Widener University Athletics

Brendan Dawson has put together a great four-year run as Widener’s men’s lacrosse coach, playing in one of the nation’s most competitive league.  Already with a conference title and two appearances in the league final on his resume, he hopes for bigger and better things with a talented roster back in the fold.
 
Dawson took over a talented team in 2012 playing in a competitive conference and made his presence felt. The Pride rode a seven-game winning streak to the inaugural Commonwealth Conference title and a 9-8 record with seven players being named all-league.
 
The 2013 season witnessed the school’s ninth straight trip to a league final, a victory over then No. 13 Gettysburg in the regular season and a tough loss to fourth-ranked Stevenson in the conference final.  Five more from the squad were picked all-league that season and the squad was ranked as high as 16th in the country.
 
The 2014 campaign also was an impressive one with goalkeeper Mac Nestler getting his second straight All-America honor and fourth consecutive all-conference appearance.  Eight players were cited for all-conference awards and Dawson, who helped the Pride close second in the league, was picked the league’s Coach of the Year.
 
Dawson arrived after serving one season as the first men’s lacrosse coach at Aurora University, building the program from scratch. The Spartans ended the campaign 11-6 and qualified for the Midwest Men’s Lacrosse Conference Tournament as a No. 3 seed after being picked seventh in the preseason poll. Eight players from that squad were picked all-conference and Dawson was named the league’s Coach of the Year.
 
Dawson recruited over 30 players to compete last season and an additional 25 to come to Aurora in 2012. He was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the program, handled game management duties for other sports and developed the Spartan Academic Greatness plan to help guide his student-athletes.
 
He also served one year as an assistant coach at Dickinson in 2009 and was a graduate assistant coach at Salisbury in 2007 and 2008.
 
Dawson had a strong four-year career at Salisbury, helping the team to Division III NCAA championships in 2003 and 2004. He was named first team All-Capital Athletic Conference in 2002, was a member of the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee from 2003-04, was picked team captain his last two years and helped the Seagulls notch a 58-7 record during his time.
 
Dawson graduated Salisbury in 2004 with a B.A. in History and Political Science. He got his M.A. in Teaching from Salisbury in 2008.