Bucknell University Athletics
Suzanne Raffaele Named 2003 Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year
6/26/2003 8:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
June 26, 2003
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell senior women's lacrosse player Suzanne Raffaele (Springfield, Pa./Archmere Academy), the 2003 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, became the fourth Bison to be selected as the Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year in a vote of the conference sports information directors, announced by the Patriot League today, June 26.
Raffaele, a management major who graduated in May with a 3.36 cumulative grade point average, became just the sixth player in PL history to earn All-League recognition all four years of her career after being named to the first-team all-star squad this season. It was her second-straight year as a member of the first-team All-League team.
In addition to her All-League recognition in 2003, Raffaele was named to the Brine/Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) all-region second team for the first time in her career, becoming only the third Bison to garner the honor. She also won Bucknell's Lee S. "Bud" Ranck Award for outstanding spirit and contributions to the Bucknell athletic program, presented at the school's annual senior awards dinner in April.
A member of BU's Dean's List and the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, Raffaele's other honors include the 2000 conference Rookie of the Year and a membership in Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. Most recently, she was the League's lone representative in the annual North-South Senior All-Star game, marking only the third time a member of the Orange and Blue has been selected for the elite event.
Her career-high 40 goals this season, which was her fourth-straight year with at least 30 goals, helped the Bison to post an 8-8 overall record, 3-3 in League play, and the team's first PL Tournament appearance. Raffaele, who also equaled a career-high with 10 assists, led the team and ranked second in the League in goals and points (50). She recorded eight hat tricks on the year, including four consecutive and six in the last eight games. In addition, the captain was held without a point only once in 16 games, and tallied multiple goals on 12 occasions. This season, she became the Bucknell record-holder for career goals (144) and points (173), and ranks sixth and eighth, respectively, in the Patriot League in those categories.
Previous Bucknell winners of the Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year award include two-time winner Tricia Way (1993-94) and Amy Green (1997).
