It wasn’t too long ago that Kennedy was a dreamer, standing in the same shoes as the young girls who now fawn over their heroes on the national team.
“It’s amazing that these girls know my name,” Kennedy said. “They know what I look like. They know all of us. They know our stat lines and where we’re from. They wear our jerseys. Being able to be the idols for them is something that will problem sink in in 10 years.”
Kennedy scored twice in the first half — both on free position chances — and Ohlmiller did all of her damage in the second quarter. She scored three straight U.S. tallies, taking a 9-1 lead and making it 12-1 in the span of six-plus minutes.
Kennedy added her third with 7:19 left in the third quarter off a feed from Kayla Treanor, making the score 17-1.
Even in a lopsided affair, the cheers grew louder during the night hours. Originally scheduled for 8 p.m., weather pushed the start time to 9:30. The delay did little to effect the size of the crowd — a sign of the game’s growth and the steadfast support of the team.
“We’re surrounded by women who have done that at all of their respective programs,” Ohlmiller said of how the U.S. team is helping to elevate women’s lacrosse. “They’ve raised the bar with the people around them. When we get to come together as one, it’s just this work of art.”
The difference is that many of Ohlmiller and Kennedy’s peers come from traditional NCAA powerhouses like Maryland and North Carolina. Not them. They’re repping Long Island.
“Just representing the program we came from, that means a lot to us,” Ohlmiller said.