Ali DeLuca scored 148 goals during her four-year lacrosse career, the most in Penn history, and has received enough accolades to fill an entire trophy case.
But when the senior midfield was named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award — collegiate lacrosse’s highest honor — three weeks ago, she was, surprisingly, “shocked.”
Even now, with the award ceremony taking place tonight at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., DeLuca is putting her chances of winning at “slim to none.”
According to Penn assistant coach Liz Kittleman, these are simply two cases of Ali being Ali.
But with DeLuca’s playing career over — after a second-round loss to eventual national champion Maryland last Saturday — and a National Player of the Year trophy at stake, it’s time for others to sing the praises of one of the greatest players in Penn history one last time.
“Part of what makes Ali such a good player is that she has literally zero ego,” Kittleman said. “I think it’s because of that that she’s been open to learning every single day.
“She doesn’t play like she knows it all; she doesn’t practice like she knows it all,” the coach added.
That mentality has clearly paid off, as DeLuca has increased her scoring output in each of the last three seasons, after a sensational freshman campaign that saw her win the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award unanimously.
Three consecutive All-America seasons followed, including a first-team selection this year, when she broke the 29-year-old Quakers record for points in a season with 76.
In her effort to become the first Penn player to win the Tewaaraton Award Saturday, DeLuca will be up against four senior midfields from major conference programs: Katrina Dowd from Northwestern, Brittany Kalkstein from the University of Virginia, Caitlyn McFadden from the University of Maryland and Jenn Russell from the University of North Carolina.
Penn’s representative claims she’s not even rooting for herself.
“I’m a big fan of Caitlyn McFadden,” DeLuca said of her former teammate on the United States Developmental Team. “My fingers are crossed for her.”
Looking at sheer numbers, Dowd appears to be the heavy favorite. The Wildcats’ captain totaled a whopping 110 points this year, including 77 goals, while McFadden was the closest behind among the finalists with 85 points and 50 goals.
However, a big reason for the drastic statistical separation among the players is style of play, as DeLuca pointed out.
“They’re from teams that love to score and rack up points,” she said. “We were not as run-and-gun on attack.”
In fact, DeLuca tallied 22 percent of her team’s goals, highest of the five players. Dowd ranks a close second at 21 percent.
“Dowd is more of an attacker than a midfielder, but the other four are true midfielders,” Kittleman said. “They all have great speed, [but] Ali probably has some of the best moves of the four. Her ability to challenge from the top … I think she’s the best in the country at that.”
She may also be the most modest, at least among the elite players. When asked if a Tewaaraton Award could make up for her failure to win a national championship — as Dowd and McFadden have now accomplished — DeLuca responded in typical fashion.
“Never in a million years,” she said. “I would take a national championship over everything.”
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