This is Hilary's second time to Minnesota to run clinics for MN Elite Academy.  She is that good!

Our littlest laxers - grades 2-4 with devon and Hilary.  Amazing work by these young ladies - learning to switch hands and dodge the defender!  The future of lacrosse looks pretty amazing!

Devon and Hilary put on a free clinic for area youth and high school coaches. The response was tremendous and the feedback was very positive. We appreciate the experts coming to Minnesota to help grow the game!

Hilary working with our 5th-8th grade laxers

Hilary working individually with players on the draw

The Goalie Clinic was a huge hit! These young goalies were learning the very best goalkeeping skills from the world's best goalie.

Northstar Invitational

Northstar Invitational is an invite-only camp/showcase for the nations' top 50 girls in each of grad years '15, '16, & '17. The event's primary goal is to expose carefully selected athletes, representing the very best of high school lacrosse, to top college coaches from around the country. Concentrated talent, coupled with a very calculated game format, offers a prime opportunity for athletes to showcase themselves. 

Minnesota Elite had 7 players invited to attend this elite event, held in Lake Placid, NY.

MN Elite Girls '15

• Maddy Kuras
• Jessica Lagerquist
• Jordan Chancellor
• Brynne Swearingen
• Erin McGinnis

MN Elite Girls '16

• Payton Borg
• Kelly Wolfe 

Erin and Jordan catching some down-time

playing hard - on and off the field

getting their goofy looks perfected

Minnesota Elite has several Northstar Invitational alumni that have committed to play lacrosse in college:

• Sophie Buelow - Lindenwood University
• Oralee Hespenheide - Duke University
• Lydia Sutton - University of Southern California
• Anne Slusser - Duke University

Lydia Sutton Playing in the Women's Lacrosse World Cup

July 22: Update from Lydia Sutton after returning home from the FIL Women's Lacrosse World Cup, where she was on the Silver Medal Canadian Team.

What are some of your favorite memories from your World Cup experience?
Sutton: By far, my favorite memory from the World Cup was winning the silver medal. It wasn't the best feeling to lose, but it was such a great feeling knowing that we had made history. Another one of my favorite memories from the World Cup has to be all of our team bonding events. As a team, we hung out together a lot and played games that we made up - it was such a blast.

How would you describe your Team Canada teammates?
Sutton: My teammates are a different group of girls, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I really enjoy every girl on the team and I think each one brought their own special character to the team.  All the girls are very fun and outgoing and everyone got along with each other so well.

Canada lost the previous 3 semi-final World Cup games. This year they beat Australia to advance to the Championship game - what was it like to win that game?
Sutton: It was a pretty great feeling to beat Australia twice in the World Cup. Australia is always such a strong team and Team Canada has never before beaten them. To win that semifinal game, that felt great!  I haven't played in any of the past World Cups, but for those that did, I could feel the energy coming from the defeats in the last World Cups.  Knowing how big of an accomplishment it was for them made me feel the same way.

What players made a difference for you in this tournament?
Sutton: All of the older girls were so helpful throughout the 3 weeks in Canada. I always had someone looking out for me, I always knew they had my back.

There were 19 teams and 342 players in this World Cup. Which teams did you connect with?
Sutton: It was so fun to meet so many girls from around the world, and interacting with them every day. We LOVED the Netherlands team! They were always wondering how we did and who's to play next. They were a great group of girls and I am so glad I got to meet all of them.

Did you have any fans from Minnesota cheering you on?
Sutton: The Lakers team from MN was in Oshawa for a tournament and some of the girls that I know on that team were in the stands for a couple of games. My parents were there and were my biggest fans and supporters. I had a lot of friends, family, and MN Elite teammates keeping updated on the games and watching the online streaming of my games.  I knew there were lots of people cheering for Team Canada.

What piece of advice would you give young lacrosse players who aspire to play in the World Cup?
Sutton: It might sound like a broken record, but just keep on practicing. The more you practice the better you will be, especially the basic fundamentals like stick-work.  Work hard and follow your dreams!

Team Canada

Lydia Sutton and Dana Dobbie

An exchange with the Netherlands team - they were always in bright orange, and they gave us these cool orange shades!

 Read a previous write-up and view more photos below:

US Lacrosse U-15 National Championships

Minnesota Elite is proud to have a U-15 team representing the Central Division at the U-15 National Championship tournament in Orlando, Florida this week.  We finished as a semifinalist in the Central Division Championships, earning a spot at this big event.

Day 1: Tour of beautiful Rollins College in Winter Park. Rollins also has a very strong women's lacrosse program, competing at the Division II level.  MN Elite Girls frequently plays against their club team RC Elite, and it's always a great competition.  Coach Dennis Short spent time with our MN Elite team, providing a campus tour and a great talk on playing lacrosse in college. 

MN Elite U-15 team at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando

Games begin!

Chalk talk with Coach Judy after the team's win over Louisville Premier in their first game of the tournament

U-15 Team at Sea World

With SHAMU at Sea world