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IWLCA Announces 2018 Division III Coaches of the Year

By IWLCA Admin, 07/19/18, 1:00PM EDT

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IWLCA Names 2018 Coaches of the Year in Division III

8 Mentors Recognized

The IWLCA has named the 2018 National and Regional Coaches of the Year in Division II. The Regional and National Coaches of the Year for all three Divisions will be honored at the IWLCA Honors Banquet held on November 14 during the IWLCA Annual Meetings at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Florida.

Division III National Coach of the Year

Carol Cantele, Gettysburg College

Cantele guided Gettysburg to its second consecutive NCAA Division III Championship this past spring, marking the first back-to-back team championships in the institution’s history. The Bullets tied a program record with 21 wins, including 10 over teams that finished among the top 25 in the final Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association poll. Gettysburg defeated six top 10 programs and swept the conference and national titles for the first time in school history. The team beat Franklin & Marshall 15-7 in the Centennial Conference Championship and handed Middlebury College an 11-9 decision to claim the NCAA title. A three-time NCAA Division III Coach of the Year, Cantele has guided the Bullets to three national titles (2011, 2017, 2018), 11 Centennial Conference championships (2000, 2002-06, 2012-14, 2016, 2018), and 18 trips to the NCAA Tournament in the last 19 years. She is 399-107 in 26 years at Gettysburg and 423-130 in 30 years as a head lacrosse coach.

Division III Regional Coaches of the Year

Berkshire Region

Chris Paradis, Amherst College

Exhibiting her trademarked poise and toughness in a bounce-back season, Amherst College head coach Christine Paradis brought the Mammoths roaring back into the national conversation in 2018 – her 24th season at the helm. Guiding Amherst to one of its best starts in program history, the Mammoths’ recorded a 9-1 mark in the perennially tough NESCAC conference and posted eight wins against top-21 ranked teams to finish the spring with a 17-3 overall ledger and rank third all-time in program single season victories. Named the 2018 NESCAC Coach of the Year for her efforts, Paradis mentored three All-NESCAC selections, including the NESCAC Rookie and Defensive Player of the Year, five All-Region honorees and three IWLCA All-America selections. Amherst finished the 2018 season ranked fifth in the final IWLCA Coaches Poll after starting the year unranked.


Boardwalk Region

Sharon Pfluger - The College of New Jersey

Pfluger led TCNJ to the program’s 26th final four in 2018 tying a program record with 20 wins (20-3) in the process. The Lions continued their dominance in the New Jersey Athletic Conference going 6-0 and extending their conference winning streak to 47 games. The Lions also own the nation’s longest active road winning streak at 15 games. Pfluger coached the nation’s top defense for the fourth straight season piloting a squad that allowed just 4.09 goals per game. Pfluger was named NJAC Coach of the Year for the second straight season. In the Lions shutout victory over The College at Brockport, Pfluger became the first women’s lacrosse coach in NCAA History to reach the 500-win milestone.


Chesapeake Region

Jim Nestor, Salisbury University

In his 17th season as head coach of the Sea Gulls, Nestor led the team to an overall record of 21-2, including a perfect 8-0 record in Capital Athletic Conference play. Salisbury earned its 16th straight conference title to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the 16th consecutive season under Nestor’s watch. The maroon and gold advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the 10th time under the guidance of Nestor. He was named CAC Coach of the Year for the 13th time while also being named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III women’s lacrosse Coach of the Year. The Sea Gulls finished the season with the 15th ranked defense in Division III, allowing just 7.17 goals per game.


Empire Region

Karrie Moore, Ithaca College

Ithaca head coach Karrie Moore and her assistant coach, Erin Growney, earned Coaching Staff of the Year recognition in a vote by the Liberty League’s head coaches. Moore directed the Bombers to a 14-5 overall record and a 9-1 mark in league play. In Ithaca’s first year as members of the Liberty League, the Bombers were Co-Regular Season Champions and they also earned the second seed in the league tournament, advancing to the championship game. Ithaca led the league in goals per game (14.68), points per game (21.37), ground balls per game (22.26), caused turnovers per game (12.26) and draw controls per game (13.79). The Bombers also had three of the league’s leading scorers for a combined 244 points (152 goals, 92 assists).


Great Lakes Region

Lindsey Kellar, Illinois Wesleyan University
In 2018, Lindsey Kellar coached the Illinois Wesleyan women’s lacrosse team (a fourth year program) to its second straight NCAA Division III appearance after winning the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season championship and postseason tournament. The Titans had a 16-5 overall record and went 6-0 in the CCIW. IWU got its first-ever NCAA tourney win with a home victory over Hamline before losing at Middlebury (Vt.), the eventual national runner-up. Kellar, who was named CCIW “Coach of the Year” for the second time in four years, had seven players earn all-conference honors, including offensive and defensive players of the year (Dani Engelbreit and Mariah Smith) and top newcomer (goalkeeper Janaye Godfrey).  Kellar has a four-year record of 66-30 (.688 winning percentage) and a CCIW record of 22-8 (.733) and has now coached a total of 19 all-conference selections.


Metro Region

Carol Cantele - Gettysburg College

See bio above.


Pilgrim Region

Kate Livesay, Middlebury College

Livesay guided the Panthers to the NCAA Championship game for the second time in the last three seasons in 2018. Middlebury claimed the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament with a 9-1 league mark during the regular season, capturing the 2018 NESCAC title with a 13-10 triumph over Bowdoin in early May. The team finished the spring with a record of 20-3, as those 20 wins marked the second most in the program’s single-season history. The Panthers played one of the toughest schedules, featuring 12 games against nationally-ranked opponents. Middlebury excelled at both ends of the field, leading the NESCAC and finishing in the top 15 among in Division III for team defense (7.13 GAA), while ranking second in the conference in offense at 13.57 goals per game. Middlebury also tied a program record for goals in a season with 312.


West Region

Lauren Uhr, Claremont-Mudd Scripps

Coach Uhr led the Athenas to the regular season conference championship, conference tournament championship, and the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2018 while setting a program record for single-season wins (18). As a result of the team’s success, Coach Uhr was selected as the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Coach of the Year. The Athenas lost only once to a Division III opponent in 2018, and at one point had an 18-match winning streak. CMS has now gone undefeated in conference play for two-straight seasons and has a 20-match SCIAC winning streak under Coach Uhr’s guidance. CMS ended the season ranked 23rd in Division III. The Athenas ranked 17th nationally in goals per game (16.05) and ninth nationally in scoring defense (6.70 goals allowed per game).