Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 10/6/20 – From US Lacrosse
US Lacrosse has named the 1976 Cornell University men’s lacrosse team and the 1989 U.S. Women’s World Cup Team as the winners of its 2020 Team of Distinction Awards, recognizing outstanding contributions and impact to lacrosse made by an entire team during a specific era of participation.
The 1989 U.S. Women’s World Cup Team, sponsored by the United States Women’s Lacrosse Association, won the gold medal at the world championship played in Perth, Australia. The event was just the third women’s World Cup competition and marked the second time that the United States claimed the top prize. Six nations competed in 1989: Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, USA, and Wales.
The Americans – led by many Philly women – outscored their six opponents by a cumulative score of 56 to 20 during the tournament, and defeated England, 6-5 in sudden-death overtime, in the gold medal game. A dominating defense, anchored by goalie Heather Dow, led the way to the title for the U.S. team. Dow recorded 50 saves through the six games, which still ranks as the U.S. record for most saves in a single World Cup Tournament.
All told, 13 members of the team have been inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, in addition to both head coach Sue Stahl (1999 HOF, Upper Darby grad, longtime Ursinus and Temple assistant) and assistant coach Feffie Barnhill (2006 HOF, Ursinus grad, current Head coach at Ursuline Academy).
Members of the 1989 gold medal squad were:
*Team captain Dee Cross (1999 HOF, Norristown graduate, current coach at Upper Dublin)
*Margie Anderson (2016 HOF)
*Sandy Bryan (2006 HOF)
*Fran Den Hartog (2010 HOF)
*Betsy Dougherty (2000 HOF, Wissahickon graduate, current coach at New Hope-Solebury)
*Heather Dow (2002 HOF)
*Kathleen Geiger (2001 HOF, Lansdowne-Aldan High School grad, Temple grad, current assistant at Springfield-Delco)
*Lisa Griswold (2020 HOF)
*Jackie Keeley (Spring-Ford, Ursinus grad, former Lehigh head coach)
*Kim Lambdin (Plymouth Whitemarsh and Temple grad, former Temple and Delaware head coach)
*Mary McCarthy (2010 HOF, Moorestown, Penn State grad)
*Mandee Moore (2005 HOF, Spring-Ford and Temple grad)
*Chrissy Muller Poplawski (Haverford High and Temple grad, former assistant at Springfield-Delco)
*Tracy Stumpf (2013 HOF, Springfield-Delco grad)
*Julie Williams (2002 HOF, Wissahickon grad, former Penn State head coach)
*and Karen Emas Borbee (2001 HOF, Penncrest and Delaware grad, current head coach at Swarthmore).
*The team manager was the late Anita Deasey (Lower Merion and Ursinus grad, coached at Harriton, Ursinus as an assistant, Episcopal Academy and Swarthmore College as an assistant).
“We were really a very tight-knit group, and we put it all out there for each other,” said team captain Cross. “At least half of us had also been on the 1986 U.S. team that lost in the championship, so now we were a little older and ready to get it done. It was such an honor to be a part of that team.”
Cross noted that playing the tournament on foreign soil helped to further build the bonds among the members of the team.
“You really get to know a lot about each other when you are travelling,” she said, “and that made us come together. It was a very easy group to be a part of. We were all good friends, and still are. We were one.”
