“He played an All-American to a standstill.”
Those were the words of Gettysburg men’s lacrosse coach Hank Janczyk, after the Bullets defeated Franklin & Marshall College 7-5 to clinch the 1989 Middle Atlantic Conference Western Division title. Janczyk was referring to the play of junior defenseman Braden Edwards, who shut down F&M three-time All-American Jon Dale and in the process, helped send the Bullets to the MAC championship game.
While that may have been one of the highlights of Edwards’ career at Gettysburg, it was hardly his only shining moment. A two-time All-American, he helped guide the Bullets to a 34-18 record while making his mark as one of the top one-on-one defenseman in the region during a pivotal period in Gettysburg men’s lacrosse history.
Hailing from Easton, Pennsylvania, Edwards arrived at Gettysburg during a transitional period, playing his freshman season under head coach Joe Donolli and competing for current head coach Hank Janczyk over his last three seasons. In Janczyk’s first year at the helm in 1988, Edwards earned a name for himself, capturing Second Team All-MAC honors after helping the Bullets finish 9-5, the first of the program’s 22 straight winning seasons. In just the second game of the year, Edwards and the Bullets used a new zone defense to upset second-ranked Washington & Lee 10-7 after losing 20-10 to the Generals the previous season.
With Edwards and goalie Brian Sullivan forming the base of a stellar defense, the Bullets enjoyed a record-breaking season in 1989. After a 1-2 start, Gettysburg ran off a school-record 11-game winning streak, and after beating F&M to win the division, the Bullets defeated Drew University 14-13 in the MAC title game to earn its inaugural NCAA Tournament appearance. The team finished 12-3 for the year and set an additional school record for wins in a season. He captured First Team All-MAC honors and Second Team All-America distinction.
Although the Bullets were unable to repeat as conference champions during his senior year in 1990, he turned in his finest season. Helping the Bullets finish 9-4 as a team co-captain, he earned the distinction as the first-ever First Team All-American in program history while grabbing a spot on the All-MAC First Team again.
Edwards graduated from Gettysburg in 1990 with a degree in business. He has spent the last two years working ay Credit-Suisse in San Francisco, where he and his wife, Carolyn, reside with their three children.
