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Back in July 2000, Kelly Amonte Hiller was given the task of putting the Northwestern women's lacrosse program back on the national landscape after a decade-long hiatus. The job officially began with the Wildcats' first varsity season in the spring of 2002, and the progress in six short years has been nothing short of stunning. How stunning? Try three-straight national titles for starters. After the Wildcats made history in 2005, they captured the next two titles to become only the second team in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse history to win three-straight national crowns.
The Wildcats entered last season, undoubtedly, with a target on their backs. But Amonte Hiller's squad was up to the task, going 21-1, winning their fourth-straight ALC crown and third NCAA title in the process. Kristen Kjellman took home her second Tewaaraton Trophy as the nation's top player -- becoming the first player to win the award twice. Want more? The Wildcats shattered several school and NCAA records with 361 goals, 168 assists, 529 points and a 16.4 goals-per-game average. Amonte Hiller picked up her fourth-straight ALC Coach of the Year honor in the process while Kjellman took home Player of the Year and Morgan Lathrop won goalie of the year. She had six players receive All-America status. Entering 2006 as defending national champions, the Wildcats went 20-1 en route to their second straight title. The 'Cats won the ALC and Kristen Kjellman became the first player from a non-East Coast school to win the Tewaaraton Trophy as the nation's top player. After the magical 2005 season, her original recruits went out as seniors exactly the way they wanted to -- as NCAA national champions. Arguably the most amazing story in women's lacrosse history, the Wildcats became the first team outside the Eastern Time Zone to earn a No. 1 ranking in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll in late March, and a little more than two months later they justified that ranking in the NCAA Championship by defeating Mount St. Mary's, Princeton, Dartmouth and Virginia en route to the first NCAA lacrosse title at any level, male or female, by a team outside the Eastern Time Zone. In the end, Northwestern finished 21-0 overall and was the only undefeated team in NCAA Division I in 2005. As a further sign of their dominance, the 'Cats led the nation in scoring offense, scoring defense, scoring margin and draw controls per game. As a result, Amonte Hiller was named the IWLCA National Coach of the Year as well as the Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. In American Lacrosse Conference play, NU not only went 6-0 in rolling to its first outright title, but the Wildcats also set the record for conference goals in a season (98) while shattering the conference mark for fewest goals allowed (28). At the end of the ALC season, Northwestern was honored with the Player of the Year (Kristen Kjellman) and the Goalie of the Year (Ashley Gersuk), and not surprisingly Amonte Hiller was named Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. The 2005 campaign was a perfect complement to a program that made a quantum leap from its second year to its third year -- to the point that following the 2004 season Amonte Hiller was named National Coach of the Year by both Inside Lacrosse and womenslacrosse.com, as well as Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year by her peers at the IWLCA. The recognition was well-deserved. The Northwestern women's lacrosse team went 15-3 in 2004 (including a then-school-record 13-game winning streak), ranked as high as sixth in the IWLCA national coaches poll, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats hosted a first-round game against Notre Dame, beating the Irish 10-8 for their second win of the season over ND. Following that, the 'Cats traveled to Virginia to meet the second-seeded Cavaliers in a quarterfinal-round game. NU hung tight throughout, but Virginia--who would eventually win the national title -- pulled away from an 8-8 tie in the second half to gain a 15-11 victory.
In addition to its success nationally, Northwestern also made a huge step in the ALC. Picked to finish fifth in a preseason poll of the conference coaches, the Wildcats instead went 5-1, with the only loss coming in the regular-season finale to Vanderbilt (10-9 in overtime) which forced the two teams to share the conference crown. NU led the ALC in scoring offense and scoring defense, and at the end of the season Kjellman was named ALC Rookie of the Year and joined by five teammates on the All-ALC teams. For the team's collective success, Amonte Hiller was named the ALC Coach of the Year. The odyssey to these lofty heights began in 2002. Despite a roster that featured 15 freshmen and four sophomores -- two of whom had never played lacrosse--the Wildcats went 5-10 in their first varsity season since 1992, including a 2-4 mark in the inaugural season of the ALC (with Davidson, Johns Hopkins, Ohio, Ohio State, Penn State and Vanderbilt). In addition to their two conference wins, the women also put a scare into Hopkins and Penn State, teams that were ranked nationally at the time of their meeting with NU. The 2003 season saw more improvement, both in record and on the field. Despite the unexpected loss of the top returning scorer from the previous year due to injury, the 'Cats jumped out to a 5-0 start en route to an 8-8 campaign. Along the way, they collected their first win over a ranked opponent (8-6 over No. 19 Connecticut on April 6) and even earned a spot in the IWLCA poll themselves. Though the 2002 season was NU's first as a varsity program, Amonte Hiller got a bit of a head start in 2001 when she handled the Wildcat club program for a year while setting about on the recruiting trail. Under her guidance, Northwestern's club team went 19-1 during the regular-season, won the Women's Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL) tournament title for the first time, and advanced to the United States Lacrosse Intercollegiate Association (USLIA) Women's Club Championships in St. Louis. Amonte Hiller came to Evanston to resurrect a program that was one of the nation's best during its initial existence (1982-92). During that span, the Wildcats played in the NCAA Tournament five times. The program was also loaded with plenty of individual talent -- 10 players earned a total of 16 All-America honors, and 12 women earned a total of 25 regional All-America honors. Two women, Antoinette Lucas and Sue Novack, played with the U.S. National Team. A truly legendary figure in the lacrosse world, Amonte Hiller was the 1995 and 1996 NCAA Division I Lacrosse Player of the Year, leading Maryland to national titles in both seasons. She was a four-time All-America in lacrosse under former NU head coach Cindy Timchal, ending her career as the school's all-time recordholder for career goals (187), assists (132) and points (319, 70 more than second place). In addition, Amonte Hiller also earned All-America accolades in soccer for the Terrapins and was named the ACC Female Athlete of the Year in 1996 for all sports. She graduated from Maryland in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in speech communication. In 2002, Amonte Hiller was named to the ACC's 50th Anniverary Women's Lacrosse Team. In 2006, she was named to the NCAA Division I 25th Anniversary Women's Lacrosse Team. Amonte Hiller's legacy extends to the national program as well. She has been a member of the national team for more than a decade -- including the U.S. Women's Elite Team since 1997 -- and won IFWLA World Cup titles with the Elite Team in 1997 and 2001. Most recently, she was named to the All-World Team at the 2005 World Cup in Annapolis, Md., where the U.S. finished second to Australia. In 2000, Amonte Hiller was ranked 21st by Sports Illustrated on its list of Massachusetts' Greatest Sports Figures of the 20th Century. In the four years before her arrival at Northwestern, Amonte Hiller coached at the collegiate level. During the 1997 and 1998 seasons, she served as the assistant women's lacrosse coach at Brown. In 1999, Amonte Hiller served in a similar capacity at the University of Massachusetts. In 2000, again as an assistant, she helped guide Boston University to its first top-10 ranking and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Amonte Hiller has three siblings, including Tony who is well-known as a top player in the National Hockey League; he also played the silver medal-winning United States team at the 2002 Olympic Games. Amonte Hiller's husband, Scott, holds a law degree from Suffolk (Mass.); a lacrosse standout in his own right, was named co-president of the defending Major League Lacrosse champion Baltimore Bayhawks in January 2005 after serving as head coach of the Boston Cannons of MLL the four seasons prior. Kelly, husband Scott and daughter Harlee, reside in Evanston. Amonte Hiller's Career Record
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