Aurora University

Aurora University Athletics
347 S. Gladstone Ave Aurora, IL 605064892

Division 3 Illinois Midwest

Private Small National competitor

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Coaches

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Christina Fried

Christina Fried became the Head Coach of the Aurora University women's lacrosse program in June of 2014.

The Aurora University Spartan women's lacrosse program has become a known commodity under Coach Fried in her time at AU making consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournaments and winning the first three Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Championships.

2021 was a historical year for Coach Fried and the AU women's lacrosse program. The Spartans won the inaugural Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference regular season and tournament championship. Fried was named NACC Coach of the Year while guiding the Spartans to the programs first NCAA Division III tournament appearance which resulted in a 13-8 victory over Carroll University and a spot in the Sweet 16.

The 2023 Spartans set a program record for wins with 17. Under Fried, the Spartans have made their conference tournament in each year while finishing with a .500 or better overall record in every season.

Fried came to the Spartan program after serving as an assistant coach at Franklin & Marshall College for the past two seasons (2012-2014) where they had a 33-11 record.

Prior to her time at Franklin & Marshall, she spent two seasons (2008-2010) at Frostburg State University as an assistant coach before moving to Kutztown University as an assistant coach for two seasons. While at Franklin & Marshall, her primary focus centered on the development and refinement of the defensive side of the field. In addition to working with the defense, she oversaw the student-athletes' progress in the classroom.

Fried enjoyed a sterling four-year playing career for the Lock Haven women's lacrosse team. A team captain as a senior and a Second Team All-PSAC performer as a junior, Fried helped the Lady Eagles to a 62-14 overall record during her four years, including a pair of NCAA Tournament semifinals, three PSAC Championship appearances and a school-record 17 wins (17-2) during the 2006 season.

Fried was also an active member of the Lock Haven academic community. She was a three-year member of SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee), a member of Alpha Kappa Psi and worked for the LHU Foundation.

She earned her Master's degree in Business Administration from Frostburg State University in 2010 and graduated from Lock Haven with a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in management in 2008. She spent the fall semester of her senior year at Lock Haven studying at the Dublin Business School in Dublin, Ireland.

Fried is married to her husband Derek have one son Jordan.

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Mariah Smith

Mariah Smith joined the coaching staff of the Aurora University women's lacrosse program in the summer of 2020.

In her four seasons at IWU, Smith earned an impressive resume of accolades individually while leading the Titans to back to back conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in her junior and senior year. She earned IWLCA First-Team All-Region and a member of the IWLCA All-Star team while being named the CCIW Defensive Player of the Year. As a four-year starter at defense, Smith was a four-time CCIW All-Conference performer, earning six conference defensive player of the week awards and twice being named the IWU defensive most valuable player.