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08/05/2024 09:29 AMClinton's Kara (Bradley) Cyr has been selected for induction into the Eastern Connecticut State University Athletics Alumni Hall of Fame.
Bradley Cyr, a North Haven native, was a four-year starter who garnered numerous conference, regional, and national honors in helping the Eastern Connecticut State University women’s lacrosse program to its first two Little East Conference playoff championships.
Bradley Cyr is the fifth individual from the women’s lacrosse program (which became an intercollegiate program in 1996) to earn Alumni Hall of Fame honors, following, among others, former teammates Mo Deegan (2002-05) and Erika Blozie (2001-04).
Bradley Cyr started all possible 73 matches between 2004 and 2007 as a midfielder and defender and helped the Warriors to 26 wins in 32 Little East matches (20-4 in the LEC regular season), their first two LEC playoff titles, and to their first LEC regular season title as a senior, when they won all six LEC regular season matches and both LEC playoff games. Eastern qualified for the ECAC New England title for the third straight year during Bradley Cyr’s first season, and it later qualified automatically for its first two NCAA Division III tournaments as the LEC playoff champion.
As a sophomore in 2005, the 6-foot-2 inch Bradley Cyr was named LEC playoff MVP (five ground balls, five draws, five caused turnovers, three goals, and four assists in two matches) when the No. 2-seeded Warriors handed No.1-seed and host Plymouth State University its first LEC loss ever with a 12-8 victory in the title game. Five days later, Eastern won its first NCAA tournament game ever with a 13-8 upset of homestanding Springfield College.
At the defender position during that sophomore season, Bradley Cyr was named Inside Lacrosse All-America, IWLCA All-Region for the first of two straight years, and ECAC All-New England for the first of two straight years. In addition to being named the program’s first LEC playoff MVP in 2005, she was voted as Eastern’s first recipient of the LEC Defensive Player of the Year Award and was named to the All-LEC First Team for the first of three straight seasons (the first two on defense, the third at midfield).
As a senior in 2007 under first-year Head Coach Christine Hutchison, Bradley Cyr helped Eastern to the first of three straight undefeated LEC regular seasons, and on its home field, Eastern routed the University of Southern Maine, 21-11 in the semifinals, and Plymouth, 10-9, in the final to gain its second title in Bradley Cyr’s four years.
“Kara was talented and athletic and a great defender, leader, and team player,” Hutchison said. “Kara is tall, but you never would have known that when she played defense. She was always in a very low athletic stance and would not hold her stick especially high, kind of baiting the attacker to try to pass through or over her. Then, she would stand up and extend her stick, which allowed her to make numerous interceptions.”
She capped her Hall of Fame career in 2007 by being selected for the prestigious IWLCA/STX Farewell Festival North-South Senior All-Star Game – which featured Division III’s top 40 seniors -- at the U.S. Training Center in Downington, Pennsylvania. She was one of only eight players chosen from New England, the only New England player from a state institution, and the only representative from the Little East.
Playing wing defense, Bradley Cyr led the team in caused turnovers in each of her four seasons, in ground balls twice, and in assists, free-position goals, and draw controls once. At the time of graduation, she held the top three and four of the top five season totals for caused turnovers. Through 2024, she remains the only player with 40 or more caused turnovers in a season, having done it twice.
At the conclusion of her career, Bradley Cyr had established program career records for appearances, starts, and caused turnovers, and she was ranked second in ground balls and fourth in draw controls. Seventeen years after her final game, Bradley Cyr remains the all-time leader in caused turnovers and is tied for third in appearances, starts, and ground balls. Also, she is 12th in draws and 14th in assists.
Twice named the team’s Offensive Player of the Year at Mercy High School, Bradley supplemented her defensive proficiency at Eastern by contributing 81 goals (66 in her final two seasons) and 40 assists (leading the team with 13 as a junior).
Bradley Cyr holds a B.S. Degree in Biology and is employed as Director of Quality Control and Assurance at Vesta Biotherapeutics in Branford. She resides in Clinton with husband Jason (’08) and two young children.
Bradley Cyr is the second announced member of the Class of 2024, which will hold its 30th induction ceremony and social on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Betty R. Tipton Room in the campus’ Student Center. The social begins at 3:30 p.m., with the induction ceremony to follow at 5 p.m. Tickets for the induction ceremony and social are priced at $50 each and can be reserved by contacting committee chair Scott Smith at 860-465-4326, or at smithsc@easternct.edu.