Georgian Court University Women's Lacrosse

Rizzo, the fourth head coach in program history, joined the Lions in the summer of 2015. In her first year at the helm, Rizzo led the lady lions to a 7-12 overall record and 6-3 conference record. The lions were able to make an appearance in the Central Atlantice Collegiate Conference post season tournament, making it all the way to the CACC tournament-semifinals. In her time at Georgian Court she has had 4 First Team All-CACC slections, 1 Second Team All-CACC selctions, and 2 CACC All-Academic Team selections, and 1 selection to the IWLCA Division II North-South All-Star Game . Before coming to Georgian Court, Rizzo lead fellow Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) member, Caldwell University, for its initial two women's lacrosse seasons of 2014 and 2015, growing the Cougars' roster to 17 student-athletes over that time. "It is truly a privilege to be named the next head women's lacrosse coach at Georgian Court University," shared Rizzo. "I look forward to working with the talented student-athletes that helped build such a strong program and guiding them as they achieve their goals both on and off the field."  "I want to thank Laura Liesman and the entire search committee for the opportunity to continue the success of the lacrosse program and build on the strong traditions of GCU. GCU is a very special place with a bright future, and I am thrilled to be joining this family." Before Caldwell, Rizzo served as an assistant coach at Adelphi University in 2011-2012, helping the Panthers reach the NCAA Division II Tournament and capture their third consecutive Northeast 10 Conference title. She also spent a year at Building Blocks Lacrosse as the Director of Girls Recruitment, while also coaching varsity lacrosse for the 2011 season at Kent Place in Summit, N.J. While at Kent Place, Rizzo led the team to runner-up finishes at the Prep A and Union County tournaments while posting a 15-6 record. A native of Jackson, N.J., Rizzo attended Long Island University in Brooklyn, N.Y., where she earned all-Northeast Conference honors four times and became the program's all-time leading scorer with 185 goals and 249 points. She also was selected to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Squad. Rizzo received her Bachelor's degree in management and marketing in 2007, and earned her Master's degree in marketing from LIU in 2010. She served as an assistant coach at LIU for three seasons following her playing career.

Samantha Hosford Head Coach | 5th Season | 42-34 Samantha Hosford is in her fifth season at Georgian Court in 2026 after having been named the fifth head coach in the 17-year history of the GCU women's lacrosse program. In her inaugural season, Hosford led the Lions to their fifth straight CACC Tournament Championship after going 9-0 in the CACC regular season for their fifth straight regular season title as well. Four Lions made the All-CACC team with Sabrina Chandler and Shaine Sauter earning First Team honors.  The Lions put together another season of 10+ wins in 2023. They had five make the All-CACC team including Goalkeeper of the Year Alexis Hahn. Remi Reinhardt also made the All-CACC First Team. Riley O'Connor, Kelsey Naclerio and Alyssa Wahl all were selected for the All-Region team and Hahn, Wahl and Jade Rivera represented Georgian Court at the IWLCA Senior All-Star game.  After missing the CACC Tournament Championship game in 2023, Hosford brought them right back in 2024. A 13-7 overall mark and 7-2 record in league play earned them the number three seed where they won two CACC Tournament games, before falling to Dominican in the finals. Georgian Court saw four named to the All-CACC team along with Isabel Raimondi and Remi Reinhardt making the All-Region team. Reinhardt, Riley O'Connor and Kelsey Naclerio all played in the IWLCA Senior All-Star game.  Hosford made it 4-4 in reaching the CACC Tournament semifinals in 2025. The Lions 6-3 conference mark had them a win away from a repeat trip to the conference finals. Georgian Court had three make the All-CACC Team, including CACC Rookie of the Year Nena Menard, the first-ever CACC Rookie of the Year for Georgian Court Women's Lacrosse. One of Hosford first four-year seniors, Isabel Raimondi set a new Georgian Court record for career points in 2025 and made the Senior All-Star Game.  Hosford came to Georgian Court from Division III Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa. where she served as head coach for four seasons (2018-21). After a two-year postseason drought, Hosford led the Knights back to the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth playoffs in her first season on the sidelines. Promoting academic success away from the field, Hosford's teams earned selection to the IWLCA Honor Roll in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Prior to her time at Arcadia, Hosford served as an assistant coach at Western Connecticut State University where she was responsible for the oversight of all academics for her student-athletes. She also was active in all aspects of recruiting for the program. Very familiar with NCAA Division II, Hosford completed a one-year graduate assistantship at her alma mater, East Stroudsburg University, where she was previously a four-year letter winning defender for the Warriors. In addition to her time on the lacrosse team, Hosford also spent four seasons on the field hockey squad, which won the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship.   Hosford earned her bachelor's degree from East Stroudsburg in May 2016, and her master's degree in sports management from ESU in December 2017. She played her scholastic lacrosse locally as a student-athlete at Jackson Memorial High School, earning first team All-Ocean County and third team All-Shore Conference as a senior midfielder and team captain.   Samantha Hosford Year-by-Year Year School Overall Conference 2018 Arcadia 10-9 5-3 2019 Arcadia 1-15 1-7 2020 Arcadia 2-4^ 0-0 2021 Arcadia 2-10 2-5 Arcadia Totals 15-38 8-15 2022 Georgian Court 12-7 9-0!* 2023 Georgian Court 10-9 8-2 2024 Georgian Court 12-7 6-2$ 2025 Georgian Court 8-11 6-3 Georgian Court Totals 42-34 29-7 Career Totals 57-72 37-22 ! CACC Regular Season Champion * CACC Tournament Champion ^ Shortened season played spring 2021 due to COVID-19 $ Forfeit win over Chestnut Hill not reflected in NCAA career win totals