Two former Penn State women's lacrosse players have been selected to the 24-member U.S. Women's World Cup Training Team that will begin preparing for the 2005 International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations (IFWLA), U.S. Lacrosse recently announced. All-Americans Joanne Connelly (1993-96) and Michelle DeJuliis (1994-97) will now train with the 22 other selected members of the Training Team until after the U.S. Lacrosse Women's Division National Tournament held on Memorial Day weekend at Lehigh, when the roster will be cut to the IFWLA-mandated 16 players.

Connelly, a defender and currently in her first season as an assistant coach with the Penn State women's lacrosse team, was a two-time U.S. Lacrosse All-American and a two-time Brine/IWLCA All-American. As a player, she helped guide Penn State to three NCAA tournament berths, including two quarterfinal appearances and one semifinal appearance. DeJuliis, an attacker, led Penn State in scoring from 1994-96 and ranks seventh on the Lions all-time career points chart with 203 in 65 games.