You probably know that Australians produce really, really good athletes in just about every sport imaginable. Ian Thorpe dominated Olympic swimming for years. The country's national rugby and cricket teams are among the world's elite, and the national soccer team made the knockout stages of last year's World Cup with much fanfare.
The women's national basketball team, led by Lauren Jackson, won a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics, Heck, there are even Australians scattered across a bunch of Major League baseball teams, and let's not forget the most famous Australian of all in American sports -- new Eagles punter Saverio Rocca.
Now they're coming for lacrosse, and one of the country's best current players will be in the spotlight tonight.
Northwestern midfielder Hannah Nielsen might only be a sophomore, but she's already a big part of the Wildcats' attack. And as I found out on Friday, her being in the Final Four is such a big deal that her mother and club coach flew here from Adelaide, Australia for the occasion.
"It’s tiring, it’s expensive, but it’s worth every dollar to watch her play in an amazing team," Vicki Nielsen said as her daughter's team romped past Penn.
Vicki admitted, though, that the sport has very little national resonance back home.
"It’s really a small sport, but the girls who play it play it well," she said. "They get quite a bit of recognition in the local papers and we watch the American version as well."
Hannah's coach at the Brighton Bombers club, Tim Dickson, agreed.
"Those who are involved love it, but it’s very low-key," he said. "If you didn’t know about it, you probably wouldn’t know it existed."
But sitting right in front of Dickson and Nielsen was an Australian who knows plenty about lacrosse -- former Maryland star and current Terrapins assistant Jen Adams.
"It’s one of those sports at home that’s very close-knit," she said. It’s a family sport, a small community, but I think we have a lot of talent and we breed that talent well. The older players take the younger players under their wing, which is really important."
Adams freely admits that she recruits Australian players when she can -- including current Terrapins junior midfielder Casey Magor, who is also from Adelaide.
"I’m always looking out for the next top [Australian] recruit, or any other country for that matter," she said. "But I like the pipeline, I like my Aussies, and hopefully I’ll find a couple more to come over."
