Anna Marie Vesco - Head Coach - Women's Lacrosse Coaches

Anna Marie Vesco

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
av47@drexel.edu
Phone:
x-1885

Head Coach Anna Marie Vesco continued her winning ways at Drexel last season as she guided the Dragons to fifth straight season of 10 or more wins. When Vesco took over the Drexel program in 2003, the team had just three winning seasons in the previous 20 years of Division I competition. In her six seasons, Vesco’s teams have never had a losing record and have tied the program record for wins in a season three times. In 2007, she helped Drexel to a school-record tying 12 victories, including three in the Colonial Athletic Association. Drexel’s 3-4 mark in conference action was the best the Dragons’ have posted since joining the CAA in 2002.

Last season, Drexel nearly upset the 2007 and 2008 national runner-up as Penn narrowly escaped Vidas Field with a 6-5 victory. The game featured trademarks of Drexel women’s lacrosse under Vesco’s leadership as the Dragons’ physical play and sound fundamentals along with extensive preparation nearly led to the toppling of a nationally ranked team. Later in the season, the Dragons completed an upset of a nationally ranked opponent as Drexel stunned 18th-ranked William & Mary, 17-6.

Under Vesco, Drexel has shattered almost every offensive record in the books while developing players who have been recognized for their stellar play throughout the region. Last season, midfielder Katie Bradley was a Regional All-America pick as well as an All-Conference selection. Vesco was also instrumental in the success of 2007 First Team All-CAA selections Kerry Kelly and Lauren LaBella and three-time all-conference player Emily Hoesch. Kelly and Hoesch rewrote the Drexel record book as the two own the single-season and career records for goals, assists and points. The Drexel head coach has also been influential in the development of goalie LaBella, who ranked fourth in the nation in goals against average and save percentage as a sophomore.

With last year’s 10-7 mark, Vesco now has a 64-37 career record at Drexel. Her 64 wins and .634 winning percentage rank first among all Drexel women’s lacrosse coaches since the Dragons entered Division I competition in 1983.

The transformation of the Drexel program into a winner was nearly immediate when Vesco took the helm. The Dragons finished the 2003 season with an 8-8 mark that included wins over city rivals Saint Joseph’s and La Salle. The 8-8 mark was the team’s best showing since the 1993 season, when Drexel went 12-3. In just her second season, Vesco guided the Dragons to a best-ever 5-0 start en route to an overall record of 10-7 for the 2004 season. For the season, Drexel ranked ninth in draw controls and 20th in scoring margin nationally.

Vesco quickly established herself as one of the top coaches in women’s college lacrosse. Vesco spent nine seasons as head coach at Rutgers University, where she compiled an 82-64 career record. Honored in 1998 as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year, Vesco enjoyed many successes while with the Scarlet Knights. Her 1999 team finished the season with a 14-3 record, the most wins in school history, and became the first to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The team earned a national ranking of 11th and had four players named to the Mid-Atlantic Regional All-America team. The 1997 and 1998 squads finished 13-5 and 12-5, respectively, with both earning trips to the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament. In her career, Vesco has had 13 of her players named to All-America teams and has coached six Academic All-Americans.

Prior to her tenure at Rutgers, Vesco served as the girls’ lacrosse coach at Chatham High School, where she recorded a 6-4-2 mark. She was also an assistant coach at her alma mater, Montville High School. During her two years coaching at Montville, the squad posted a 33-1-2 record, captured two Tri-County Conference championships and had two appearances in the semifinals of the New Jersey State Tournament. Vesco coached in Japan in 1991-1992 and was the head coach of the North Jersey Lacrosse Club from 1990-1997.

A 1988 graduate of Penn State University, Vesco earned a degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management. She was a two-time All-American and a four-year letterwinner on the women’s lacrosse team. She played in three Final Fours and was a member of the 1987 National Championship team. A member of the 1991 United States National team, Vesco played in the North/South Game in 1988 and 1991 and the Garden State Games in 1984. In 1999, she was inducted into the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame and was also named to the New Jersey Star-Ledger’s All-Century Team.

Vesco has been highly involved in the development of women’s lacrosse in New Jersey, serving on the board of the N.J. Lacrosse Foundation and was the state’s USILA chapter president. She was on the N.J. All-American Selection Committee from 1991-1993 and played a large role in the founding of the first school girls tournament in New Jersey.

Vesco resides in Ardmore, Pa., with her son, Tyler Jonathon and her daughter, Alexis.