DENVER – Seniors Natasha Davies (Annapolis, Md.), Ali Flury (Arnold, Md.), and Lexi Sanders (Greenwood Village, Colo.) will serve as captains of the 2010 University of Denver women's lacrosse team, fourth-year head coach Liza Kelly announced today.

"These three seniors have demonstrated the kind of leadership that our team needs this season," Kelly said. "We have a young team returning with 15 underclassmen, so it's important for Tash, Ali and Lexi to step up and help the freshmen and sophomores develop and play well quickly."

Davies, who has been a captain for the past three years, was sidelined for the end of the 2008 season and all of 2009 due to an injury. In the 11 games she played in 2008, she scored three points on one goal and two assists, and collected 30 groundballs, 18 draw controls and 26 caused turnovers.

Flury was named the team MVP last season and earned her third-consecutive All-MPSF selection and her second career MPSF Player of the Week award. She is third in DU history with 151 career goals, the second most in the NCAA among active players, and she was first in the MPSF and 18th in the NCAA in goals per game last season. She also led the conference with 3.77 points per game.

Also a strong leader for the Pioneers, Sanders played in all 18 games last season and had 15 starts. She netted 25 goals and had 12 assists, making her fifth on the team in total points with 37. She also grabbed 15 groundballs, won 15 draw controls and caused 11 turnovers. She placed 50 of 66 shots on goal for a .758 shots on goal percentage.

The Pioneers return 23 players from the 2009 squad, including All-MPSF honoree Flury and MPSF Co-Newcomer of the Year Ashley Harman (Boyertown, Pa.). DU finished the 2009 season with a 10-8 overall record and went 4-2 in the MPSF.

2009-11-04