Women's Lacrosse | 6/8/2022 3:11:00 PM
ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University Athletics Department has named
Julie Decker as the 11t
h head coach of the Saxon women's lacrosse program, as made official in an announcement by Athletic Director,
Paul Vecchio on June 8.
"Our women's lacrosse program has made great strides the past two years and I am extremely excited for what is on the horizon for the program with Coach Decker at the helm," Vecchio said. "She was a tremendous Division III student-athlete, has proven recruiting experience at several NCAA divisions in a variety of areas throughout the country, and has experience building a team as she did at Plattsburgh as a startup program. I believe she will be a tremendous fit within our Saxon family and will continue to push our women's lacrosse program to new heights."
Prior to joining the purple & gold, Coach Decker was the head coach at SUNY Plattsburgh for four years, joining the staff in 2017 and building the program from scratch with its inaugural season launching in 2019. Decker and the Cardinals started their 2020 season with a 4-0 record before the COVID-19 global pandemic erased the remaining scheduled contests. In her final season at Plattsburgh, Coach Decker and the Cardinals earned the programs' first conference wins, defeating SUNYAC opponent, SUNY Potsdam twice.
"I am thrilled to be joining Alfred University as the next head women's lacrosse coach! The friendly and supportive community feel is one of the things that stood out to me most during the interview process," Coach Decker said. "I am looking forward to developing the talent and team culture of our women's lacrosse program. I got the impression after meeting the team that they are hungry for success and want to be nurtured and challenged in order to get to the next level. I am eager and excited to start working with them and finding recruits who share that mindset. This is a new era for Saxons women's lacrosse: One small step at a time, we will be on our way to climbing the ladder in the Empire 8!"
Coach Decker has coached across the continental United States, with her prior stay to Plattsburgh at Fort Lewis College in Colorado, a NCAA Division II institution. She coached there for three year, ending her stint there with a winning, 26-18 record along with three RMAC Tournament appearances, finishing in the semi-finals each time. Coach Decker was also selected to coach in the 2016 IWLCA North-South Senior All-Star Game, helping her South All-Star team to a win.
"I also want to extend my sincerest thanks to interim head coach
Johanna McCormick and our graduate assistant,
Katelyn McCabe, for stepping in and capably leading our program this spring after the challenges of losing our head coach prior to the season," Vecchio said. "The resiliency of our team this year was truly remarkable and was perfectly punctuated by a come-from-behind win in our final Empire 8 conference game."
Decker has also served as a Board Representative for the IWLCA Division II where she was the Liaison to the Academic Awards Committee for a year. Prior to that, she was the assistant women's lacrosse coach at Fresno State for two years. Decker was the head women's lacrosse coach for a year at Hilbert College right after a year stay as the assistant field hockey coach at SUNY Geneseo. Her first coaching responsibility after graduating college was a two-year stint as the assistant women's lacrosse coach at SUNY Geneseo in 2009 before adding the field hockey role in 2010.
As a player, Decker played for the Golden Eagles of SUNY Brockport, graduating with her Bachelors of Science in Physical Education in December of 2008 and then earning her Masters of Science in Athletic Administration in December of 2012. In her junior season with the Golden Eagles, Decker led the team in goals with 49 and draw controls with 36. She was also second on the team in points with 73 as she added 24 assists. Her senior season, she had a team-high 41 goals while adding 14 assists for 55 points as well as 28 draw controls and 14 ground balls. She finished her career with 141 goals, 63 assists, 204 points, 104 draw controls and 72 ground balls.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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