In the spring of 2016, Marie McCool was named first-team All-ACC as a sophomore on the UNC women’s lacrosse team under the guidance of head coach Jenny Levy and then-assistant coach Katrina Dowd.
On Tuesday, the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League announced that both Dowd and McCool had been named to the 2019 WPLL All-Star Team.
Since the league was formed in 2018, McCool has been named to both of its All-Star rosters, while Dowd is making her first appearance on the team. McCool and Dowd are representing the Baltimore Brave and the New York Fight, respectively.
In her time at North Carolina, McCool was a leader on the 2016 national championship squad and became one of the most decorated women’s lacrosse players in UNC history.
From 2015-2018, the midfielder was named first-team All-ACC and first-team All-America three times, was the first player in ACC history to win the ACC Midfielder of the Year award twice and was a two-time finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, a prize given to the year’s best male and female college lacrosse player.
McCool has continued to claim awards in her two seasons playing in the pros as well. In her rookie season, she was named MVP of the 2018 WPLL Finals in a 12-11 loss to the New England Command. This year, McCool didn’t take home the MVP award, but was able to score two goals in the WPLL Championship, helping the Brave secure a 13-12 title win.
Unlike McCool, who played for North Carolina, Dowd spent four years in college playing for Northwestern’s women’s lacrosse team. Similarly to McCool, though, Dowd was an extremely accomplished college player.
Dowd left the Wildcats in 2010, but not before winning three consecutive national championships and climbing up to fourth in Northwestern history for goals scored.
Dowd joined the UNC coaching staff in 2013, serving as an assistant coach until she took over as head coach of the Oregon women’s lacrosse team in the summer of 2016.
