YORKTOWN, N.Y.—Yorktown lacrosse will make its mark on the world stage, from a hemisphere away from home, as Australians say “G’day” to a former Husker with Olympic glory in mind.
Katrina Dowd—Yorktown Class of 2006*—has been named head coach of the Australian women’s lacrosse sixes team for the 2028 Summer Olympics, to be held July 14–30 in Los Angeles.
It’s not just the latest chapter in a storied career; it will also be a historic event, as women’s lacrosse will make its official debut as a medal sport in the Olympics with the sixes (six players per side) version, which features a faster game compared to its traditional counterpart.
“It’s an incredible honor to be named the head coach of this sixes team, with the dream of playing in the L.A. 2028 Olympics,” Dowd said. “It’s an amazing time for lacrosse, especially women’s lacrosse, the first time, to have the Olympic team. To see lacrosse being played at that world stage, I think it’s so exciting. I’m incredibly honored to be a part of that and to lead a very historic and amazing team in Australia.”
Dowd is no stranger to the world stage of lacrosse. She played for the United States national team from 2008–14, scoring a World Cup-record 26 goals in 2013 to lead the Americans to a gold medal. Dowd earned All-World honors for her efforts and was named the Best Women's Player for 2013 by Lacrosse Magazine.
Her coaching résumé is also strong: Dowd has coached women’s lacrosse at Brown University for the last two years. This season, the team made the NCAA Tournament and Ivy League Tournament for the first time ever.
“I loved playing lacrosse,” Dowd said. “Anytime you can put your country’s jersey, to put the U.S.A. jersey on and go compete in a World Cup was very special. It’s a sport I grew up playing in Yorktown and got to play at Northwestern, for an amazing team and a great coach (Kelly Amonte Hiller). To get to that point of your career, it’s a culmination of a lot of hard work, great coaches, and it was an unbelievable experience. I had an amazing time playing. It was up in Oshawa, Canada, and winning the gold medal with U.S.A., with one of the best teams, was incredible.”
Those experiences helped Dowd become who she is.
“As a coach now, those experiences I had as a player helped shape who I am as a person and as a coach,” Dowd said. “I’m really grateful and fortunate that I had that opportunity to represent U.S.A. and play an amazing style of lacrosse and with one of the best teams.”
As a player, Dowd was a three-time NCAA champion at Northwestern University, finishing as the all-time NCAA Tournament leader in goals (45), and earning first-team All-America honors during her junior and senior seasons. She was also named the 2010 Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Attacker of the Year and a Tewaaraton Award finalist as a senior, finishing the season with 110 points on 77 goals and 33 assists.
“College lacrosse was a great experience for me,” Dowd said. “I got a chance to compete day in and day out and have the goal of wanting to win a national championship, so it was just an amazing time.”
Her success continued off the field too. Dowd won two national titles as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina in 2013 and 2016, the former the first in school history. The Tar Heels’ coaching staff earned IWLCA Coaching Staff of the Year honors each time.
In high school, Dowd was a two-time All-America selection as a junior and senior and an honorable mention All-America selection as a sophomore at Yorktown. As a senior, she helped lead the Huskers to the 2006 New York Class A state championship, the fourth state title in their illustrious history.
“That’s the place (Yorktown) I was born and raised, where I grew up—it shapes you so much,” Dowd said. “It’s just an incredible place for lacrosse. To be part of that legacy is awesome. It was an amazing senior year. So many good teammates, so many childhood friends. To be able to have a senior season like that with them was incredible.”
*Correction: An earlier version of this article said Dowd graduated in 2004, not 2006. We regret the error.
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