Women's lacrosse: Brunswick grad Ashley Drexler shining for Ashland

Ashley Drexler wasn't sure what to expect when she stepped on the lacrosse field for Ashland University as a freshman in the spring of 2024, She really wasn't anticipating a position change, but she took it in stride and flourished. Drexler was moved from attack to the midfield as a freshman after an injury to a teammate left the Eagles shorthanded. She made an immediate impact, scoring four goals in her second game. "I think my expectation was just to come in, work hard and hopefully eventually earn that spot," Drexler said. "Coming in with a starting position definitely exceeded my expectations. I wasn't necessarily expecting that, but I think it was great to see that my hard work was paying off and that I was just able to make an impact so early on." Drexler finished the season with 31 goals and 28 assists, earning Great Midwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and Midfielder of the Year. "Getting the freshman of the year and midfielder of the year together, that was pretty awesome," she said. "Stepping into that new role as a midfielder in college and taking the draw and all that, I think it was really rewarding just to receive those." Drexler has since returned to her normal position of attack, where she had 27 goals and 31 assists as a sophomore to earn second-team all-conference. She then scored 34 goals with 26 assists in the regular season to earn second-team honors again this season. One of the reasons for her continued success, especially from sophomore year to junior year, is the continuity of the Eagles, who lost just one senior from last season's squad that won the G-MAC title. "I think this season has kind of been a really cool season because we returned everybody from last year, so we're kind of just continuing that momentum," Drexler said. "I think it helps a lot, because you don't have to start from ground zero. We're just building upon all the success that we've already had." The 5-foot-5 junior has found her groove, scoring multiple goals in 14 of 17 games, including 12 of the last 14. That stretch also saw her tie her career high with four goals in a win over Malone. "I think it's just the flow of the game," Drexler said. "I'm not necessarily going in thinking about how many goals I am going to score. It's just what naturally happens and just being in the right place at the right time. I think my teammates do a good job, too, of finding the open pass and getting the open look. It's just a team effort, and whoever scores the most goals on that day, it could be any of us." Drexler found the net a lot in high school, including a school-record 10 goals in a win over Solon in her senior season. "That was kind of just a surreal moment," she said. "Ten times is a lot. I do owe a lot of that to my teammates from high school. They wanted it for me, too. Just being able to do that was pretty cool. You don't see that all the time, so that's pretty awesome." Ashland began defense of its GMAC championship Thursday with a 22-3 win over Walsh in which Drexler found the net four times. The Eagles maintained focus despite not having played in 12 days and will play Tiffin or Findlay on Saturday. "I think one thing that our coach has been really telling us is that anything can happen in the GMAC conference," Drexler said. "I think just knowing that we have to work hard and it's not just going to be given to us, that's what's kind of keeping us going. It's been a long break since our last game, so it is just finding that motivation to keep pushing for Saturday." Drexler doesn't just have success on the lacrosse field, as she is carrying a 4.0 grade-point average while majoring in exercise science. She has earned All-Academic G-MAC honors and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District in her career. Both honors for this seasons have yet to be announced. "I think I kind of have myself in a rhythm, and I am a pretty scheduled kind of person," Drexler said. "I would say the academics part, it's a lot, but just finding that balance is really important, and that's kind of helped me exceed in both my academics and my athletics." Drexler has shined in other ways as well, including within her family. Just as her season was getting going, the basketball season for her brother Trey, a senior at Brunswick, came to an abrupt end. The two-time Gazette MVP broke two bones in his wrist, forcing him to miss the postseason. Ashley Drexler wanted to help her brother any way she could and knew that just being there with a sympathetic ear was her best path. "Injury is obviously something you don't expect, and it is hard to go through," she said. "He had such a great season. ... I guess the way that I was able to help him was to sympathize with him and just be someone that he can talk to if he wants to in that situation." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com.