Senior midfielder Bridget Cerciello is something special. There’s no questioning it. Not for her teammates on the women’s lacrosse team, not for her coach and not for anyone who takes a couple seconds to look at her stats.
“Bridget’s been special since she came in here her freshman year,” Head Coach Alex Kahoe said. “She’s this really special person who has come in with this work ethic in everything she does, whether it be in the classroom, or in the weight room, or all the work that she puts in out on the field.”
Cerciello’s fellow teammate and captain senior defender Julia Pash would agree.
“Ever since we were freshmen, Bridget’s really just been this standout player,” Pash said. “And not always because of her skill as a lacrosse player, but because she is the hardest worker on the field all the time.”
Both Cerciello’s skill and the benefits of her work ethic have been evident this season, where she has already posted a new career high six goals in the Hawks’ victory over Temple University in February, and was a key player in the now historic Leap Day game that resulted in the first program win over Rutgers University.
Cerciello said she refuses to take all of the credit for her accomplishments.
“For us it was a really exciting game [against Temple],” Cerciello said. “It’s always fun to play a city rival. My teammates opened up a lot of opportunities for me, but on any given day it’s any of us scoring six goals.”
Cerciello’s role as a standout lacrosse player is not just recognized on Hawk Hill, however. In 2019, she was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference First Team as a midfielder, graduating from Second Team, which she was named to in 2018.
“Each year she puts everything that she has into everything that she’s doing, and I think that you can see the improvement, the success from that,” Kahoe said.
Cerciello’s accomplishments are far from limited to a lacrosse field. The business intelligence and analytics major has had success in the classroom, with a list of accolades including A-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, SJU Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the A-10 All-Academic team back-to-back years.
For Cerciello, this level of success is something she’s come to expect of herself.
“It’s obviously a great feeling to see your hard work pay off and to get recognized for that,” Cerciello said. “However, instead of looking at it as an achievement, I see it more as a necessity and a standard I hold myself to.”
Cerciello said that her goal for the season was to win an A-10 Championship and make history, but she overall just wants to have fun playing the game.
“Personally, though, since it’s my last season I just want to make sure I’m having fun and enjoying it whether we win or lose,” Cerciello said.
As Cerciello’s time in a Hawks uniform becomes limited, Kahoe said her impact will be missed next season.
“I wish she had four more years,” Kahoe said. “I think that she’s a special person, a special athlete, and I really just wish I had four more years with her.”
