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A 2000 Brown University graduate and former Bears’ lacrosse standout, Keely McDonald returned to her alma mater to head the Brown women’s lacrosse program during the fall of 2004 year following assistant coaching stints at Princeton and Northwestern.
In eight years, McDonald has coached 11 Regional All-American and five National All-Americans. In five years at Brown, 13 of McDonald’s players have been recognized with All-Ivy honors and five have earned IWLCA Northeast Regional All-American recognition. This past season, she had her second and third players earn selection to the North-South Senior All-Star Game. In addition Lauren Vitkus ’09 was recognized as a District I Academic All-American for her high level of accomplishment both on and off the field.
In 2007, McDonald coached two freshmen, Kiki Manners and Molly McCarthy, who became her second and third Regional All-Americans, and were two of just five freshmen in the Northeast Region, nine nationally, to earn this distinction. The duo, who were Brown’s first-ever freshmen to earn Regional All-American recognition, also earned a spot on the inaugural womenslacrosse.com All-Freshman Team. Last year, Lauren Vitkus became McDonald’s fourth All-Region honoree at Brown, as the Bears’ 2008 leading scorer earned Second Team All-Region honors. In all, McDonald has coached 19 All-Ivy players, including nine at Princeton. She has also coached three past Tewaaraton Award candidates.
The first assistant at Princeton during the 2004 season, McDonald helped to lead the Tigers to a #1 ranking for the entire season, winning 19 straight games before dropping their only contest of the year in the National Championship game. Working with three-time National Champion head coach Chris Sailer at Princeton, McDonald gained tremendous experience, helping to coach four First Team National All-Americans, the Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Year, and leading the #1 defensive system in the country with a 6.11 GAA.
Prior to joining the Tiger staff, McDonald served as the first assistant coach at Northwestern, playing an integral role in transitioning the team from Club level to varsity Division I status. During her three years with the Wildcats, McDonald worked alongside head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller to build a solid program which is now a national contender, losing to Virginia in the 2004 National Quaterfinals, in just the team’s third year of existence, and winning the past three National Championships.
As an undergraduate at Brown, McDonald started at
Midfield/Attack all four years with the Bears, earning Second Team
All-Ivy and Academic All-Ivy in 2000. She finished her career with
86 points (66g, 20a), including 27 (21g, 6a) as a freshman in 1997,
and ranking among the team’s top five scorers in each of her
four seasons.
