Loyola University Maryland Men's Lacrosse

The 2025 season will be the 20th as head coach at Loyola for Charley Toomey, a school where he has put his stamp on the Loyola men’s lacrosse program as a disciplined, tough, athletic and skillful unit. The Greyhounds ascended to the top of college lacrosse in 2012, winning Loyola’s first NCAA Division I Championship. Toomey enters 2025 with a 184-101 career record in his first 19 years at Loyola. Early in the 2016 season, Toomey became the second coach in program history to reach and cross the 100-win plateau, and he became the program's all-time leader in wins as a coach during the 2024 season, passing his college coach Dave Cottle (181-70, 1983-2001). As a head coach, Toomey has coached 53 USILA All-Americans, 100 all-conference selections, 21 conference positional or players or rookies of the year, a Tewaaraton Award winner and five finalists and 38 USILA Scholar All-Americans. Of the award winners, Pat Spencer became the most decorated player in program history during his 2019 senior season when he set the NCAA career record for assists and finished second all-time in points. He was the school’s first winner of the Tewaaraton and the USILA Player of the Year Awards and became the school’s first four-time All-American. In 2019, Toomey was named to the coaching staff of the U.S. Men’s National Team as an assistant coach. He served with Team USA in preparation for, and competition in, the 2023 World Championships in San Diego, and he will again be on the staff for Team USA in 2027 in Tokyo. He was also enshrined in the USLacrosse Chesapeake Chapter Hall of Fame in January 2019 for his accomplishments as a player and a coach. Under his direction, the Greyhounds won at least a share of three of the last six ECAC Championships when the Greyhounds were in that conference, and Loyola has won four Patriot League. Loyola has reached four of the last six NCAA Quarterfinals as of 2022 with three-straight from 2018-21. Loyola spent time as the No. 1 team in all national polls during the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2019 seasons. Toomey was also a member of the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Committee, a group responsible for selection of the NCAA Championships field and administration of the tournament. He also has served as part of the U.S. Men’s National Team selection group as a coach and evaluator of the goalies during the initial tryout process. Toomey’s dedication to the program stems from his long ties to the Loyola community, dating back to the day he stepped onto campus as a freshman student-athlete in 1986. He has been involved in 19 of the 27 NCAA D-I Tournament appearances in program history - three as a player, five as an assistant coach and 11 as a head coach. The 2025 season will be Toomey’s 29th year as a coach for the Greyhounds and his 35th overall in the coaching profession. Including his four years as a standout goalkeeper for the Greyhounds from 1987-1990, 2025 will be his 33rd year on the Loyola campus. With Toomey at the helm, Loyola reached the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in his years as a head coach in 2021 and the eighth time in nine opportunities. The quarterfinal bid was the third-straight for the program.. Toomey was named the 2012 recipient of the Morris Touchstone as the Division I Coach of the Year, and he earned his third ECAC Coach of the Year honor, an honor he also won in 2006 and 2008. He led the Greyhounds to the 2021 NCAA Quarterfinals for the fourth time in five seasons after they were 5-5 through 10 games through the COVID-impacted season. In 2019, he was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year as the Greyhounds won their fourth conference regular-season title.  In 2018, the Greyhounds captured the Patriot League Championship for the fourth time in five years since joining the conference, winning both the regular-season and tournament crowns. Toomey's Greyhounds continued to be one of the most up-tempo offenses in the nation, finishing sixth in the country in goals per game, while the defense also remained one of the best around in 2018. Loyola wrapped up the year with a 13-4 record and its third trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals in seven seasons. The 2017 Greyhounds were one of the most balanced teams in the nation, finishing 10th in NCAA Division I in scoring defense, allowing just 8.38 goals per game while scoring 12.38 to rank 11th in scoring offense en route to a 10-6 record. Loyola completed one of the finest years in school history in 2016, bouncing back from a 4-3 start to the regular-season to win 10-straight games. During that stretch, Loyola won the Patriot League Championship, coasting to a 14-6 victory over the U.S. Military Academy in the title game. The Greyhounds then won two NCAA Tournament games in rematches of games they lost to teams during the regular-season. Loyola logged 16-11 win over Duke University when it hosted the Blue Devils in the NCAA First Round, and it then traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for the NCAA Quarterfinals. There, the Greyhounds downed Towson University, 10-8, to advance to Championship Weekend. Loyola finished the season with a 14-4 record, the third-most wins in program history, and it was ranked No. 4 nationally in the final media poll of the season