Ursinus College Women's Lacrosse

Rachel Howard-Franklin [email protected] Honors/Accomplishments 1x Centennial Conference Coaching Staff of the Year (2023) 1x MAC Freedom Coach of the Year (2019) 11 student-athletes named to All-Centennial Conference Teams Two IWLCA All-Region Players Centennial Conference Playoff Appearance (2023) Started DeSales University Lacrosse Program (2015-2020) Nine student-athletes named to All-MAC Freedom Conference Teams ECAC Tournament Appearance (2019) Stevenson University MAC Commonwealth Championship (2014) Coaching Experience Head Coach, Ursinus College (2020-Present) Head Coach, DeSales University (2015-2020) Graduate Assistant Coach, Stevenson University (2014-15) Education B.S., Event Management, University of Florida (2013) M.S., Business and Technology Management, Stevenson University (2015) Coaching at Ursinus “We are confident that Rachel will make a very successful addition to Team Ursinus,” Director of Athletics and Recreation Laura Moliken said. “We were extremely pleased with the strength of the candidate pool; there was great experience, enthusiasm, and professionalism from all those we spoke with and interviewed. Rachel’s ability to articulate a vision and plan for the future success of the program made her an outstanding choice.”   In 2022 Coach Howard-Franklin has guided the Bears to the best season since 2017.  Under Howard-Franklin Ursinus has seen four players earn All-CC honors in two seasons, five earn IWLCA Academic Honors,   Prominent Ursinus players under Howard-Franklin Julia McCann ’25 – McCann earned IWLCA Second Team All-Region 2023, First Team All-Centennial Conference 2023, offensive player of the week in 2023 and broke the Ursinus record for draw controls in a season with 103. Alexa Machado ’23 – Machado earned Second Team All-Centennial Conference in 2023, IWLCA D3 Senior All-Star Game, Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week, and led the conference in saves for three of her four seasons in cage. Machado ended her career ranked second in the Ursinus record book for saves with 451 saves (46 games). Becca Lewis ’22 – Played two seasons under Howard-Franklin earning All-CC First-Team honors.  Finished career with 99 ground balls and 79 caused turnovers in 39 games. Playing Career Howard-Franklin was a member of the inaugural women’s lacrosse team at University of Florida and the top-ranked recruiting class.  During her time at UF, the Gators went to the NCAA tournament three times and in 2012 played in the Final Four. Committees NCAA Regional Advisory Committee (2016-2019). NCAA Division III Tournament Site Representative (2017 and 2018).  Personal Howard-Franklin (maiden name is Smith) is originally from Ellicott City, MD attending Mt. Hebron High School.  She currently resides in Collegeville, PA with her husband Tyrell and son Ace.

Megan Dee joins the women’s lacrosse staff after a five-year playing career at Winthrop University in South Carolina. At Winthrop, Megan served as a captain her junior and senior year and in 2023 won the Comeback Athlete of the Year Award from her fellow student-athletes. During her time, Dee also was a member of the SAAC. The Maryland native won the Maryland State Championship in 2017 and currently coaches for NEMS.  

Rebecca Tomaszewski has been added as an assistant coach for the 2025-2026 season. She has coaching experience at the high school, Division II, and Division III levels. Prior to Ursinus, she was head coach at American International College (MA), assistant coach at Millersville University, and graduate assistant at New England College (NH). She began her coaching career as an assistant at Louisville High School (OH). A graduate of Walsh University, she was a decorated All-America goalkeeper and four-year letter winner in lacrosse and field hockey. Tomaszewski will specialize in working with goalkeepers and serve as an assistant defensive coordinator. She currently also coaches club lacrosse with ROAR based out of Reading, PA.