Senior lacrosse midfielder Ali Flurry went into yesterday’s game against Duquesne University with a streak of scoring at least one point in 55 consecutive games.
Senior Ali Flurry advances the ball in a recent game at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium against Duquesne. Michael Furman
Flurry extended the streak to 56 consecutive games, the second longest streak in the nation, by scoring three goals in a Pioneers 20-6 victory.
“It feels great to have a streak, but I don’t keep track of stuff like that,” Flurry said. “I actually didn’t know about it until a few days ago when some one had told me it.”
Flurry, a Maryland native, was named team MVP after the 2009 season and has 176 points in her career as a Pioneer.
She is third in DU history with 151 career goals after her first three seasons.
“Ali is so hard to defend I think that is one of the best things about her,” said women’s lacrosse head coach Liza Kelly. “She is very fast, she’s very skilled, and she’s very smart. Most importantly she understands how to get open and how to beat her defender.”
Flurry’s game goes beyond just scoring goals and dishing assists. She has worked at becoming a team leader and being well rounded on both ends of the field, Kelly said.
“Her defense has been her biggest improvement and she has really worked hard to get better defensively,” said Kelly. “She came in as a pure scorer and now she is so talented on both offense and defense.”
In addition to her on the field success, Kelly says Flurry has really came into her own as a leader.
Before arriving at DU, Flurry was a four-year letterwinner at Broadneck High School where she played lacrosse, basketball and soccer. She ran for the indoor track team and was named all country as a sophomore.
In soccer, she was an all-state forward and her team captain. On the basketball team she was a guard on the varsity team, but never saw as much success in either sport compared to lacrosse.
Flurry was named an All-American in her final two years of high school and was chosen as her team’s most valuable player in her senior year.
Although she doesn’t play all of the sports she did in high school, Flurry still is known for ability for working hard and succeeding at whatever she tries.
“We jokingly refer to her as the jack-of-all-trades, because she could pick up anything and be good at it,” said Kelly. “She takes that attitude with everything and puts in the work to be good at something.”
In each of her first three seasons, Flurry has been selected to the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) team and finished No. 1 in the conference in points, averaging 3.77 per game.
When she first arrived at DU in 2006, Flurry and her fellow seniors had to adapt quickly to Kelly, who had been named the new women’s lacrosse coach a few weeks before the season started.
“I think that all the seniors are leader and they all step up, which makes us more successful,” said Kelly. “As a class they bought into a new coaching staff earlier in their careers.”
Now in her final season at DU, Flurry says she has a lot of memories to look back on, but one stands out the most.
“Our big win against Stanford in my freshman year has been the best moment thus far,” said Flurry. “But I am looking to making history with this team and winning our conference this year and possibly making the NCAA’s.”
With a slew of home games to be played in the upcoming weeks, Flurry and the Pioneers want to maintain their focus on the present.
For Flurry, that means continuing to add points on the scoreboard every game in order for her team to be successful and achieve their aspirations.
http://www.duclarion.com/sports/point-streak-is-no-fluke-for-lacrosse-s-flurry-1.1169737
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