{"id":2653,"date":"2020-10-29T14:23:21","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T14:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=2653"},"modified":"2025-03-27T17:08:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T21:08:56","slug":"lorne-bickley-a-lasting-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2020\/10\/29\/lorne-bickley-a-lasting-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Lorne Bickley: A Lasting Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column2653_0180c2-bd dynamic-main-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d\"]{font-size:1.5rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-family:proxima-nova;color:#808080;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d wu-subheading wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading2653_dde3b1-0d\">Lorne Bickley is now back in his native England, but he leaves behind a legacy at Wilmington University that will be hard to match \u2014 both on the soccer field and in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bickley was named the 2019 D2CCA Ron Lenz National Player of the Year after leading the nation with 26 goals and 55 points, both Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and WilmU records. He is the first Wildcat to earn a National Player of the Year award in any sport in the NCAA era, and only the second player from the East Region to earn the award for men\u2019s soccer.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image2653_1b5dcb-d9.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image2653_1b5dcb-d9 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:398px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image2653_1b5dcb-d9.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image2653_1b5dcb-d9 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image2653_1b5dcb-d9 figure{max-width:398px;}.kb-image2653_1b5dcb-d9 .image-is-svg, .kb-image2653_1b5dcb-d9 .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image2653_1b5dcb-d9 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image2653_1b5dcb-d9\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1448\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/DSC_0318.jpg\" alt=\"Lorne on the soccer field\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-2654\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/DSC_0318.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/DSC_0318-207x250.jpg 207w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/DSC_0318-768x927.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/DSC_0318-398x480.jpg 398w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption>Bickley became the first Wildcat to earn a National Player of the Year award in any sport in the NCAA era.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>He also became just the seventh Wildcat in Athletic Department history to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American, which gives equal weight to academics and athletic achievement. Bickley earned a degree in Sports Management in just three-and-a-half years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilmington Soccer Coach Nick Papanicolas snagged Bickley during a one-week recruiting trip to England in 2015. Along with about 150 other coaches, he watched the lean, 6-4 forward perform in a showcase event. Afterward, Papanicolas sat down with Bickley and his mother and told them about WilmU. A few weeks later, Bickley accepted a scholarship to the University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He had an immediate impact on the soccer program, earning Rookie of the Year and first team All-CACC honors as a freshman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLorne is what we call a one-touch finisher,\u201d says Papanicolas. \u201cHis 26 goals for 2019 will be a very difficult record to break for future strikers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Papanicolas says Bickley \u201cwas a pleasure to coach.\u201d What\u2019s more, many members of the team are from other countries, and Bickley \u201cmentored some of the younger players to help them adjust to college life in the U.S.,\u201d the coach says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bickley himself had to explain to teammates and others that he was from Jersey, but not <em>New<\/em> Jersey. \u201cI\u2019m from Jersey, Channel Islands,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a tiny Island situated in between England and France.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, New Jersey was named for that island. King Charles II gave the colony to his brother James, Duke of York, and James later named it New Jersey to honor Sir George Carteret, who had been governor of Jersey. \u201cThey copied the name from us,\u201d Bickley jokes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He will be living in Jersey during the off-season after signing with Hartlepool United to play in England\u2019s National League. He joined the team in March, but unfortunately the season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 outbreak. In the meantime, says the 22-year-old striker, \u201cI\u2019m training hard in preparation for next season, whenever that may begin. I\u2019m keeping focused in order to have the best season I can, constantly looking to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bickley credits Papanicolas and Wilmington University for \u201cthe best four years of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was able to play full-time soccer and meet friends and coaches which I would now class as family,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among his fondest memories of his time here: \u201cNever losing at home in two seasons; trips to California and Florida for pre-season; and being lucky enough to graduate and my family flying in for the ceremony.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He says the University opened many doors for him. \u201cI will always be grateful for the opportunity I have been given. It allowed me to be the person I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lorne Bickley is now back in his native England, but he leaves behind a legacy at Wilmington University that will be hard to match \u2014&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[634,598],"class_list":["post-2653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","tag-magazine-fall-2020","tag-mens-soccer"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":135,"label":"MAGAZINE"}],"post_tag":[{"value":634,"label":"Magazine Fall 2020"},{"value":598,"label":"Mens Soccer"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/lorne-750x475.jpg",750,475,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Rebecca Slinger","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/rebecca\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":135,"name":"MAGAZINE","slug":"magazine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":692,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":431,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":135,"category_count":431,"category_description":"","cat_name":"MAGAZINE","category_nicename":"magazine","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":634,"name":"Magazine Fall 2020","slug":"magazine-fall-2020","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1191,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":598,"name":"Mens Soccer","slug":"mens-soccer","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1155,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2653"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17564,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653\/revisions\/17564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}