Jan. 29, 2008
Notre Dame, Ind. – Two members of the 2008 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team have been named to Inside Lacrosse magazine’s top-20 players’ list for the upcoming spring season. The list appears in the publication’s February issue.
Junior attack standout Jillian Byers (Northport, N.Y.) was the top-rated Notre Dame player as she was selected ninth overall. She was followed by midfield/attack leader Caitlin McKinney (Sr., Lafayette Hill, Pa.) who was 14th on the list.
The Irish are one of three teams to have two players mentioned as Northwestern has four and Maryland has two to join Notre Dame.
Both Byers and McKinney have been selected All-American in each of the last two seasons with Byers being a second team Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association (IWLCA) pick in 2006 and 2007 while McKinney was a third team pick in 2006 and a second team selection last year. Inside Lacrosse selected both players third team All-Americans last year.
In two seasons at Notre Dame, Byers has put together an impressive career. In 2007, she led the Irish in scoring with 58 goals and eight assists for 66 points to finish fourth among BIG EAST scorers. She became the first Notre Dame player to score 50 goals in a season twice in her career and now has 112 markers over her first seasons. A unanimous first team all-BIG EAST selection in each of her first two years, Byers also is a two-time, first-team IWLCA all-Region choice. During the 2007 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. In 36 career games, Byers has 112 goals and 32 assists for 144 points. She already ranks fifth in goals and seventh in points on the Irish all-time scoring lists.
McKinney was second on the Notre Dame scoresheet in 2007, trailing Byers by one point as she scored 44 times with 21 assists for 65 points and was fifth in the BIG EAST scoring race. 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 has been a three-time IWLCA all-region selection during her career. She collected three or more points in 12 of the team’s 17 games in 2007 and had 12 games with two or more goals. For her Notre Dame career, she is fourth in goals (114), fifth in assists (55) and fourth all-time in points with 169.
Notre Dame finished the 2007 season with an 11-6 overall record and was 3-2 in BIG EAST play. The Irish open the 2008 season on Friday, February 15 when they play host to Canisius in a 5:00 p.m. game at the Loftus Sports Center.