Jackie Neary had been a thorn in the side of Neumann’s lacrosse program for decades. Now, she’s its coach.
Another layer to Neumann’s appeal was the school’s willingness to let Neary bring former Cabrini assistant coach Macaul Mellor with her, while also making space for a few Cavaliers players to follow the beloved coach.as a third factor in the decision. She is a Delaware County Hall of Fame inductee and played lacrosse at Ridley High School in Folsom, where she was an All-American in 1982.
“If you look at the 28 years that I had at Cabrini, a lot of my success comes from kids from local high schools — from Springfield, from Ridley, from ,” Neary said. “I think I’ve been blessed over the years, because of the talent in the Philadelphia area, to have great teams. I’m hoping to bring that same type of experience and create something very special at Neumann with my normal recruiting schools that I love.
It won’t be easy for Neary to turn things around at Neumann, but she has climbed taller mountains. The women’s lacrosse program at Cabrini didn’t exist before her arrival — the school hired her to start it from scratch.