May 30, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – For the second season in a row, Notre Dame women’s lacrosse players Jillian Byers (So., Northport, N.Y.) and Caitlin McKinney (Jr., Lafayette Hill, Pa.) have been selected to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association’s (IWLCA)/U.S. Lacrosse All-American team. Both players were named second team for the 2007 season after being named first team all-West/Midwest Region a week ago.
By being named second team All-American this season, Byers becomes the first Irish women’s lacrosse player to take All-American honors in her first two seasons at Notre Dame. The high-scoring attack player was a second team IWLCA selection in 2006 as a freshman in 2006. McKinney takes All-American honors for the second time in her career as she was a third team selection as a sophomore last season. Byers and McKinney are just the second and third Irish players to be two-time All-Americans, joining Crysti Foote ’06 (first team in 2006, third team in 2005).
The IWLCA/U.S. Lacrosse All-American teams will be honored at an awards banquet on June 16, 2007 in King of Prussia, Pa.
Byers continued her impressive Notre Dame two-year career in 2007 for the Irish by scoring 58 goals with eight assists to lead the team in scoring with 66 points, finishing fourth in the BIG EAST scoring race. She became the first Notre Dame player to score 50 goals in a season twice in her career and now has 112 markers in her first two years for the Irish. A unanimous first team all-BIG EAST selection for the second year in a row, she was also a first team IWLCA all-Region choice as a freshman. This season, she scored at least three points in 12 of the team’s 17 games and had 13 games with three or more goals. A two-time BIG EAST offensive player of the week, she reached both the 100-point plateau and the 100-goal mark quicker than any player in Notre Dame history, hitting the “Century” mark for points in 24 games and goals in 33.
McKinney trailed only Byers in scoring this season as she finished second on the Irish score sheet with 44 goals and 21 assists for 65 points and was fifth in the BIG EAST in scoring. The speedster finished the year on a Notre Dame record 39-game point streak that started on April 24, 2005 during her freshman year. A unanimous first team all-BIG EAST selection for the second year in a row, McKinney recorded three or more points in 12 of the team’s 17 games and had 12 games with two or more goals. For her career, McKinney is fourth in goals (114), fifth in assists (55) and fourth all-time in points with 169. She also was a third team IWLCA All-American in 2006.
Notre Dame finished the 2007 season with an 11-6 overall record and was 3-2 in BIG EAST play. The Irish closed the year ranked 13th in the IWLCA poll and 12th in the Inside Lacrosse.com rankings.