PSU Abington Names New Lax Coach

Penn State Abington announced Noelle Powell as the new head coach for women’s lacrosse. With coaching experience at the Division I level, Powell said she hopes to bring that wealth of knowledge and experience to Penn State Abington. 

“I’m excited to be here and to continue my journey as a head coach at Penn State Abington,” Powell said. “With the motivation and drive of this program, I am confident that I can contribute and continue the growth and progress of the Penn State Abington women’s lacrosse program.”

Powell comes to Abington after serving the past year as the head of middle school lacrosse at William Penn Charter School.  Prior to Penn Charter, Powell was an assistant coach at Drexel University for two seasons where she helped lead the Dragons to a combined 18-16 record, developing five All-CAA players and one All-Regional honoree. Prior to her stint at Drexel, she was previously the head coach at Marist College for four years. After taking a hiatus from collegiate level coaching to raise her family, Powell said she has been eager to rejoin the ranks.

An All-American at Temple, Powell returned to Philadelphia to serve as Drexel’s top assistant in 2009 after four years as the head coach at Marist College. From her days as a state champion at Yorktown (N.Y.) High School, to two Atlantic-10 Championships at Temple, to her unprecedented success at Marist and as director of her own club program, Powell has proven to be a committed student and teacher of the game.

Hired prior to the 2004 season, Marist experienced significant success and growth during Powell’s four years on the sidelines. She led the Red Foxes to three MAAC Tournament appearances and earned MAAC Coach of the Year honors in 2007, after guiding the team to a school-record 10 wins and an appearance in the conference championship game. Based in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., she helped nationalize Marist’s program, recruiting players from 11 different states.

During her four years with the Red Foxes, Powell recruited and developed 24 All-MAAC selections including 10 first team honorees, nine all-tournament players, a MAAC Player of the Year and two MAAC Rookies of the Year.

Powell said she has a deep appreciation for the true student-athlete and brought with her to Drexel a commitment to excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Powell’s Marist teams were also involved in community service and four times won the athletic department’s Red Fox Challenge, which rewarded points for non-athletic activities including: volunteerism, athletes supporting athletes and academic success.

Powell began her coaching career as an assistant at her alma mater,Temple University, from where she graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in sport and recreation management. As an assistant coach in the 2003 season, she helped guide the Owls to an Atlantic-10 Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

A four-year letterwinner and an All-American at Temple, Powell helped lead the Owls to two consecutive Atlantic-10 Championships and NCAA tournament appearances and was honored as an A-10 Player of the Week on five occasions. She also holds a spot in the Temple record books, owning the single-season assist record and ranking second all-time on the career assist list with 88. She also holds the fifth highest total for points in a single season.

As an Owl, Powell enjoyed her best season as a senior. In that campaign she broke the Temple single-season school record with 37 assists, on her way to leading the team in all three offensive categories, and being named a Division I All-American. That season she was named first team All-Atlantic 10, first team IWLCA All-Mid Atlantic and an Atlantic-10 All-Tournament pick. She was selected to play in the prestigious North/South Senior All-Star game as well.

In 2004, Powell founded the Spitfire Lacrosse Club, based in her native northern Westchester County, N.Y. Spitfire was developed as a specialized program for elite middle and high school girls lacrosse players to supplement their high school careers with year-round coaching and competition. The program was committed to providing character-building opportunities within the sport of women’s lacrosse by instilling teamwork, commitment, fundamentals and sportsmanship in its athletes. 

Powell inherits an Abington team that qualified for the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) postseason play for the first time in program history and that featured five All-NEAC selections in 2012. Statistically the Lady Lions had one of their greatest seasons to date. As a team, Abington totaled 179 points on 136 goals and 43 assists, breaking the 2010 marks for points, goals, and assists.

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Information courtesy of Jeff Dobbin, Penn State Abington Sports Information Director