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Meg Decker Named Xavier Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach

Meg Decker has been named the first head coach of the Xavier women’s lacrosse program, which will begin competition in the 2022-23 academic year as part of the Big East.

In May, Xavier announced that women’s lacrosse would become its 19th varsity sport. Now about two months later, the Musketeers have their first head coach.

Meg Decker joins Xavier from Hartford, where she was also the first women’s lacrosse head coach in program history starting in 2016. Prior to launching her head coaching career at Hartford, Decker was an assistant at VCU from 2014 to 2016.

“I am very excited about this opportunity,” Decker said in a statement. “Xavier is perfectly situated to be a force in the world of women’s lacrosse. The history and culture of academic and athletic excellence provide a clear path for future success of women’s lacrosse. Winning is in the DNA at Xavier. I am familiar with the strength of the programs in the Big East Conference and have had the opportunity to both coach and play against many of them. I can’t wait to get started.”

Hartford women’s lacrosse played its first-ever games in the 2018 season. The Hawks went a combined 2-44 over their first four seasons.

Meg Decker has a history of being involved with inaugural lacrosse teams. The native of Catonsville, Maryland, was on the first women’s lacrosse team at Navy, and she was on the staff at VCU when it added the sport in 2015.

During her playing career, Decker was named NCAA Division I Rookie of the Year in 2008 while at the Naval Academy, sat out in 2009 because of transfer rules, and then had a very successful two seasons at Loyola in 2010 and 2011. She helped the Greyhounds reach a school-record 17 wins, the 2011 Big East championship, and a run to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Meg Decker concluded her college lacrosse career with 113 goals, 154 draw wins, and two All-Big East selection honors.

After college, Meg Decker was picked in the first United Women’s Lacrosse League Draft in 2016 by the Philadelphia Force. She spent two seasons with the Force as a midfielder, then played a third campaign with the Boston Storm as a defender.

“Meg is the perfect fit as a positive, intelligent, energetic leader to get our program started,” Xavier Director of Athletics Greg Christopher said in a release. “Her experience starting programs at three schools, as a head coach, assistant, and a player, stands out. She knows what it takes to start a program and be the CEO of a Division I program. She has great familiarity with the Big East conference and has played lacrosse at a high level collegiately and at the professional level.”

Now for the other lacrosse news from the week of July 6-12, 2021.

Last Week in Lacrosse

Rosters for the PLL All Star Game were released last week, with fan voting selecting the starters and players choosing the reserves, and the squads for each team were determined via a captains draft over the weekend.

Parity in the PLL continues to be a theme. Through five weeks of action, the Redwoods, Atlas, and Whipsnakes are all 4-2, Waterdogs is 4-3, and Archers sits just slightly behind at 3-3.

Cannons added attackman Christian Cuccinello from the player pool and midfielder Jamie Trimboli from the Redwoods’ reserve roster, plus release midfield Max Tuttle to the player pool, per Ty Xanders.

The 2021 National All-Star Games were held in Howard County, Maryland, over the weekend. Cullen Brown (’22), Tyler Owings (’23), and Austin Hicks (’24) were named MVPs of their respective classes.

The PLL fined Paul Rabil, Tyson Bell, and Jack Rowlett for their roles in a fight during Chaos’ 14-10 victory over Cannons on July 3 on Long Island.

Terry Justice, the first and only ever head coach of Transylvania men’s lacrosse, announced his retirement after 10 years at the helm in Lexington, Kentucky.

Get Caught Up on LAS Content

Miss out on what we did last week? Here’s a recap of some of our top content from the last seven days.

Five Recruiting Mistakes Lacrosse Players Must Avoid

Florida Southern men’s lacrosse head coach Marty Ward breaks down five mistakes lacrosse recruits must avoid during the process. If you want to play college lacrosse, you won’t want to miss this one.

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L’s Base, A Taste of Tokyo’s Lacrosse Life

L’s Base is the latest lacrosse bar/restaurant to celebrate the sport, but its location might surprise you. Who’s up for a some lax travel to Tokyo?

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Bigfoot Lacrosse Is Closing, But That Doesn’t Mean It’s Gone

Bigfoot Lacrosse, a staple of lacrosse in Oregon, is closing after more than two decades. But that doesn’t mean it or owner Jon Stevens are gone from the game.

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Sweden Lacrosse: Past, Present & Future

Sweden Lacrosse has more than 300 registered members, plans to send a team to the 2022 Men’s U21 World Championships in Ireland, has seen a large push to develop the sport at the youth level and more. This is the past, present, and future of the nation’s lacrosse program.

The Best PLL Uniforms Through 2021’s Week 4

A new season means new uniforms. Nick Zoroya takes you through his favorites from the early portion of the 2021 campaign, excluding white uniforms, which are his self-admitted weakness.