Courtesy: UVM Athletic Communications
PETERBOROUGH, Ontario ? The University of Vermont’s Kristen Millar (Whitby, Ontario) was one of four Canadian players and 12 overall named to the All-World Team at the 2007 IFWLA U19 Women’s Lacrosse World Championships.
Millar was the tournament leader in ground balls (19), draw controls (21), and caused turnovers (12). She finished tied for 13th among the tournament scoring leaders and ranked second on Team Canada with 16 points on 14 goals and two assists.
“This is a great honor for Kristen and very well deserved,” said Canadian and Vermont head coach Jen Johnson. “She played well consistently throughout the tournament. She provided the team with great leadership by example for us. She stepped up where and when we needed it, whether offensively or defensively. I think having her get this opportunity to play against international competition will help our Vermont program this season.”
Canada finished fourth at the championships. The Canadians dropped a close 9-8 decision to England in the bronze medal game and finished the tournament with a record of 3-3.
The Canadians opened the tournament with an 11-8 victory over Australia. It was the first-ever win for Canada over the Australians at the junior or senior level. Millar scored twice and added four draw controls in the game to garner “Player of the Game” honors.
In the second round of pool play, Canada fell to the United States, the two-time defending champions, 17-7. Millar recorded a hat-trick in the game. In the final game of the round-robin pool play, Canada defeated England, 9-5. Millar contributed three goals, an assist and four ground balls.
Canada came out of the pool play as the second seed overall in the tournament with a 2-1 record. The Canadians advanced to the semifinals with a convincing 20-9 victory over the Haudenesaunee team in the quarterfinals. Millar recorded her third straight hat-trick, while adding six ground balls, five draw controls and five caused turnovers.
The Canadians fell, 21-9, to Australia as the Aussies avenged their opening round loss. Millar was named the “Player of the Game” for the second time in the tournament against Australia. She contributed her fourth consecutive hat trick and added six ground balls, four draw controls and three caused turnovers.
Millar returns to Vermont for her junior season in 2007-08. She is one of the top players in America East, earning a spot on the league’s all-conference first team last season. She finished the 2007 season as the national leader in draw controls among Division I schools. She averaged 5.35 draw controls per game, 91 total, and enters the 2008 campaign ranked sixth all-time among NCAA leaders with 183 career draw controls.
Millar, who earned IWLCA Division I Northeast Regional All-America Second Team for the second straight year, also ranked seventh nationally in ground balls per game (3.35). She is the only Catamount in the program’s history to have garnered IWLCA Regional All-America honors.
She led Vermont in scoring for the second straight year with 65 points (45 goals, 19, assists), one shy of tying the program’s record for most points in a single-season in 2007. Her team-leading 45 goals ranks fourth among the most in a single-season at Vermont. She also led the Catamounts in ground balls (57), draw controls (91) and caused turnovers (25).
Millar shattered the all-time record at Vermont in draw controls in just two seasons, she set the mark last year with her 92 draw controls as a freshman, breaking the mark of 83 held by all-time leading scorer Vanessa Cox ?05.
Millar, the team’s co-MVP in 2007, led America East in total points (65), goals (45), ground balls (57) and draw controls (91).
As a sophomore, Millar became the seventh player at UVM to reach the 100-point milestone. She reached the mark in 28 career games, the fastest in school history and the second fastest in America East history.