Northwestern's No. 2-ranked women's lacrosse team takes its show to Dallas Saturday for a game against William & Mary in Cowboys Stadium.
The marquee draw in the day-long Dallax event which also features high school games and youth clinics, the Wildcats-Tribe game includes three players who hail from Texas -- Northwestern's Taylor Thornton and the Tribe's Sarah Johnson and Hannah Clark. Sponsored by womenslax.com, Dallax puts the focus on women's lacrosse in an area where the sport is growing.
"I'd wanted to play a game in the Dallas area because of Taylor Thornton and we have quite a few recruits coming in in the next few years from Texas," Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said, "so I just wanted to get out there and showcase the sport. We like to go into different areas and expose the sport to different areas. The last couple years we've played in Southern California and San Diego."
The Wildcats, who won five straight national titles between 2005 and 2009, are the only team outside the Eastern time zone to win an NCAA women's lacrosse championship. They have played on big stages but never in such a big arena as Cowboys Stadium, the site of last month's Super Bowl.
Amonte Hiller contacted Thornton's high school coach and her former Maryland teammate, Patty (Parichy) Wick at The Hockaday School in Dallas to ask about setting up a game in the area. Wick's team includes a granddaughter of Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones and that set in motion the idea to secure the stadium.
"We're pretty pumped up about it," Amonte Hiller said. "Taylor is over the moon. To have an opportunity to play in her state is special, but to play in the best venue in the country is even an added bonus."
