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Russell Allen

 
Profile
Russell Allen was officially named the fourth head coach in Canisius women's lacrosse program history on July 23, 2021.

Allen took over the Canisius women’s lacrosse program after spending the three previous seasons (2019-21) as the head coach at Concordia University Chicago in River Forest, Ill. There, he led the Cougars to a 25-8 overall record with a 12-6 mark in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play. The 2021 edition of Concordia University Chicago posted a school-record 14 victories, highlighted by an appearance in the NACC championship game, the first in program history. A total of 10 Concordia University Chicago players earned all-conference honors following the 2021 campaign, and Allen was recognized as the Concordia University Chicago Coach of the Year, as voted on by athletic department staff members and the school’s student-athletes.

In addition to his collegiate coaching duties, Allen also serves as the assistant head coach for the Puerto Rico Women’s Senior National Team, a position he has held since the summer of 2020. In that role, he develops offensive strategies for the team in preparation for the World Games, which will be held in Baltimore, Md., next summer.

Allen is no stranger to the city of Buffalo and the women’s lacrosse scene in Western New York, having served as the head coach for the Medaille women’s lacrosse program from 2014-18. In his time as the head coach of the Mavericks, the Orange, Conn., native guided the program to a pair of regular-season Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) championships in both 2017 and 2018, with the team setting program records for wins in each season (12 in 2017, 14 in 2018). Allen was awarded the Coach of the Year honors in both the AMCC and the North Eastern Athletic Conference in 2018, the latter of which Medaille has a dual affiliation in lacrosse. His four-year record as a head coach at Medaille was 44-22, and his winning percentage of .667 stands the highest of any coach in the program's history.

A two-sport student-athlete at Medaille, Allen was a member of the school’s men’s soccer team where he played in 57 games and contributed to a pair of conference championships, including the 2006 team that set the program's single-season record for wins with 20 victories. As a men’s lacrosse player, Allen played midfield and defender, ranking nationally in NCAA Division III in ground balls during the 2007 season.