Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/13.23
From Press Release
Drexel University Director of Athletics Maisha Kelly announced the removal of the interim title and named Katie O’Donnell (Henderson, Penn State) the Mary Semanik Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach.
“I am excited to name Katie O’Donnell to the Mary Seminak Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach position,” said Kelly. “Katie has shown incredible leadership, helping to guide our team to its first ever CAA Championship and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. Her poise under pressure and ability to help grow our student-athletes into better players on and off the field made her the ideal choice. We look forward to her continuing the tradition and maintaining the success of Drexel women’s lacrosse in the years to come.”
As interim head coach this season, O’Donnell guided the Dragons to a 12-6 record and their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Under her tutelage, Corinne Bednarik (Downingtown West) and Jenika Cuocco were named USA Lacrosse Magazine All-Americans. Bednarik was selected as the CAA Attacker of the Year, and Cuocco was both the Goalkeeper of the Year and Rookie of the Year. In total, five players were selected to All-Conference teams.
“After such an incredible year with this team and staff, I am excited and grateful to be named as the full-time head coach,” said O’Donnell. “We put a lot of work in this year and built a foundation for this program. I am excited to be a part of it now and in the future. I’d like to thank Maisha Kelly for providing me with this tremendous opportunity to lead the program as well as Nick Gannon for supporting me in this role.”
O’Donnell – the Phillylacrosse.com 2014 Co-Player of the Year – assumed the leadership role midway through the 2022 season and made an immediate impact on the team, helping to lead Drexel to its first ever CAA Championship with a thrilling overtime victory against Towson in the title game.
A two-time All-American midfielder, O’Donnell was a two-time team captain at Penn State, was an IWLCA first team All-American, and won Big Ten Midfielder of the Year. She ended her career fourth in program history for career goals (203) and sixth in points (227) and went on to be selected fourth overall in the 2018 WPLL (Women’s Professional Lacrosse League) Draft by the New England Command. O’Donnell is currently a member of the United States National Team and tried out to be part of the 2021 World Lacrosse Championship team.
