MVP Wills Backstops USA to World Cup Title
from press releases
Former Dartmouth All-America goalie Devon Wills '06 earned match
MVP honors as she and teammate Whitney Douthett '07 led Team USA to
the 2009 Lacrosse World Cup Championship with an 8-7 victory over
Australia.
Wills only gave up a staggering four goals to the mighty Aussies,
who had stolen the World Cup crown from the US in 2005 after the
Americans had taken four-straight titles. She made eight saves and
scooped up three ground balls, earning Most Valuable Player honors
for the championship game. Douthett also added two ground balls in
the US victory.
With an 8-4 lead and just under five minutes to play, Wills was
given a yellow card after coming out of the cage and colliding with
an Australian player. She was sent to the bench for a three-minute
penalty and Australia managed three goals against her
replacement.
She returned to the game with 1:45 to play, clinging to an 8-7 lead
and facing the Australian attack that had won the draw control
after its seventh goal. She stonewalled Jen Adams' point blank
shot, held onto the ball and in trademark fashion evaded her
opponent while dodging around the goal to drain some time off the
clock. She successfully cleared it to her midfielders and the US
stalled out the last minute of the game to regain the title from
its archrival.
In the first half, Australia answered an early US run to take a 3-3
tie into halftime, after Wills made three first-half stops. The
offense gave her a boost in the second as the US opened with three
goals in the first 13 minutes to take a 6-3 lead. The Americans
added two more to Australia's one for the 8-4 lead with under five
minutes remaining and looked to be on cruise control before the
Wills yellow card set up the dramatic ending.
Douthett and Wills were both integral parts of the United States'
impressive 7-0 run through the tournament that included two
one-goal wins over Australia. The former Dartmouth All-Americas,
who played in two NCAA Final Fours with the Big Green, were part of
a unique 18-woman US National Team, as it was the first World Cup
for every player on the
squad.
