Killer B’s equal Big Sting

Last season, women’s lacrosse coach Kellie Young saw something in Kelly Berger that she had never seen before.

"There’s something innate in [Kelly] that pushes her harder than any other first year I’ve coached," Young said. "She has a drive to be the best lacrosse player, not only that she can be, but that she can be for JMU."

While Young was astounded with how well Berger performed as a true freshman, it was the preceding off-season that she was most impressed with.

"Kelly came in here with a chip on her shoulder, a good chip that I put there, telling her that she would never play midfield for a top-10 program," Young said. "I think she heard that every day, and that pushed her to work that much harder."

That hard work translated into 36 goals and a spot on the www.womenslacrosse.com All-Rookie team, an honor that placed the midfielder among the top 12 newcomers in the country. While Berger is honored to be mentioned as one of the nation’s elite, she is fully aware that a new year and an expanded role lie ahead.
Berger said she knows she has to help second team All-American attacker Jessica Brownridge and junior attacker Brooke McKenzie on the attack this year.

"I feel like every year you move on and your role changes because a new senior class comes in and you have to follow them and what they tell you," Berger said.
Included in Berger’s expanded role is assisting in filling the void left by the graduation of All-American and Tewaaraton Trophy finalist Gail Decker.

Young believes Decker’s 81 goals and 31 assists from a year ago were so impressive that they overshadowed Berger’s freshman campaign. Young did not hesitate when asked if she saw any potential similarities between the two midfielders.

"Definitely," Young said. "They have the same love for the game and JMU, same intensity; [Kelly] pushes herself and her teammates just like Gail did."

Senior defender Johanna Buchholz agreed.

"One thing that I love about Kelly is the competitive edge that she brings to practice every day," Buchholz said. "I, as a defender, love playing against her because she steps up my level of play every day."

While Berger managed to add a goal in 17 of the final 18 games last season, it was a vital one-week stretch in late April and early May that brought her numerous accolades and the reputation of a clutch player. During this week, Berger managed not only to send her team to the conference championship game with a game winner against George Mason University, but she broke a 12-12 overtime tie to defeat the College of William & Mary and win the school’s second-straight conference championship.
Berger, who totaled 10 goals during the seven-day period, was named Division I National Player of the Week and earned a spot on the CAA’s All-Tournament team. When asked about these accolades and whether or not she was a clutch player, Berger was too humble to take all of the credit for herself.

"I think that everyone on our team is a clutch player," Berger said. "Someone had to score [those goals] and I think that I was just in the right place at the right time."

Although the Dukes have lost two All-Americans to graduation, Berger, along with the rest of her teammates, are eager to prove the critics wrong and win an unprecedented third-consecutive conference championship. The Dukes, who will begin the season ranked No. 11 by Inside Lacrosse, open Sunday at 12 p.m. at home against the University of California-Berkeley.