by Inside Lacrosse. The 2012 Loyola squad set several program records and tied the NCAA Division I record for wins in a season with 18. The Greyhounds lost just a single game during the year, winning the ECAC regular-season and tournament championships en route to the national title. Toomey was named the 2012 recipient of the Morris Touchstone as the Division I Coach of the Year, and he earned his third ECAC Coach of the Year honor. During the year, the Greyhounds featured one of the most balanced teams in the nation, finishing fifth in scoring defense (7.51 goals allowed per game) and eighth in scoring offense (12.05). Loyola's transition game was also vaunted during the year, and the Greyhounds unit has been heralded as one of the nation's best for several seasons. The 2010 season saw Toomey and Loyola return to the NCAA Championships for the third time in four years, playing in what would become an 'instant-classic' three-overtime game at Cornell. Loyola put together a 9-5 record for the second year in a row and reached as high as sixth in the national rankings during the season. In 2009 Toomey guided the Greyhounds to a 9-5 record, their best since 2002. Loyola finished 6-1 in the ECAC and finished as the league's co-champion, the second year in a row Loyola has won at least a share of the crown. According to the computer rankings, the 2009 Greyhounds played the third-toughest schedule in the nation, and they finished with an RPI of nine. Four of the Greyhounds' five losses came against teams ranked in the Top-10 nationally, and the five losses were by a combined seven goals. The team was not short of highlights, as P.T. Ricci and Shane Koppens were named USILA All-Americans, and six Greyhounds earned All-ECAC honors. Ricci was the league Defensive Player of the Year, and Mike Sawyer was Rookie of the Year. In 2008, Toomey was recognized by his peers as ECAC Co-Coach of the Year for the second time in three years. He led the Greyhounds to the ECAC title with a 6-1 record in conference play. The title marked the program's first since joining the ECAC in 2005. In addition to his 22-6 ECAC record, Toomey's teams have lost just one ECAC home game and have never finished lower than tied for second in the final league standings. After weathering a challenging out-of-conference slate at the beginning of 2008, the Greyhounds hit their stride at the end of March. In a five-week span, the Greyhounds ripped off four wins, and they culminated the season by earning their 16th NCAA Tournament berth. The 2008 squad ranked among the top three in nearly every statistical category in the ECAC. Boasting an up-tempo offense, the Greyhounds were third in the conference in goals (9.29) and points per game (13.43). But true to Toomey's goalkeeper roots, the defense has also been a key ingredient to Loyola's success. In 2008, the Greyhounds allowed a league-low 39 goals in seven conference matchups (5.57 a game), an astonishing 18 goals lower than Hobart, which ranked second with 57. In his first season as head coach in 2006, Toomey was selected as ECAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Greyhounds to a 6-6 overall record and a 5-2 conference mark. The Greyhounds finished 4-1 at home that year, defeating No. 2 Georgetown (14-10), as well as conference foes Penn State and Rutgers. During his second year at the helm in 2007, Loyola accomplished its goal of returning to the NCAA Tournament. The storied program assembled an eye-raising tournament resume with marquee wins over then-ranked No. 1 Duke and Syracuse. Toomey served as defensive coordinator for the Greyhounds prior to his appointment as head coach. His contributions to the unit and to the program, along with his coaching style and work ethic, earned him recognition in Lacrosse Magazine, which featured him as one of the nation's top assistants in 2005. Beginning his coaching career at his alma mater following his graduation, Toomey helped lead the 1991 and 1992 Greyhounds to the NCAA Tournament. He then moved on to the Naval Academy Prep School, where he worked as a head coach in 1993. Moving on to Navy, he was an assistant coach for the Midshipmen, working specifically with the goalies and defensive midfielders, helping guide the squad to the 1994 NCAA Tournament. Toomey served as the head coach at Severn School from 1996-98, leading the team to three successful seasons before returning to his alma mater in 1999. As a student-athlete at Loyola from 1987-90, Toomey was a two-time All-America selection at goalie, garnering honorable mention honors in 1989 and third-team accolades in 1990. He owns two of Loyola's top six single-game save performances in the cage, and ranks among the Greyhounds' all-time save leaders. His 22 saves against Rutgers in the 1990 NCAA Tournament also tie him for the top postseason mark in school history. He finished his career with an astonishing 25-5 overall record, and was the last Loyola goalkeeper to start an NCAA Championship Game, starting the 1990 NCAA Final against Syracuse. In the early 1990s, Toomey played professionally for the Baltimore Thunder and the Boston Blazers. He has also guided several professional goalies like Mark Bloomquist, Tim McGeeney and Michael Fretwell, Jack Runkel and Jacob Stover as a coach. Toomey and his wife, Sara, live in Anne Arundel County and have three daughters, Emma, Sophie and Lyla.

