NEWTON, Mass. – The Lasell University athletic department has announced that Al Eaton has been named head women's lacrosse coach, effective immediately.

Eaton has a decade of experience coaching women's and girls' lacrosse, including two years at the college level. He was an assistant coach at Gordon College the past year after one season as an assistant at Newbury College in 2017-18.

"I am pleased to announce that Al Eaton has taken over as new head coach of our women's lacrosse program," said director of athletics Kristy Walter. "He has a passion for the sport and was impressive to our search committee. I'm confident that he will be a valuable asset to our staff, and I'm excited for him to get going."

In addition to his experience at Gordon and Newbury, Eaton has spent five years as girls' lacrosse coach at Swampscott High School, amassing a 56-22 record and being named Coach of the Year four times in four years. He also had a stint as head coach at St. Mary's High School in Lynn, Mass. A US Lacrosse Level 3 coach, Eaton has been a Head Coach at Revolution Lacrosse since 2014.

"I'm thankful to Athletics Director Kristy Walter and the administration for giving me the opportunity to lead the women's lacrosse program at Lasell University," said Eaton. "Coach Connolly has built a strong program and I really look forward to the possibilities ahead for this team."

Eaton inherits a Laser program that has been guided the past 10 years by head coach Cait Connolly. Connolly finishes her lacrosse coaching tenure at Lasell with a 116-50 overall record, including a 69-15 mark against GNAC opponents. The Lasers won conference championships and advanced to the NCAA National Tournament in 2013 and 2016, and finished as GNAC runner-up in 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2018. A two-time GNAC Coach of the Year (2012, 2013), Connolly coached 41 All-Conference selections and eight GNAC Players of the Year.

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