Only an injury could stop Australian lacrosse legend Hannah Nielsen from playing in her sixth world championship this summer.
As a 17-year-old in 2005, Nielsen teamed up with Jen Adams to upset the United States — a team that included her future college coach in Kelly Amonte Hiller — to win the gold medal. She’s a four-time All-World attacker who most recently captained the Aussies sixes team to a third-place finish at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China.
A two-time Tewaaraton Award winner and four-time NCAA champion during her career at Northwestern, Nielsen got her first head coaching job at Michigan in 2017 and has since turned the Wolverines into a perennial top-20 contender.
It’s quite the resume for the Adelaide native who admits she had “no idea” what lacrosse was until she turned 10.
“I played every sport the sun back home and would try anything,” Nielsen said. “I played tennis with a girl who had a lacrosse T-shirt on one day. We got to talking, and I talked to my parents. I learned about the sport. I went to a come-and-try day — that’s what they are called in Australia. That was at the Brighton Lacrosse Club.”
The Brighton Lacrosse Club was also the program that helped launch Adams’ illustrious career. Adams helped start the girls’ club program with her sister, Trish, and their mother.
Trish Adams was the first person who played catch with Nielsen. Jen Adams was in the U.S. at the time but would occasionally fly home and help coach Nielsen’s U13 team.
But it wasn’t until Nielsen got older and saw a Maryland video that she realized how elite Adams really was. Adams won the inaugural Tewaaraton Award in 2001 after leading Maryland to its seventh straight NCAA championship. Nielsen would follow less than a decade later. Adams remains the one Nielsen admires most.
“She’s the GOAT of all GOATs,” Nielsen said. “Always will be.”
The two played together for the first time in 2005, a transformative experience that helped Nielsen launch her U.S. career. She chose a different path than Adams and other Aussie imports — namely one that veered away from College Park.
“If the 2005 experience didn’t happen, I don’t think the rest of my career happens,” Nielsen said. “It allowed me to go take official visits in the States. Otherwise, I would’ve gone to Maryland.”
Amonte Hiller had already started talking to Nielsen but seeing her in person sealed the interest. “Playing against her, you just saw how good she was,” Amonte Hiller said.
Being the youngest on the team and playing beside Adams, Sonia LaMonica and Stacey Morlang prepared Nielsen for college lacrosse.
“You’re a 17-year-old playing with these people in their mid-20s, and they’re not treating you like a 17-year-old,” Nielsen said. “You’re expected to act like an adult. If you fall, get back up.”
That early exposure removed nerves once she reached Northwestern. Still, the adjustment to an entirely different continent was difficult. She leaned on Adams and LaMonica. They celebrated Aussie Thanksgiving together.
“I remember talking to Jen and Sonia a lot,” Nielsen said. “You have each other on speed dial. You almost adopted each other as family.”
Nielsen arrived as a crease player, shifted to defensive midfield as a freshman, then returned to attack as a sophomore — setting the NCAA single-season assists record with 168.
“She was the quarterback, the leader,” Amonte Hiller said.
As a junior she tallied 114 points. As a senior in 2009, she led the nation with 142 points, passed Adams for the NCAA all-time assists record (224), won a second NCAA title and claimed her second Tewaaraton Award.
“When I was invited as a finalist as a sophomore, I was like, ‘You have to be kidding me,’” Nielsen said, reciting the names on the trophy. “It’s still a pinch-yourself moment. I keep one in my office.”
Coaching followed. Nielsen served as an assistant coach at Penn State, Towson and Colorado, and after a brief return home to Australia she got the call to join Amonte Hiller’s staff at Northwestern in 2016.
“She hit the ground running,” Amonte Hiller said.
After the 2017 season, Michigan called. “It was happenstance — this was not the plan,” Nielsen said. “I didn’t even know where Michigan was.”
Nielsen never set out to be Division I head coach. She worried about work-life balance and how the demands of the position might affect her lifestyle. Her mother pushed her forward. Plus, Michigan had the facilities and resources to be a perennial Big Ten and NCAA championship contender. The Wolverines have made five NCAA tournament appearances under Nielsen, including a run to the quarterfinals in 2024.
Nielsen views Adams as mentor and icon but comes from the Amonte Hiller school of coaching. At Michigan, she regularly faces her former coach. She’s still seeking her first win.
“We don’t coach our teams the same exact way,” Amonte Hiller said. “But, at our core, we are very similar in our love for our game and how hard we work. Those baseline things are the same. She’s a smart coach — as am I — so it’s fun to play against her. There’s a huge amount of respect that I have for her.”
At 38, Nielsen still hasn’t closed the door on playing. A lower-body injury will keep her out of this summer’s world championship in Japan, but she has her eyes on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
“I’m kind of obsessed with lacrosse,” Nielsen said. “I just love being an athlete. I’ve still got that little kid in me that just wants to play and compete. I’m not ready to give it up.”
The sixes discipline is fast and physical. But Nielsen said the shorter field, shorter games and shorter shifts allow her to keep pace even as one of the oldest players on the field.
“The lore of the Olympics is something that is important to her,” Amonte Hiller said.
“That’s why I am hanging on,” Nielsen said. “I’d regret it if I didn’t try.”