The 2023 campaign will be Matt Dwan's 17th season overall as an assistant coach with the Loyola men's lacrosse program. For the past 17 seasons as the Greyhounds' defensive coordinator, Dwan has helped the Greyhounds become one of the most formidable defenses in the nation. A 1995 graduate of Loyola, Dwan has shaped the Greyhounds' defense into one of the premier units in the nation, and his work with Loyola's rope unit has also led to a stellar transition game and play from the defensive midfield. During Loyola's run to the 2012 NCAA Championship, the Greyhounds first, Dwan's defense finished fifth in the nation, allowing just 7.51 goals per game. He directed a pair of goalkeepers who had never started a collegiate game and close defense that had lost an All-ECAC performer to graduation. The Greyhounds not only allowed a shot percentage of just .241 during the year, but they caused 127 turnovers and forced a total of 304 miscues by opponents. On Championship Weekend in Foxborough, Mass., Loyola's defense set a pair of impressive records. The Greyhounds limited Maryland to a Championship Game-low three goals, and Loyola allowed a combined eight goals in the semifinal and title game after yielding just five to Notre Dame. Four of Loyola's defensive players earned USILA All-America honors in 2012 - long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff, defensive midfielder Josh Hawkins and defenders Joe Fletcher and Reid Acton - and Ratliff was named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year. During the season, Ratliff set a school record in scoring by a pole with 12 goals and 19 points, breaking the record Dwan set as a senior with 11 goals and 16 points. That quartet of defenders returned to the team in 2013 and also earned USILA All-America honors. Fletcher was tabbed the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, and Ratliff earned ECAC Specialist of the Year recognition. The duo also were named First- and Second-Team All-Americans, respectively. In 2014, Loyola again had one of the most formidable defenses nationally, as the Greyhounds went undefeated in the Patriot League during their first season in the conference. The unit was second in the nation in ground balls per game (36.0) and fourth in scoring defense (7.47). Fletcher was named the National Defender of the Year by the USILA, earning First Team All-America recognition for the second year in a row, while short-stick midfielder Pat Laconi was tabbed to the second team, and goalkeeper Jack Runkel earned third team laurels. Fletcher garnered Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors, and Runkel was the Goalkeeper of the Year. In 2016, Loyola made its fourth NCAA Semifinals appearance in program history with a young defense that performed at a high level down the stretch. The Greyhounds won 10 games in a row while yielding 7.3 goals per game. Dwan mentored a defense in 2018 that helped Loyola reach the NCAA Quarterfinals. Foster Huggins, a senior in 2018, was named a first-team All-American by the USILA and Inside Lacrosse after earning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year recognition as he led NCAA Division in caused turnovers and caused turnovers per game. The 2009 Greyhounds' defense boasted All-American P.T. Ricci, a long-stick midfielder who was also named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year. Dwan's defense held six of Loyola 14 opponents to seven or fewer goals in 2009, as the Greyhounds played the third-toughest schedule in the nation according to the computer rankings. Loyola allowed a league-low 39 goals in seven conference games (5.57 a game) in 2008, an impressive 18 goals fewer than the second-ranked team (Hobart, 57). The Greyhounds held nine of their 14 opponents to under 10 goals in 2008, and limited four of those to five or fewer goals. In a convincing 15-1 win over Massachusetts, the defense allowed only one goal for the first time since the 1999 season, and nearly registered the program's first shutout in 60 seasons. A former Greyhounds' lacrosse standout himself, Dwan played professionally for the Baltimore Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse. Part of the inaugural MLL season in 2001, Dwan played in every game for the Bayhawks from 2001 to 2003. He helped anchor a defense that advanced to the MLL championship game in each of his three seasons, while capturing the championship in 2002. During his collegiate career, Dwan was named an All- American three times, helping the Greyhounds advance to the NCAA tournament each of his four seasons at Evergreen. His senior year in 1995, Dwan recorded 11 goals, five assists and 93 ground balls, earning first-team All-America honors. At the time, he was just the second long-stick midfielder in NCAA history to accomplish that feat. In 1994, he was selected as a second-team All-American and was named honorable mention as a sophomore. Dwan was named co-captain and team co-MVP his final two seasons at Loyola, and in May 1995 he graduated with career totals of 19 goals, eight assists and 240 ground balls. In June 2003, he was inducted into Loyola's Athletic Hall of Fame, and in November 2005 he entered the Hudson Valley Chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame. A native of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Dwan and his wife, the former Michelle Meyer reside in Pasadena, Md. Michelle was one of the most decorated players in Loyola women's lacrosse history, earning All-America three times, including First-Team honors as a junior and senior. She was named the 1997 National Midfielder of the Year, as well.

