EASTON, MASS. - Katie Lambert, whose name is splashed all over the Stonehill and NCAA women's lacrosse record books, has been named the head coach of the Skyhawk program she helped build as a player, Stonehill athletic director Paula Sullivan announced Monday.
Lambert spent four years as the head coach at Northeast-10 rival Merrimack, compiling a 45-19 overall record, leading them to back-to-back Northeast-10 Championship appearances.
Under Lambert's watch, Merrimack set records for most wins in a season (12; 2005 and 2006), produced four all-Americans and posted their best Conference record (9-1) in 2006. Ironically, the last game Lambert coached for the Warriors was an 18-7 loss to Stonehill in the 2007 NE-10 Conference tournament semifinal.
"This is an exciting day for Stonehill athletics," said Sullivan. "Katie Lambert has a unique understanding of the level of excellence we have come to expect from our women's lacrosse program. I am confident we have hired one of the brightest stars in coaching and the fact that she is coming back to her alma mater makes it that more special."
"Obviously, I'm very excited about the opportunity to return to Stonehill," said Lambert. "These are big shoes to fill, but I am anxious to get back to coaching full-time and getting to know the student-athletes I've only had the chance to coach against."
Lambert enjoyed a storybook career at Stonehill capped by a NCAA Championship in her senior season. Along the way she earned numerous accolades, including a spot on the IWLCA All-America first-team four straight years, making her the first student-athlete in Stonehill history to be named all-America four times in any sport.
She was named Northeast-10 Player of the Year three consecutive years (2001, 2002 and 2003) following her selection as the 2000 Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year. She was also named the 2003 NCAA IWCLA Attacker of the Year.
The Skyhawks were 60-16 during her four years and an impressive 34-1 in Northeast-10 action, which included four consecutive Northeast-10 regular season and tournament crowns.
She inherits a team that has won nine consecutive Northeast-10 Conference regular season championships, eight undefeated conference seasons, eight straight conference tourney titles (2000-07) and an active 68-game NE-10 Conference winning streak.
Lambert, who was featured in Sports Illustrated's June 16, 2003 edition of "Faces in the Crowd", finished her career as the NCAA's all-time leader in goals (220), assists (106) and points (326). Today, she stands fifth in goals, 11th in assists and third in points.
A native of Milton, Mass., Lambert graduated in 2003 with a B.A. in Business Management.
