UNIVERSITY OF
RICHMOND, Va. - After helping lead the Loyola University Maryland men's
lacrosse team to the 2012 Division I National Championship last season, Dan
Chemotti was named the head men's lacrosse coach at the University of Richmond
on Monday.
"We are pleased and excited to name Dan Chemotti as our head
men's lacrosse coach," Deputy Athletic Director David Walsh said. "Dan brings great coaching experience and
success at the Division I level, namely helping lead Loyola University Maryland
to the 2012 National Championship a year ago as their offensive
coordinator. We believe Dan is a perfect
fit to lead Richmond into Division I men's lacrosse."
During his five seasons at Loyola, Chemotti helped the
Greyhounds advance to four NCAA Tournaments and win at least a share of three
ECAC conference titles. Chemotti also
saw 30 players earn all-conference honors and 12 be named All-Americans during
his time at Loyola.
"It's rare to find a perfect combination of academics,
athletics, and location, but the University of Richmond has all of that and
much more," Chemotti remarked. "To say that the campus is impressive, is
a massive understatement; and everyone I had the opportunity to spend time with
made it clear to me that Richmond has a tight knit family environment, which is
very important to me. To put it simply, Richmond and lacrosse are a
perfect fit for one another and I am very excited for this opportunity."
As offensive coordinator, Chemotti's powerful offense helped
lead the Greyhounds to their first-ever national championship in 2012. Posting an 18-1 record on the season, the
Loyola offense ranked eighth in goals per game (12.05), ninth in EMO at .444%
and fifth in turnovers per game at 12.84.
A versatile and diverse offense, the Greyhounds saw eight players rack
up 10 or more goals, three tally more than 20 and three reach the 50-goal
barrier in 2012.
The offense of which Chemotti was the architect afforded
Loyola players the ability to shoot quickly, whether in transition or settled
offense, and garner a high volume of shots. Despite the high number of shots,
Loyola's shot percentage did not drop. In fact, the Greyhounds' shot percentage
rose from .249 in 2011 to .299 during the team's 18-1 run to the NCAA
Championship.
Two members of Chemotti's offense, Sawyer and midfielder
Davis Butts, earned All-ECAC First Team honors in 2012, and Lusby was named to
the Second Team. Sawyer was a USILA Second Team All-American, and Lusby and
Butts earned All-America Honroable Mention.
In 2010, a pair of Loyola attackers, Collin Finnerty and
Cooper MacDonnell, were named to the All-ECAC First Team, and MacDonnell picked
up ECAC Offensive Player of the Year honors and was named All-America Honorable
Mention. In addition to those honors, Finnerty, MacDonnell and Matt Langan
split ECAC Offensive Player of the Week honors five times, and freshman
attacker Patrick Fanshaw earned ECAC Rookie of the Week laurels once.
During the 2009 season, Chemotti's attack produced three
players with 30 or more total points - Shane Koppens (41), Cooper MacDonnell
(38) and Collin Finnerty (37) - a mark not accomplished by a Loyola trio since
2003.
The Greyhounds led the ECAC in goals per game (10.43), a
category they finished 17th in all of NCAA Division I during 2009. Koppens led
the conference in points per game (3.42) and finished his Loyola career 12th in
the nation in the category.
In 2008, the Greyhounds captured the ECAC title behind an
explosive offense that ranked second in goals per game and points per game
(13.43), and first in shooting percentage, in the league.
Under Chemotti's direction in 2008, Koppens was named ECAC
Offensive Player of the Year after finishing as the league's top scorer. In
Chemotti's three years calling the offense, nine offensive players have been
awarded with post season All-ECAC honors (four first-team and five
second-team).
In 2007 the Loyola offense ranked 17th nationally in team
offense and finished the season with a .640 assist percentage.
A 2002 graduate of Duke University, Chemotti led the Blue
Devils to back-to-back ACC Championships during his junior and senior seasons. During his career in Durham, N.C., the Blue
Devils reached the NCAA Tournament all four years, advancing to the NCAA
Quarterfinals three times. He was selected a team captain his senior year, and
was awarded the school's Roy Skinner Award for Dedication and Sacrifice.
Following graduation, Chemotti worked as an assistant coach
at Dartmouth College from 2002-2004, working primarily with the offense and the
face-off men. In 2004, the Big Green's offense ranked third nationally in
assist percentage and 15th nationally in team offense, and in 2003, Dartmouth's
face-off percentage was good enough to finish ninth in the country. Chemotti then worked as an assistant at St.
John's for two seasons, 2004-2006, before moving to Loyola for the 2006-2007
academic year.
In addition to coaching, Chemotti plays lacrosse
professionally as a midfielder for the New Jersey Pride and Washington Bayhawks
of Major League Lacrosse. He was a member of the Pride from 2003-2008 and the
Bayhawks in 2009. Serving as a two-way midfielder for the Pride and Bayhawks,
Chemotti has amassed 54 points and 143 ground balls in 69 career games.
Chemotti also played one season (2003) in the National Lacrosse League (NLL)
for the New Jersey Storm.
Chemotti, a native of Skaneateles, N.Y., played high school
lacrosse for West Genesee in Syracuse, where he was named an All-American and
the Central New York Player of the Year in his senior campaign. He led the
Wildcats to a Class A New York State Championship his senior season and to a
runner-up finish his junior season.
What They're Saying...
"We want to thank Dan for all of his contributions to
our program and wish him the best as he moves on to Richmond. I believe that
one measure of a coach is leaving a program in better shape than you found it,
and Dan certainly has done that. He is an extremely hard worker, is creative and
passionate about lacrosse. I believe he will be a tremendous head coach because
he is a great leader and a better person."
--Loyola (Md.) Head Coach Charley Toomey
"Richmond made a huge statement to the Division I lacrosse
world in hiring Coach Chemotti. This
past summer Dan was one of the more sought after candidates in the D-I coaching
ranks. Over the course of Dan's career, he has proven to be one of the more
innovative offensive minds and one of the most dynamic recruiters in the
country. For Richmond to land the first
assistant at the defending national champion, it tells the lacrosse world how
serious Richmond is about competing at the highest level of Division I lacrosse."
-- Michael Pressler, Bryant Head Coach and former Duke Head
Coach