Women's Lacrosse Coach

John McCloskey returns for his fourth season with the Centenary College women’s lacrosse program. 

The Lady Cyclones have improved in each of McCloskey's three seasons, as the team was 6-8 in 2007, 7-7 in 2008 and 7-5 last year. Last season two Cyclones took home All-Conference honors, as Michelle Garone was named to the First Team and Kiti Ovaskainen earned an Honorable Mention.

In 2008, Centenary earned its first-ever berth to the conference tournament, falling to the College of Notre Dame in the opening round, 12-11.  Ovaskainen was the nation’s leader in groundballs in 2008.
 
From 1984-2001, McCloskey was the head men’s lacrosse coach at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa.  There, he built a winning Division I program without the benefit of athletic scholarships.  Lehigh was the 1999 Patriot League Champions while posting the programs' best record in school history at 12-3.  The team was ranked nationally six times during his time there, and produced the 1999 nation’s best man-down unit and top goal scorer. 

McCloskey amassed a career record at Lehigh of 136-122. After leaving the Division I level, he took over the Emmaus High School boy's program in 2006 and led the team to a perfect 8-0 record and the Lehigh Valley Conference Championship.  He was named the Penn-Valley League Coach of the Year that same season.
 
Prior to his tenure at Lehigh University, McCloskey was the associate head lacrosse coach at Roanoke College, helping to lead the program to the 1983 NCAA Championship game.
 
McCloskey holds a Master’s of Education – Guidance/Counseling from Lynchburg College, as well as a Bachelor’s of Science Degree from the University of Delaware. As an athlete at UD, he earned All-American Midfield honors in lacrosse, led the team to four East Coast Conference Championships and was a two-time All-Regional soccer striker.

McCloskey was an All-American in 1979, earned two all-league citations and ranks No. 4 all-time at UD in scoring with 87 goals and 117 assists. In 2008, McCloskey was named to Delaware’s 60th Anniversary All-Time Men’s Lacrosse Team.

At Dundalk (Baltimore, Md.) High School, he received All-American Attack honors, along with being a First Team All-Baltimore Metro player in both soccer and lacrosse. He was a member of the soccer state championship team and county championship lacrosse team his senior season.
 
He presently resides in Bethlehem, Pa., with his wife Karen and their two daughters, Lauren and Paige.