Crysti Foote will make her first appearance for Team Canada on June 23 when they face Wales in the opening game of the 2005 Women's Lacrosse World Cup.

Tracy Coyne And Crysti Foote Set To Lead Canada Into 2005 Women's Lacrosse World Cup

June 21, 2005

Annapolis, Md. – For Notre Dame women’s lacrosse head coach Tracy Coyne and third team Irish All-American Crysti Foote (Suffern, N.Y.), one season barely ended and another one began. As soon as Notre Dame’s 2005 season ended, the duo turned their sights on the 2005 Women’s Lacrosse World Cup Tournament that begins on Thursday, June 23rd at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

The two will hope that their hard work and lacrosse skills can help Canada to a World Cup medal. Coyne, who is the only head coach in the nine-year history of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program, will be making her second appearance in the World Cup as head coach of the Team Canada, while Foote, Notre Dame’s leading scorer in 2005, will make her first appearance for her native Canada.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Coyne became Canada’s head coach in 1999 and led the Canadians into the medal round in 2001. In her first World Cup appearance, Coyne helped guide Canada to first place in its pool that included Scotland, Germany and Japan. Canada then defeated Wales to advance to the medal round versus the host team, England. The Canadians dropped a 9-6 decision to England to end their medal hopes.

“This year’s team is older and more experienced than we were in 2001. Many of this year’s players have Division I experience and we have a strong group of returning players who have been there before with some of them playing together for six years on the national level,” says Coyne.

In nine seasons at Notre Dame, Coyne’s teams have an overall record of 72-50 and have made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2002, 2004). In 18 years as a head coach at Denison, Roanoke and Notre Dame, her record stands at 186-86 and includes eight NCAA appearances (two in Division I and six in Division III).

One of the newcomers to this year’s Canadian squad will be Foote who led the Irish with 36 goals and 14 assists for 50 points to earn first team All-BIG EAST and third team All-American honors. In three seasons at Notre Dame, the midfield/attack standout already ranks fourth in goals (87), fifth in assists (36) and fifth in points (123). A native of Toronto, Ont., Foote’s family moved to the United States when she was in sixth grade. Her father is a member of the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame and her sister, Julie, was a freshman on the 2005 Notre Dame lacrosse team.

Selected to the Canadian Under-19 team last year along with her sister, Julie, Foote was chosen to the World Cup team in February of 2005 and looks forward to the opportunity to represent her native country.

“It’s a great honor to be able to represent your country at this level of play,” says Foote.

“It’s very exciting and I am looking forward to playing and being a part of it.”

This year, based on the results of the 2001 tournament, Canada is a member of Pool A in the 10-team tournament and is grouped with the United States, Australia, England and Wales. Pool B consists of Scotland, Japan, Germany, the Czech Republic and New Zealand.

The Canadians open pool play on Thursday, June 23 in a 1:00 p.m. (EDT) game versus Wales at the Naval Academy’s Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The following day (Friday, June 24), Canada plays Australia at 7:30 p.m. On June 25, Canada squares off versus the United States in a 5:00 p.m. (EDT) start. After a day off on Sunday, June 26, Canada concludes pool play with a 7:30 p.m. (EDT) game versus England on Monday, June 28.

Medal play begins on Tuesday, June 29 at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and concludes on Saturday, July 2 with the bronze medal game at 12:30 p.m. (EDT) and the gold medal game at 3:00 p.m. (EDT). The complete Women’s Lacrosse World Cup schedule follows:

Pool Play ScheduleGWSF - Glenn Warner Soccer FacilityNMCMS - Navy-Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAll times are EDT
Thursday, June 23Time Games/Event Location10 a.m. Japan vs. Czech Republic GWSF 1 p.m. Canada vs. Wales GWSF 4 p.m. Scotland vs. Germany GWSF 5:30 p.m. OPENING CEREMONIES GWSF 8 p.m. United States vs. England GWSF
Friday, June 24Time Games Location11 a.m. Czech Republic vs. New Zealand GWSF 2 p.m. Japan vs. Germany GWSF 5 p.m. United States vs. Wales GWSF 7:30 p.m. Australia vs. Canada GWSF
Saturday, June 25Time Games Location11 a.m. Japan vs. New Zealand GWSF 2 p.m. Australia vs. England GWSF 5 p.m. United States vs. Canada GWSF 7:30 p.m. Scotland vs. Czech Republic GWSF
Sunday, June 26Time Games Location11 a.m. England vs. Wales GWSF 2 p.m. United States vs. Australia GWSF 5 p.m. Scotland vs. Japan GWSF 7:30 p.m. Germany vs. New Zealand GWSF
Monday, June 27Time Games Location11 a.m. Australia vs. Wales GWSF 2 p.m. Scotland vs. New Zealand GWSF 5 p.m. Germany vs. Czech Republic GWSF 7:30 p.m. Canada vs. England GWSF
***Teams will be ranked based on Pool Play***
Thursday, June 30 - QuarterfinalsTime Games Location11 a.m. Q4: 4 vs. 5 (W = Semifinals, L = 5th/6th Playoff) NMCMS 2 p.m. Q3: 3 vs. 6 (W = Semifinals, L = 5th/6th Playoff) NMCMS 5 p.m. Q2: 2 vs. 7 (W = Semifinals, L = 7th/8th Playoff) NMCMS 7:30 p.m. Q1: 1 vs. 8 (W = Semifinals, L = 7th/8th Playoff) NMCMS
Friday, July 1 - SemifinalsTime Games Location11 a.m. 9th/10th Playoff NMCMS 2 p.m. 7th/8th Playoff NMCMS 5 p.m. Semifinal 2: Q2 winner vs. Q3 winner NMCMS 7:30 p.m. Semifinal 1: Q1 winner vs. Q4 winner NMCMS
Saturday, July 2 - ChampionshipTime Games Location10 a.m. 5th/6th Playoff NMCMS12:30 p.m. Bronze Medal Game (Losers of Semifinals) NMCMS 3 p.m. Gold Medal Game (Winners of Semifinals) NMCMS 5:30 p.m. CLOSING CEREMONIES NMCMS