Gene McCabe, president of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), announced Brian Brecht, Tom Mariano, Keith Bugbee and Jason Childs have been selected to serve as head coaches for the 2019 USILA Senior All-Star Games slated for Friday, May 24. Tierney Field at the US Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Md. will serve as the backdrop for both contests with the Div. III game kicking things off at 5:00 pm, followed by the Div. I/II contest at 7:30 pm. Admission is free and Lax Sports Network will stream both contests.
A 20-plus year coaching veteran, including the last eight seasons as the head coach at Rutgers, Brecht will serve as the head coach of the Div. I/II South squad. Brecht led the Scarlet Knights to a 14-6 win over then fourth-ranked Ohio State in Columbus this spring and helped develop the nation’s leader in saves per game (Max Edelmann). While at Rutgers, nine of his players have garnered All-America recognition, while 13 have joined Major League Lacrosse teams following graduation.
Sixth-year Pace head coach and Chesapeake Bayhawks assistant Tom Mariano will serve as the head coach of the Div. I/II North squad. Mariano’s Setters won their first six games of the season en route to a 13-4 mark that included an 8-3 record in the Northeast-10 Conference. Pace has won 11 or more games in three of its last four seasons, while the 13 wins this spring marked the second most in program history (14 in 1999).
Heading up the Div. III North squad is Bugbee, who has spent the last 36 years as the head coach at Springfield College and has amassed a 401-198 record. Bugbee’s teams have competed in 33 postseason tournaments, including 24 NCAA Tournaments. Behind a 12-10 victory over Coast Guard on May 4, he not only led Springfield College to its 12 consecutive conference title, it also marked his 400th collegiate victory. He is just the fifth coach in NCAA men's lacrosse history to win 400 games and the only to win his first 400 games at a single institution.
Fourth-year St. Mary’s head coach Jason Childs, who has served among all three divisions, as well as NAIA, during his coaching career, will be at the helm of the Div. III South squad. He guided the Seahawks to double-digit wins this spring, the program’s first winning record since 2013. The Seahawks paced their conference and were among the top six teams in the country this season in turnovers per game and clearing percentage.