WB_062719

38 | June 27, 2019 | The wilmette beacon SPORTS
wilmettebeacon.com
Posted to WilmetteBeaconDaily.com 1 day ago
Dwyer breaks out in sophomore campaign
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
After completing what
could be considered the
best career in Illinois high
school girls lacrosse history,
it would have been
easy to think Loyola alumna
Brennan Dwyer would
have instant success at
Northwestern University.
But that wasn’t the case
for the Wilmette native,
as she played in 16 games
but was behind one of the
team’s best players, senior
Shelby Fredericks.
“I think going in, obviously,
everyone wants to
be playing, but you kind
of realize that everyone
still has a role no matter
what you’re doing,” Dwyer
said. “Whether you’re
on the bench or you’re a
scout player or you’re playing
on the fields. I think
that’s something that our
team does really well: is
just making sure everyone
knows how important their
role is.”
She always knew she
might get thrown into the
fire if things didn’t go right,
so she kept herself ready,
especially at the draw. Dwyer
competed in practices
as if she played in a game.
That experience, however,
helped Dwyer in her
sophomore year when she
moved into a starting role,
specializing into a draw
control specialist. The
sophomore finished the
year with 181 draw controls,
which was fifth in the
NCAA and earned All-Big
Ten honors, Intercollegiate
Lacrosse Women’s Coaches
Association Third-Team
All-American honors and
Inside Lacrosse Media
First Team All-American
honors.
Dwyer’s 181 draw controls
broke the Northwestern
single-season record as
well.
“I think it was definitely
helpful to have some experience
from freshman year
and yeah, I think it was
beneficial for me to know
what it’s like to be in a
game and be playing at full
speed,” she said. “I think
freshman year was definitely
a big stepping stone into
this year and just having
Shelby, who was there my
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freshman year, just playing
with her in practice and
stuff was also a huge asset.
Dwyer, however, wasn’t
the only one at Northwestern
to have success during
the 2019 season.
The Wildcats made all
sorts of history this spring.
For the first time since the
Big Ten started sponsoring
women’s lacrosse, Northwestern
won the conference
championship, defeating
top-seeded Maryland in
the tournament title game.
Northwestern followed
that up by making a deep
run in the NCAA Tournament,
all the way to the
semifinals, the program’s
first trip to the final four
since 2014.
“Winning the Big Ten
championship was amazing,”
she said. “It was the
first time that our team has
won a Big Ten championship
since we’ve been in
the conference. And so I
think that was super cool
to just be a part of the first
time we’ve ever done that.
Because that’s obviously
something that we work
towards every year, and
Setting the
Standards of
Innovation
Loyola graduate Brennan Dwyer, a rising Northwestern
University junior lacrosse player, looks for a teammate
to pass to in a game against Michigan this year. Stephen
Carrera/Northwestern Athletics
it’s a very big goal of ours.
And that even winning the
Big Ten Championship
puts us in a great spot for
the NCAA Tournament. So
that was a great experience.
“The Final Four was also
crazy, it’s not like anything
I’ve ever been a part of.
The stands were so crowded,
and it was just like such
like a broadcasted event. It
was definitely a very cool
experience.”
Dwyer and her teammates
will prepare for the
upcoming season, but before
then she’ll be doing
some coaching at Northwestern
and Loyola summer
camps, as well as with
local club teams.
She’s excited to get back
to working with her team,
however, as the Wildcats
have a lot of depth returning
from last year’s team,
including five of their top
eight scorers from 2019.
“We’re super excited
about next year and the
upcoming years,” Dwyer
said. “Just having the success
that we did, I think
it kind of made everyone
that’s returning really hungry
to be back there. Because
now we all kind of
know that we’ve been there
and we can get there again
and hopefully the next time
we’re there we leave how
we wanted to, by accomplishing
our goal and winning
the national championship.
“I think that’s super important
and special to have
so many young players
returning who had experience
playing at that level.
So I think that’s going to be
a huge part of our success
next year.”
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