As they head into the postseason, both of Drexel’s Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse teams will be carrying a few more pieces of hardware with them. On May 1, the Coastal Athletic Association announced the end of season awards for the conference, where seven Dragons were named to the First and Second All-CAA teams.
On the Women’s side, Drexel recently completed a stellar season where they finished ranked 20th in the nation in the RPI index and notched multiple signature wins, including over Penn State and Navy. Overall, the Dragons finished 12-4 on the season, which was their second best finish since 2007.
One of the main keys that allowed the Dragons to shine this season was the amount of star power that the team possesses, and this was reflected in the end of season awards. Altogether, the Dragons had six athletes recognized with end of season awards.
The two biggest stars on Coach Katie O’Donnell’s team are Jennika Cuoco and Corinne Bednarik. This season, both of those players proved that they are not only the biggest stars at Drexel, but also in the conference. Cuoco was named the CAA Goalie of the Year for the second straight year. While Cuoco proved she was the best goalie in the conference last season, she proved she was one of the best goalies in the nation this season as she ranked second in the country in save percentage, second in the nation in saves per game and 11th in the nation in goals-against average. Since the redshirt Junior from Long Island took over starting goalie responsibilities last season, Cuoco has done nothing but collect hardware, including breaking the record for most CAA Rookie of the Week awards last season.
While Cuoco has been a brick wall on the defensive end for Drexel, fifth year attacker Corinne Bednarik has been filling the opposition’s net at a near record breaking rate. Bednarik scored 56 goals in 18 games this season, while collecting 98 total points. When the lights were brightest this season Bednarik rose to the occasion for the Dragons, namely in the victories against Penn State and Navy in which Bednarik was involved in 70 percent of Drexel’s goals. Bednarik was named the Attacker of the Year for the second straight year, and will look to keep propelling the Drexel offense to an appearance in the NCAA tournament for a second straight year.
On the First-Team All-CAA team, the Dragons were represented by Jenika Cuoco, Corinne Bednarik, Belle McHugh and Allison Drake. McHugh, a senior defender, who caused 19 turnovers this season, was also on the All-CAA First Team last season as well as being named to the IWLCA Second Team All-Region. Drake finished second on the team in goals with 34 this season, a tremendous output considering she only started in two of Drexel’s games this season.
While the majority of Drexel’s award winners are upperclassmen, two Dragons were represented on the All-CAA Rookie teams this season. Bea Buckley, who is an attack, was fourth on the team in points with 25 this season. The Philadelphia native also started in all but one game in her first season on campus. Ellie Wall, a midfielder, finished the season with 14 goals in her 17 games played, tied for fifth-best on the team.
On the Men’s side, Gavin Kelly, a redshirt freshman attack and midfielder, earned First Team All-CAA honors. Kelly, who appeared in all 14 games this season and starting the last six, led the team in assists with 16 and was second on the team in points with 30.
On the All-CAA Second Team, the Dragons were represented by Junior defensemen Collin Gucwa and Junior attack and midfielder Luke Tomak. Gucwa has been a stable force for the Dragons defense, starting all 14 games for the squad and notching 15 ground balls throughout the season. Tomak was second in goals on the Dragons, netting 25 goals this season.
Kelly also received an All-CAA Rookie team spot, where he was joined by fellow Dragon Pat Lyman, who started nine of twelve games this season.