Recent Loyola graduate Brennan Dwyer wasn’t just representing her school or state at the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Senior Game.
Dwyer was the only athlete from the Midwest among the 48 females selected for the 12th annual event for college freshmen-to-be, which took place on Saturday in Towson, Md.
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Dwyer , a midfielder who led the Ramblers to four state titles and plans to continue her career at Northwestern, was the first female Under Armour All-American from the Midwest since 2014. The last Under Armour All-American from Illinois was Loyola’s Meredith Abrahamson in 2012.
Though lacrosse is growing in popularity throughout the country — the game featured a player from Texas, Oregon and Georgia — the East Coast is still the sport’s hotbed: Thirty-five players came from New York, Maryland and New Jersey. Dwyer said she was motivated to show the sport can be played by those from the Central time zone.
“I think it was important to represent the Midwest,” said Dwyer, who lives in Winnetka. “People don’t usually think the Midwest is that great (for lacrosse), but it was an opportunity to show how it’s grown in the Midwest and especially Illinois. Around here, schools are getting better and the sport is expanding.”
Dwyer and the North team lost to the South 16-15 in overtime. Though Dwyer did not have a goal or assist, she made her presence felt, according to Ryan Heacock, whose company Corrigan Sports organizes the event on behalf of Under Armour.
“(Dwyer) is very quick and a great draw specialist. In all-star games it can be tough sometimes because people don’t pass. But Brennan did well, had some ground balls and was a factor in the game,” said Heacock, a former college lacrosse player who is Corrigan’s vice president of sales and event coordinator of the all-star game.
John Dwyer, Brennan’s father and the Loyola girls lacrosse coach, was at the game with his wife Dinny, and said his daughter took a few draws and actually spent part of the game playing in an unfamiliar defensive position.
According to John Dwyer, the pace of the game, the officiating and the talent should give Brennan Dwyer an idea of what she will see next year playing for powerhouse Northwestern, which has won seven NCAA titles since 2005.
“It was a nice transition to college (for Brennan). The game had quite a bit more physicality and the pace was even faster. It was called the way they call a college game,” said John Dwyer, whose older daughter Kathleen played in the 2007 Under Armour All-America Game before going on to play at Georgetown.
According to Heacock, the Under Armour All-Americans are selected by a committee from the Inside Lacrosse media outlet.
Heacock said committee members often become familiar with the players during the Under Armour Underclass Tournament, a separate event held the same weekend as the All-Star game and featuring teams from 11 different regions around country. The players are then tracked for the rest of their high school careers.
Brennan Dwyer said she played for the Midwest Region team in the summer after her freshman year.
“We went and watched the senior game (that year), and it was so cool to see all those girls. I never thought I would be in the game, and I knew it would be a huge honor to be able to play out there,” Brennan Dwyer said.
A four-time all-state selection, Brennan Dwyer finished her career with 395 goals, 239 assists and 876 draw controls.
In addition to Saturday’s All-America Game, which aired live on ESPNU, Brennan Dwyer and the All-Americans visited the Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore on June 29, practiced twice on Friday and visited UA House at Fayette on Saturday. The All-Americans conducted lacrosse clinics for children from two local lacrosse organizations that serve inner-city youth, Charm City Youth Lax and Harlem Lacrosse, at the community center the morning of the game.
“It was very exciting to be out there and get an opportunity to play with all these (All-Americans), the best-of-the-best,” Brennan Dwyer said. “They are all so good, and all very nice people. The whole experience and how we were treated by Under Armour was so great, all the gear they gave us, and we did a fun service project working with the people of Baltimore.”
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
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Brennan Dwyer and her fellow Northwestern freshmen-to-be will participate in the school’s Elite Camp from July 16-19, which also will include talented high school players from around the country.
Dwyer and many of those same incoming freshmen will then compete together against freshmen-to-be from other top college programs at the Lake Placid (N.Y.) Summit Lacrosse Tournament, held July 31-Aug. 6.
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