THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran Athletics Director Dan Kuntz is pleased to announce that Laura McIntyre has been hired as the head coach for the new women's lacrosse program.
"We are pleased to welcome coach Laura McIntyre to the Cal Lutheran staff," said Kuntz. "Coach McIntyre brings a wealth of experience and talent as a coach and is a top professional in her field."
"I'm very excited to have the opportunity to develop the women's lacrosse program at Cal Lutheran," said McIntyre. "I would like to thank Dan Kuntz and the entire search committee for their support and faith in me to lead the way for this charter team."
The women's lacrosse team will start its inaugural season in the spring of 2020. McIntyre brings coaching and playing experience to the new program. She was previously the assistant coach at Sewanee University in Tennessee for the past five years.
While at Sewanee, she helped the Tigers to an undefeated conference season in Southern Athletic Association (SAA) and a NCAA Tournament berth in 2015.
Through 2017-18, the team posted back-to-back SAA semifinal appearances. The seasons were highlighted by many top rankings in statistical categories. For the 2017 season, Sewanee's goalkeeper was the SAA Defensive Player of the Year and led all NCAA Division III goalkeepers with a .613 save percentage.
In 2018, the team led the conference in five statistical categories (assists per game, 7.56; caused turnovers per game, 17.0; groundballs per game, 29.33; saves percentage, .542; and scoring defense, 7.06). The program finished third nationally in caused turnovers and groundballs per game, and they were ranked 12th in all of Division III in saves percentage and scoring defense.
Before Sewanee, McIntyre spent three years as an assistant coach at McDaniel College in Maryland. She helped coach the Green Terror to the ECAC finals in 2013 and semifinals in 2014.
Prior to her coaching career, McIntyre was a goalkeeper for the Gettysburg women's lacrosse team, which won the 2011 NCAA Division III National Championship. Playing alongside an all-conference teammate in goal each year, McIntyre played in 34 games with 12 starts. In nearly 886 minutes between the pipes, she allowed 85 goals and made 104 saves.
Her 5.76 career goals-against average is second all-time in program history while her .550 save percentage is 11th all-time. She recorded a perfect 12-0 record in the cage, including a 7-0 mark in 2011. During her tenure, the team went 70-16, was the Centennial Conference runner-up and appeared in the NCAA tournament each year. She was part of three teams that reached championship weekend, culminating with the national title her senior season.
McIntyre earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Gettysburg College in 2011. She also completed her Master of Arts Degree in Counseling from McDaniel College.
"Starting a program has always been one of my goals and I'm thrilled to have the privilege of building this program with the support team Cal Lutheran as a whole provides. It's a challenge I'm ready for and feel strongly that with the help of the veteran staff members I can really thrive here and foster a strong team culture and program. I can't wait to get out there and get started."
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director