By Will Scott

The University of Louisville women’s lacrosse team will look to kick off its inaugural season in the upcoming school year when it becomes U of L’s 23rd varsity sport.

Athletic Director Tom Jurich wasted no time after announcing the addition of the sport by naming Kellie Young as head coach back in July 2006.

“When the decision was made to add women’s lacrosse, we wanted to go full speed ahead,” Jurich said. “We began to put the infrastructure in place by building a quality stadium and we wanted to target a sitting head coach with a lot of experience.”

Young clearly fit that description.

She amassed a 51-24 record as the head coach at James Madison, where she led the team to three NCAA tournament appearances, three Colonial Athletic Association titles and a top five ranking. In addition to her coaching experience, Young was a two-time all-region and all-conference selection in her playing days at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass.

Young has jump-started the program by signing 22 student athletes to comprise its first recruiting class. The class includes 21 high school signees with all four years of eligibility and a junior college transfer with two years left.

“This recruiting cycle was by far the smoothest process in my coaching career,” Young said. “You’re looking to find that player who has something special that may have been overseen by other programs. You want a player who will grow each and every day into something spectacular.”

There is a good chance that this class has many players of that caliber.

In addition to Young’s enthusiasm, the public is starting to take notice of the new U of L squad.

Two lacrosse signees, Janaye Dzikewich and Sierra Smith-Hart, are among the top 20 athletes named to the Canadian under-19 women’s lacrosse team for the IFWLA U-19 World Championships in August.

In addition to the initial activity, there has been recent development to strengthen the Cards’ lineup even further.

Four transfers from Ohio University have signed up to join U of L as their university decided to discontinue the lacrosse program after the 2006 season.

These new additions add an experienced flavor to the Cards’ roster.

Also a part of the new class is goaltender Jen Heup, who will look to lead the Cards in their first season.

“Jen is hands-down, one of the best goalkeepers in the country,” Young said. “She has already received conference and regional recognition in just two years of collegiate competition. Building on what she has already learned between the pipes, Jen is bound for greatness in her final two seasons of play.”

Tom Jurich has tried to start the program out correctly with the hire of Young, who he sees as a young, ambitious coach who is ready to have the Cardinals among the best in the country.

The team will arrive at Louisville in September with high hopes and expectations for the inaugural season.