Cassesse to Virginia as Assoc HC

[RichH]

Cassesse has stepped down after 16 yrs.. Going to UVA as Assoc. HC. Scudder is the new HC here.

[LU808]

IS this considered a move up?

Or a lateral with potential?

[RichH]

Not really sure 808. It's not like football as both teams are D1. UVA program tho is a top 10 at least most yrs. Lehigh is not. Cassesse built a very strong program that was a top 10 many years. Before the Big 10 committed to lax. Gotta guess pay is higher at UVA.

[LU808]

Makes sense....at his age...feathering the nest becomes critical for a secure retirement.

[grad81]

This is a resume builder for Coach Cassese. He has a long history with Lars Tiffany, the head coach at UVA, and this puts him as the #2 at one of the best programs in the country. Next to Syracuse, UVA has the most high profile assistant coach in D1. Coach Cassese has always said his goal was to win championships. My guess is that he probably felt he had taken Lehigh Lacrosse as far as it was going to go. With Patriot League constraints, Lehigh constraints, etc., the program is always going to be mid-tier with occasional years in the top 20. The fact that Lehigh has been a top 20 team as often as it has during Cassese's tenure is remarkable in my opinion. He is highly regarded and this sets him up potentially for the top job at an elite program down the road, perhaps Notre Dame, Duke, etc. This is a good career move for him. I wish him well and sincere thanks for putting Lehigh Lacrosse on the "map." Lehigh will miss him. That said, Will Scudder is an excellent coach and recruiter and was the logical choice to take the head job. A new era begins!

[ngineer]

Good observations. It certainly makes sense for him to "move up" to one of the elite lax programs in the country. He has raised Lehigh's profile immensely with frequent forays into the top 15-20's. Plus helping to lead such a program will help the 'resume' when one of the big HC positions opens up, i.e. Duke, his alma mater.

[grad81]

Unfortunately, Coach Scudder’s job will be a little harder next year as none of the 5th year eligible players are returning. The opportunity was there to return the very potent attack unit intact but that won’t happen. Christian Mule is doing his Covid year at Syracuse, while Justin Tiernan is going to Michigan and John Sidorski to Rutgers. That is a lot of points to replace. In addition, back up goalie Caleb Creasor is headed to Marquette. Hopefully the underclassmen and new recruits can step up. Glad to see the extra Covid year nonsense end with the ‘23 class.