Chemotti Named Head Coach At Richmond

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 six 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

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