PITTSFORD, NY – When Linda Michele arrived at St. John Fisher 14 years ago, she inherited a women’s lacrosse program that had been moderately successful in its first 12 years of existence. After 14 years leading the Cardinals to historic success and 16 overall as a head coach, Michele announced her retirement on Friday, May 30. She leaves as the winningest women’s lacrosse coach in Empire 8 history and one of the most successful n NCAA history.
Before Michele's arrival, Cardinals won the Empire 8 Conference and qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2007 and 2009. They made a pair of appearances in the ECAC Championship, winning it in 2011.
Now, in 2025, the St. John Fisher women’s lacrosse program stands among the best and most consistent Division III has to offer. Year in and year out, the Cardinals expect – and deliver – excellence.
“I think wanting to, while I am still healthy, travel. I have five grandkids and one on the way, so I want to spend more time with them,” Michele said of her decision to retire. “I don’t want to shortchange the program and the players. I felt like it was a good time for me and for them – they (the players) are in a good place.”
Michele arrived at St. John Fisher in September 2011 after two seasons as SUNY Brockport’s head coach (2010-11). The 2010 NCAA Division III Coach of the Year led the Golden Eagles, who won just five games in 2009, to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Of course, nobody knew it at the time, but St. John Fisher’s first season under Michele in 2012 marked the beginning of an unrivaled stretch of Empire 8 dominance. The Cardinals won the conference and advanced to the NCAA DIII Tournament 13 seasons in a row with Michele at the helm, a number that in all likelihood would be 14 if not for the coronavirus pandemic shutting down the 2020 season after just three games.
Michele went 229-68 as a head coach, including 206-57 at Fisher and 23-11 at Brockport. Her .771 career winning percentage ranks 19th all-time among women’s lacrosse coaches at all three NCAA levels and ninth all-time in DIII. Among active head coaches, she finished the 2025 season 16th in all of the NCAA and fifth in DIII in winning percentage.
Michele produced a winning record in each of her seasons as a head coach and led the Cardinals to 15 victories or more 10 times. She went 26-0 in the Empire 8 tournament and ended her career on a 65-game winning streak against conference teams.
The Cardinals had a historic final season under Michele in 2025, as they went 19-1 overall, set the program’s single-season goals record (355) and tied the program’s single-season wins record, set by the 2019 team that went 19-2. They reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time under Michele.
Michele’s 2021 team authored the best season in school history, reaching the NCAA DIII Final Four for the first time. The Cardinals took down Cazenovia, No. 6 Catholic, No. 16 William Smith and No. 10 Messiah before falling 12-10 to No. 3 Tufts in the national semifinals.
That year, the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association named Michele its Empire Region Coach of the Year.
“I coached amazing young women,” Michele said. “They were awesome in every way – just great people, easy to motivate. From the time I started, they bought in… let’s work hard and be good. They set the stage for those that followed. Once you set the stage, it’s easy for those who are a part of it to teach the newbies what it’s all about.”
Since 2012, Fisher has had nearly 100 all-conference selections, four E8 Player of the Year winners, four E8 Rookie of the Year winners, three E8 Defensive Player of the Year winners, two E8 Goalkeeper of the Year winners and one E8 Midfielder of the Year. Michele and her staff, which included her husband, Mark, won the conference’s Coaching Staff of the Year award five times.
The Cardinals have had at least one IWLCA All-American in eight of Michele’s seasons, including a program-record three this year. Michele coached the Empire 8 record holders in draw controls (Sydney Carpenter, 504 from 2022-25) and points (Taylor Hughes, 304 from 2011-14).
In 2021, Lauren Swartz became St. John Fisher’s first-ever NCAA Elite-90 honoree. The award annually honors the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers.
Inducted into the Rochester Chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2008, Michele coached field hockey and girls lacrosse at East Rochester High School before entering the collegiate coaching ranks. The East Rochester native went 160-40 coaching lacrosse and 185-28-12 coaching field hockey.
Michele and her husband, Mark, have four children, Whitney, Sean, Jordan and Casey.
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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