Women's Lacrosse Signee DiCenso Earning Valuable Experience With U.S. U19 Squad

University of Richmond women's lacrosse signee Sophia DiCenso will join the Spiders in 2019-20, but she is already making a name for herself among her college peers.

DiCenso became one of 36 high school and college lacrosse players to be named to the 2019 U.S. Women's U19 National Team back in August, and is one of just 16 current high school players to make the roster.

"It is such an amazing opportunity to be part of the training team and hopefully be competing on an international level at the World Cup," DiCenso said of her selection. "It feels surreal to be able to represent the USA on the training team, and I feel a huge sense of pride to wear the team USA jersey while playing the sport I love. I almost had to pinch myself because when I was in middle school, I always was following and reading about the U.S. U19 players, and now I am one of those players."

The Foxboro High senior and 2018 All-American was one of over 500 applicants who submitted film and stats, and was selected to try out along with over 100 others vying to make the team. After competing at the USA headquarters in Sparks, Maryland, at a three-day tryout in August, she was honored as a member of the 36-player national squad.

She is the first Spider to be named to the U19 National team since Bria (Eulitt) Irizarry, current Duke assistant coach and a 2011 Richmond graduate.

After competing with the team at the Fall Classic in early October against both the U.S. Women's Senior National Team and Navy, DiCenso earned a spot on the team's trip to California for the Spring Premiere, where she will face off against the England National Team, the Japanese Developmental Team, Frenso State and Stanford. At the conclusion of the tournament, which takes place January 25-27, the final roster will be chosen for the 2019 FIL Women's U19 World Championship in August 2019.

DiCenso finds herself competing with some of the country's top talent, including 20 active college student-athletes. Her teammates hail from high caliber historic programs such as Northwestern, North Carolina and Maryland. Twenty-one of her teammates will compete or are currently competing in either the ACC or Big Ten.

"To compete against this talent is an experience like no other, and I have learned so much already from only two weekends with these players," DiCenso said. "It is a surreal feeling seeing my name next to some of the best players in the nation, and it is my motivation every day to be able to compete at such a high level."

The midfielder will look to use the high level of competition through the rest of her high school career and bring what she's learned to Robins Stadium in 2020.

"This opportunity is so essential in my preparation for Richmond next year because I am being exposed to such high-level lacrosse. My lacrosse IQ has definitely improved, and scrimmaging against college teams has given me a taste of what it is like to play against girls that are four years older than me."

Though DiCenso has another season before she joins the Spiders, she hopes to help play a role in continuing the legacy of success and high caliber lacrosse at Richmond following her high school career.

"When I toured Richmond, I instantly fell in love with the campus and the city," she said. "Coach Kwolek was so welcoming, as was the team. The Atlantic 10 is such a strong conference. I look forward to being a part of those rivalries, and hope to help the Spiders to another A-10 title."

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Women's Lacrosse Signee DiCenso Earning Valuable Experience With U.S. U19 Squad

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Women's Lacrosse Signee DiCenso Earning Valuable Experience With U.S. U19 Squad

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