September 12, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

BU's Curro surprised by Team USA selection

by Roger Brown/

McKinley Curro finished third in America East in scoring last season with 71 points. (photo: Steve McLaughlin/Boston University)

McKinley Curro finished third in America East in scoring last season with 71 points. (photo: Steve McLaughlin/Boston University)

McKinley Curro didn’t give herself much of a chance to make the 2009-10 U.S. Lacrosse Developmental Team. In fact, Curro considered herself such a long shot that she wasn’t even listening when the team roster was being announced.

“That’s right,” Curro said. “I was congratulating two of my friends who made the team. I wasn’t even paying attention. I was excited, but shocked.”

Curro, a senior attacker at Boston University, took part in a preliminary tryout in May and was among the 64 players invited back for a two-day tryout in early August. She was one of 24 players selected to the team.   

Not even BU coach Liz Robertshaw expected Curro to be one of the final 24.
“I was surprised she made the team, but from talking with all of the coaches who were down there, it’s something that was deserved,” Robertshaw said. “A lot of times players are comfortable in your system but maybe not so comfortable in another system.

“Going in she was kind of like a dark horse. She has an aggressive attitude, and that’s something they can use. The text I got from her was: ‘OMG, I made it.' I think this has been a dream season for her.”

Georgetown’s Ricky Fried will coach the developmental team, which will make its debut Oct.  11 at the US Lacrosse Stars and Stripes event. The developmental team and the U.S. World Cup team, which recently won the gold medal in Prague, will each play North Carolina and James Madison at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Va.

Because lacrosse is not an Olympic sport, the developmental team will be preparing for the World Cup — the sport’s signature event — in 2013. Curro, who lives in Amherst, N.H., will have to prove herself in a tryout each year to retain her roster spot.

“She can flourish in that system,” Robertshaw said. “Making the team this year will give her a chance to get a feel for things and a better chance to secure her spot.”

Curro is coming off a breakout season at BU, which posted a 15-4 record and won the America East Conference championship for the fifth consecutive season.  She finished second on the team — and third among America East players — in scoring with 71 points (40 goals) and was named a third-team All-American.  Curro collected 40 points (26 goals) as a sophomore, and 41 points (20 goals) as a freshman.

Curro said her game took a step forward last season for two reasons: increased confidence, and the fact that she had fully recovered from an ankle injury that hampered her throughout her sophomore season.

“I injured my ankle in the fall before my sophomore year,” Curro explained. “There was a fracture and some torn ligaments. If I had it taken care of (with surgery) I would have had to redshirt. It wasn’t a year I wanted to miss out on. My whole sophomore year I was in pain every day.”

“Last year I saw a whole new player emerge,” Robertshaw said.  “Her confidence had grown on the field, and so had her ability to teach (younger players). She developed an attitude where it was like, ‘I will score a goal if we need it.’ ”

Two other BU players, Sarah Dalton (Cornwall, Vt.) and Kelly Munroe (Westwood, Mass.), were selected to the developmental team this year. Both were seniors at BU last season, and both have accepted coaching positions — Dalton at William & Mary and Munroe at American University. Curro said she would like to follow the same path and remain in the sport as a coach after she graduates from BU. Being a member of the developmental team will make her résumé that much more impressive.

“In that sense it would help me get a foot in the door,” Curro said. “There aren’t that many coaching jobs available. It wouldn’t hurt to have that on my résumé.

“I always threw around that idea [coaching] because I never knew what I wanted to do. Lacrosse is my biggest passion. It would be so fun teaching other people what I have learned.

Curro’s mother, Laurie Holder, helps run the Granite State Elite youth lacrosse program, and Curro coached one of the program’s teams last summer.

“I can see her [coaching],” Robertshaw said. “She’s always at every camp, every clinic we have here at BU. She really has a ton of passion for the game and she’s a ton of fun to be around.”

Curro made the developmental team in her second attempt. She also attended the tryout following her freshman season at BU. Her ankle injury prevented her from trying out last year.

“It sounds corny, but this has been my dream as far back as I can remember,” Curro said. “For lacrosse, this is as big as it gets.”


 

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