Goalies of the Year Award Inaugural Year

This year will be the inaugural year for our two goalie awards. Named in honor of two goalies who have gone above and beyond for Israel and Israel Lacrosse, both of these awards are intended to recognize goalies who have made a lasting impact on Israel Lacrosse through the last year. These two awards and their backgrounds are:

The Howard “Cookie” Krongard Most Outstanding Men’s Goalie:

Howard “Cookie” Krongard played on Princeton’s undefeated Ivy League championship teams from 1959-1961, earned first-team All-American honors in 1961, was selected as the USCLA’s Player of the Year in both 1968 and 1974, voted USILA Man of the Year in 1983, and was inducted into the U.S. National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the New York Sports Hall of Fame. Not only a wildly successful lacrosse player, Cookie continues to give back to the Jewish world including his sponsorship of this award for excellence within the goalkeeper world. 

The Alex Freedman and Family Most Outstanding Women’s Goalie:

Alex Freedman is one of the pioneering forces behind Israel women’s lacrosse. Put simply, the growth of lacrosse in Israel would be nowhere near its current level without her immense contributions. Throughout high school, Alex traveled to Israel many times to grow the game until she graduated from Middlebury college in 2018,  and made Aliyah, moving to Israel full time. She was a staple in goal for our Women’s National team, instrumental in our ability to host the 2018 World Championships and a coach of the U19 Girls National team. There are very few who even approach her level of commitment to Israel Lacrosse and the Jewish world.

In 2020, the Israel Lacrosse Association has honored Ben Friedman and Kelly Layton as the inaugural winners of these awards for their incredible contributions to the work of Israel Lacrosse in 2020.