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Chris Ryan
Head Coach
814-824-2138
cryan@mercyhurst.edu
Chris Ryan has been the head coach of the Mercyhurst men's lacrosse team since 2001 after spending two years as an assistant coach for the Lakers. He holds a 95-29 career record and a .772 winning percentage, ranking fourth among active coaches in winning percentage. His teams have produced Mercyhurst's first All-American selections, first Academic All-American selections and first ECAC All-Star selections. His Lakers have made four national semifinal appearances, including a berth in the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championship Game. The program has had 24 All-Americans, six Academic All-Americans and numerous other distinctions during Ryan's tenure.
The Lakers posted an 11-3 record in 2009, finishing the season at No. 3 in the final national poll. Mercyhurst went 6-0 at Tullio Field, increasing its home winning streak to 17 games with a 6-5 victory over No. 3 New York Tech May 2. Two Lakers earned All-America honors in Jason LaShomb and Matt Spahr. Mike Thon was nominated to the USILA North-South All Star Game, the first Laker to be so honored. The team averaged 11.87 goals, a three-goal improvement over 2008, and lowered its GAA to 6.22. Mercyhurst opened the season 9-1, staging a seven-game winning streak.
In 2008, Ryan guided a young and inexperienced team to yet another Top 10 ranking. While the Lakers missed out on an NCAA playoff bid for the first time in three seasons, Mercyhurst did finish 9-4 and tied for second place in the toughest conference in Division II, the East Coast Conference (ECC). Mercyhurst went undefeated at home, including an 8-1 win over then-No. 4 C.W. Post. Junior goalkeeper Jason LaShomb was named USILA Division II Goalie of the Year.
The 2007 season saw Mercyhurst rise to new heights. The program was ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time ever on April 9 and held onto the spot for five consecutive weeks through the end of the regular season. Mercyhurst hosted an NCAA Final Four game for the first time, defeating New York Institute of Technology 13-10. The win sent the Lakers to the National Championship game for the first time after three losses in the semifinals. Despite a last-second loss to Le Moyne in front of 22,000 people at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., Ryan was named USILA Coach of the Year. Mercyhurst finished the season with a record of 13-2 overall and dominated the toughest conference in Division II, going 6-0 in the East Coast Conference and winning by an average margin of 6.5 goals per game.
After the season, Joe Thon was named USILA Defensive Player of the Year and became the first Laker drafted into professional lacrosse, being selected by the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse in the fourth round. Eight players were named All-ECC and five were named All-Americans. Thon was also named the ECC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The 2006 season saw the Lakers once again prove themselves to be one of the top programs in Division II. The Lakers finished the regular season with a 12-2 record and a 4-1 mark in their first year as a member of the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC). Mercyhurst tied for first in the NYCAC (after being picked last in a pre-season coaches' poll) and ended the regular season with a No. 3 ranking in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll. The Lakers had six All-NYCAC picks, including a pair of first-team selections, finished the regular season with a 5-2 mark against top 10 teams and their 12 wins set a school record. The season came to an end with a loss at No. 2 Dowling in the NCAA Division II semifinals, which was the team's third NCAA tournament appearance in the last four years.
Ryan has an eight-season mark of 84-26 and was named USILA Division II Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2007. In 2004 Ryan was chosen to coach the North Division I All-Star team in the Senior All-Star Game. He currently is the Division II USILA representative to the NCAA and is a member of the Central Regional Advisory Committee.
Prior to Mercyhurst, Ryan spent a year as a graduate assistant at Alfred University, where he worked with the women's program. He had come to Alfred after a one-year stint at Monroe Community College in 1997.
Ryan played two years at Monroe Community College, where he was a two-time Academic All-America, team captain and was selected to play in the Junior College North-South game. After two years at MCC, Ryan moved to Randolph-Macon College where he was a two-time Second Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference defenseman and team captain in his senior year. Before assuming the head coaching duties after the 2000 season, Ryan served as Mercyhurst's assistant coach, working primarily with the defense and serving as the recruiting coordinator.
A native of Rochester, New York, Ryan is a 1998 graduate of Randolph-Macon College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history. He and his wife Karin reside in Erie with their son Caleb and daughter Brianne, and two labrador retrievers, Oakley and Murphy.
Ryan's Record at Mercyhurst
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Overall
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NYCAC/ECC
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| Year |
W |
L |
|
W |
L |
| 2001 |
9 |
3 |
|
- |
- |
| 2002 |
8 |
6 |
|
- |
- |
| 2003 |
11 |
3 |
|
- |
- |
| 2004 |
11 |
2 |
|
- |
- |
| 2005 |
11 |
3 |
|
- |
- |
| 2006 |
12 |
3 |
|
4 |
1 |
| 2007 |
13 |
2 |
|
6 |
0 |
| 2008 |
9 |
4 |
|
4 |
2 |
| 2009 |
11 |
3 |
|
4 |
2 |
| Career |
95 |
29 |
|
18 |
5 |
| |
.772 |
|
|
.783 |
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Honors & Awards:
NCAA Division II Runner-Up: 2007
NCAA Division II Final Four: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
USILA Division II Coach of the Year: 2003, 2007
USILA No. 1 rankings: 2007 (5 times)
24 All-Americans
16 All-ECC selections
6 All-NYCAC selections
6 Academic All-Americans
1 National Specialist of the Year
1 National Defensive Player of the Year
1 National Goalie of the Year
2 Mercyhurst Male Athlete of the Year
2007 ECC Champion
2006 NYCAC Tri-Champion
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