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Katie McConnell

 
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Katie McConnell begins her first season with the Lafayette women’s lacrosse program in 2019-20.

McConnell spent the last three seasons as head coach at Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York, leading the Jaspers to an 11-6 record this past spring and the team’s first postseason appearance since 2009. For her efforts, she was named the 2019 MAAC Coach of the Year and the 11 wins were tied for the most in program history.

McConnell’s six league victories were the most for Manhattan since 2005 as she flipped the script on a program that had not eclipsed the five-win mark overall since an 11-5 record in 2009 when they went 4-3 in league play. Additionally, McConnell has proven an ability to recruit top talent with the Jaspers’ Cassidy Burns being named the 2019 MAAC Rookie of the Year this past season.

Taking over the Manhattan program in August 2016, McConnell led a programmatic effort to increase fundraising through an annual phone-a-thon, fundraising dinners, camps and clinics, and private donations. She coached six all-conference players in 2019 and her student-athletes excelled academically as well, carrying a team GPA of 3.45.

Prior to her tenure at Manhattan, McConnell spent the 2015-16 with Coastal Carolina, running the defensive side. In her lone season, she helped to lower the team’s goals-against average by more than a goal per game (9.82 in 2015 to 8.5 in 2016), leading to a semifinal appearance in the Big South Tournament.

McConnell was a four-year starter at Division II Lock Haven in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, where she won three PSAC championships and made quarterfinal, semifinal and final appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Following her playing career, she served as an assistant coach at her alma mater for three seasons before moving to Coastal Carolina.

In her three coaching seasons at Lock Haven, she made NCAA Championship game appearances in 2014 and 2015, presiding over the nation’s top-ranked defense in 2015. She was named the 2014 IWLCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year and coached five all-americans, six all-region performers and eight all-conference players.

Outside of college athletics, McConnell is also heavily involved in a number of clubs and organizations in the New York area, fostering connections with programs such as For the Love of the Game (FLG) in Long Island, House of Sports in Westchester, Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership in Harlem and the St. Baldrick's Foundation and Love Your Melon in Bronx.