Most casual lacrosse fans notice the obvious stars—the flashy goal scorers darting in and out of the crease and firing shots into the back of the net.
But if you look a little closer, you see versatile, often overshadowed players like Maura Schwitter, whose blue-collar mentality makes her one of the most valuable players in the country.
The Oradell, N.J., native, who has anchored Duke’s defense as a starter throughout her four years as a Blue Devil, was one of 36 players named to the 2017 U.S. women’s national team. The squad will train to compete in Guildford, England, at the 2017 Federation of International Lacrosse Women’s World Cup, with 18 players ultimately making the trip. Schwitter made the 36-player roster alongside just eight other current collegiate players.
“That was surreal, and something I hold so near and dear to my heart,” Schwitter said. “It was just something that I’ve always dreamed of doing but never thought would actually become a reality.”
Schwitter, alongside Duke teammates Maddie Crutchfield, Kyra Harney and Olivia Jenner, was among 105 current and former NCAA lacrosse players asked to participate in the three-day tryout at the U.S. Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md. Ten defenders were selected to the 36-woman training roster.
The U.S. has won the World Cup in all but two competitions since its inception in 1982 and will vie for its third straight championship come July. Team USA and Georgetown head coach Ricky Fried and his staff have already selected the 18 players who will travel to England to actually compete in the World Cup, of which only two currently play at the collegiate level. Although Schwitter is not one of them, she is happy to be representing the U.S. on the 36-player roster.
“Even when I got invited to try out, already I was like, ‘All right sweet, that’s awesome!’ because I made it that far,” Schwitter said. “To be named to that [36-player] roster was something that was so special to me. Wearing the USA jersey, words can’t really describe what that was like.”
Even as she was waiting to hear if she would join Team USA in England, Schwitter’s focus was on her final season as a Blue Devil. She returns after a junior campaign in which she accumulated 23 ground balls, 39 draw controls and 16 caused turnovers to earn second-team All-South Region and first-team All-ACC honors.
So far this season, Schwitter appears anything but distracted by her time and energy spent with the U.S. national team. In addition to earning preseason All-American accolades, Schwitter has notched 15 draw controls, eight ground balls and five caused turnovers in her first four games, ranking in the top three on Duke’s team in each category. Despite playing defense, she has also tallied two goals to start her senior campaign.
“Schwitter does a great job for us defensively, in transition and on the draw,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said. “She talks so well on the field. She’s aware, just really gritty, scrappy and comes up with a lot of loose balls.”
Schwitter has also been instrumental in helping Duke’s six rookies get acclimated to the speed and intensity of the college game. Although the 2016 recruiting class is Kimel’s smallest since 2002, it checks in as the eighth-best in the country.
The Blue Devils boast 10 seniors and seven returning starters who have taken initiative in showing the freshmen the ropes. Some of the rookies—including Catherine Cordrey and Callie Humphrey—have already found their footing and made their presence known on the field early in the season, thanks in part to encouragement from Schwitter and her classmates.
“Having such a strong senior class really made a big difference,” said Cordrey, who already has eight goals and two assists this year. “They really guide us, especially the freshmen, and it has been really helpful.”
Although earning a spot on the 36-player national roster brought a new dimension to her lacrosse career, Schwitter had already cemented her legacy as a Blue Devil. The defensive stalwart ranks 21st all-time at Duke in total draw controls, with 70 in 62 career games. She also ranks 15th all-time in minutes played with 2,886 for her career.
With just 13 regular-season contests remaining in her tenure at Duke, Schwitter does not have much left to prove. Her focus rests on helping the Blue Devils compete in the ACC and get back to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals after missing them for the first time in more than a decade last spring.
“Learning the different lessons that I had at U.S. and being able to bring them and implement them here has been awesome,” Schwitter said. “But obviously the most important part right now is playing with my Duke team.”
Ben Feder contributed reporting.
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