Former Owl O’Leary (Spring-Ford, Temple) begins building at Florida

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/23/08

Former Temple great Amanda (Moore) O’Leary, a Spring-Ford graduate, recently announced her first recruiting class of 24 student athletes for the new University of Florida lacrosse program.

Among the signees, 11 played for high schools that ranked among the top 25 programs in the final 2008 LaxPower national rankings. Additionally, seven were named to US Lacrosse High School All-America Teams as juniors.

“We, as a staff, are proud to announce the outstanding inaugural class enrolling at the University of Florida in the fall of 2009,” O’Leary said. “These quality young women will build the foundation of the future success of Florida lacrosse. They possess exceptional athleticism, talent and a strong work-ethic.”

O’Leary, hired on June 22, 2007, and her Gators will begin competition in the 2009-10 athletic season. O’Leary, 40, came to UF from Yale, where she led the Bulldogs for 14 seasons and posted a career record of 162-65 (.714).

That ranks her No. 5 among active Division I coaches for career winning percentage. She is also No. 7 among the active coaches’ with her 162 wins.

During her playing career, O’Leary was a four-year starter for Temple’s lacrosse and field hockey teams. A two-time All-American in both sports, O’Leary led the Owl lacrosse team to a 19-0 record and the national championship in 1988.

O’Leary was the Midfielder of the Year selection for the NCAA All-Tournament teams in 1987 and 1988 as well as the NCAA Most Valuable Player in 1988. Lacrosse Magazine also selected her as its 1988 Player of the Year.

In 2005, O’Leary was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. She also became a member of the Temple Owls’ Hall of Fame in the fall of 2004. O’Leary was named to the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse 25th Anniversary Team in the fall of 2006.

O’Leary was the youngest player and starter on the 1989 U.S. World Cup team that claimed the International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Association (IFWLA) gold medal in Perth, Australia. O’Leary was the second-leading scorer on the 1993 U.S. World Cup team which repeated as the IFWLA World Cup champions in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the 1993 World Cup, O’Leary scored 17 points, including the game-winner versus Australia in the semifinal game.