Bruin awarded scholarship to become Bearcat

Before she even played in her first lacrosse game at the age of 8, Baldwin High School senior Kelsey Cohen had developed a strong love for the game. As she watched her older brothers Kyle and Dylan and their friends play before her, Cohen, now 17, was anxiously waiting for her chance.

“A lot of my brothers’ friends played it and I looked up to them,” Cohen said. “So they kind of were like an inspiration to me up until high school.” Now, more than nine years after taking up the sport to be just like her brothers, Cohen has received a lacrosse scholarship to the University of Cincinnati, which is part of the American Athletic Conference.

Cohen was playing a tournament with her travel team, Long Island TOGZ, when a coach on the Cincinnati lacrosse team contacted her the summer of 2013. After the initial contact, Cohen agreed to tour the campus in Ohio. “I never thought it was much of an option,” she said, “but I got there and just fell in love with the school, so I knew it was for me.”

With the Lady Bruins’ lacrosse season in full swing, Cohen is looking to make an impact in her fifth and final season on the team. The Lady Bruins are 8-1 and looking to make playoffs.

Like the rest of the Lady Bruins, Cohen is striving to build on her success last season. She earned All-County honors as a sophomore and junior and was named captain for her junior and senior seasons. Now in her final high school season, Cohen is not slowing down, as she prepares for college level competition. “I try and do stuff on my off time even though I practice here,” she said. “No matter who I’m playing against I always go hard and I never really take practice or competition lightly.”

In addition to being a five-year varsity starter in lacrosse, Cohen played four years of varsity soccer for Baldwin. Despite her obvious talent for the game, Cohen never had serious plans to continue soccer past high school. “Soccer was kind of more of a fun thing for me,” she said, “and I actually ended up having a little bit of talent in it.” With Cohen on the roster, the Lady Bruins soccer team has reached the playoffs twice.

Cohen is just as impressive off the field as she is on. She has been a member of Athletes Helping Athletes — an organization of high school athletes that work with elementary students on developing leadership and character — for three years and is currently a co-president. She comes from a family of Bruins, with both of her brothers playing varsity sports and her mom is a past president of the Bruins Booster Club.

Athletic Director Ed Ramirez said she is a great leader who is always willing to volunteer her time to the athletic program. “Kelsey Cohen is one of those people we want to put out there,” he said, “so that people make a connection [between] that quality of a person and our program.”