St. John Fisher Hires Michele As Women's Lacrosse Coach
St. John Fisher College has announced that it has hired Linda Michele as the program’s newest women’s lacrosse coach.
Over the past two seasons, Michele has coached at The College of Brockport, a program that she transformed into a national power in just two years.
In her first season, Michele guided the Golden Eagles to the program’s first NCAA appearance, ultimately ending in the quarterfinal round. Brockport, which won just five games in 2009, went 13-4 in 2010 and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time in the program’s history with Michele being named the 2010 NCAA Division III Coach of the Year.
In 2011, Brockport received an at-large bid to NCAAs after finishing in 2nd place in the SUNYAC.
Michele’s scholastic coaching resume is even more impressive. Prior to Brockport, Michele served as the head coach at East Rochester High School where she compiled a career record of 160-40. Over 13 seasons, she guided the team to four Section V Championships and three New York State Final appearances. The East Rochester native also coached at the Albany Girls Academy from 1990 to 1996, where she finished with a 78-14 record.
In 2001, she formed the Lady Roc Lacrosse Club, a premier travel lacrosse team for girls in the Rochester and Buffalo region. Michele has also served as the USWLA and US Lacrosse National Tournament Director, US Lacrosse coach and Empire State Games Western Region coach.
She was inducted into the Rochester Chapter of US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2008.
In addition to her extensive lacrosse resume, Michele coached field hockey at East Rochester from 1999-2008 where she compiled a record of 185-28-12 and led the Bombers to three Class C Sectional Championships.
She received her Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from SUNY Cortland in 1982 and a Master of Science in Health Education from Russell Sage College in 1992.
Michele will be the fourth women’s lacrosse coach since the program’s inception in 2000. Fisher, who hosted the NCAA Division III Championship Semifinals and Finals in 2003 and 2004, has won three post-season titles in the last five years, including two Empire 8 Championship titles. The Cardinals have also reached double-digits in the win-column four times in the last five seasons.