Justin Ward, a two-time All-American as a player at Loyola University Maryland and a veteran of Patriot League coaching, returned to the Greyhounds' sideline in June 2025 as an assistant coach.    Ward graduated from Loyola in 2014 after a decorated career that saw him help the Greyhounds to the 2012 NCAA Championship and three total appearances in the NCAA Championships.    After graduation, Ward entered the coaching ranks, first at Georgetown from 2015-17 and since then at the U.S. Military Academy.   At Army West Point, Ward led several of the most high-powered offenses in the nation, including this year’s unit that ranks third in NCAA Division I with 14.21 goals per game.   He joined the Black Knights’ staff for the 2018 season and helped engineer a turnaround from a 5-8 record that year to 13-5 and a berth in the NCAA Championships in 2019.   Overall, Army West Point teams have gone 79-32 (.712) in the time that Ward has been on the sidelines. He started his tenure in the Hudson Valley as an assistant coach in July 2017 and was elevated to offensive coordinator in 2020; he added the title of recruiting coordinator in 2021 and has played a critical role in shaping the Black Knights on the field.   Ward has mentored two Tewaaraton Award finalists at Army West Point in Brendan Nichtern (2022) and Jackson Eicher (2025). Three players have combined to win four Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Awards under his direction in Nichtern (2021, 2022), Evan Plunkett (2024) and Eicher (2025).   The Black Knights led the Patriot League in scoring offense in three of the last four seasons and were ranked in the top 15 nationally in the category in 2022 (14th), 2024 (ninth) and 2025 (third).   Overall, Ward helped Army West Point to a pair of Patriot League Regular-Season Titles in 2024 and 2025 and two Patriot League Championships in 2019 and 2023. The 2023 team reached the NCAA Quarterfinals, and the 2024 side was ranked No. 1 in the Inside Lacrosse media poll for the first time in program history.   Ward coached and developed eight All-Americans on offense since 2021 and 16 All-Patriot League offensive selections in that span, tops in the league.   He was also the team’s recruiting coordinator, helping to compile the No. 9-ranked recruiting class by Inside Lacrosse for the Class of 2024.   Ward’s coaching career started during the 2015 season when he helped Georgetown reach the Big East Conference Championship Game while putting together a 10-6 record. During three seasons at the Washington, D.C., Jesuit school, Ward coached nine All-Big East selections and was the team’s offensive coordinator, offensive player development coach, goalie coach and extra-man coordinator.   His time at Loyola began in the fall of 2010 after he was a standout on attack at Old Mill High School in Glen Burnie, Maryland, where he earned Washington Post All-Metro and Annapolis Capital Gazette All-Area recognition. He earned the C. Markland Kelly High School Lacrosse 4A Award Winner in 2010 and US Lacrosse All-American senior year of high school in 2010.   Ward made his debut in eight games during the 2011 season for the Greyhounds and broke onto the scene during the 2012 campaign that saw Loyola start the year unranked and end as NCAA Champions. He started all 19 games on attack that year and finished the season with 31 assist and 42 points.   The next year, he led Loyola with 62 points and 35 assists, finishing 11th in assists per game and 19th in points per game, earning USILA All-America Honorable Mention and All-ECAC Second Team recognition.   Ward was a tri-captain on the Greyhounds’ inaugural Patriot League team in 2014 that outscored conference opponents 103-46 in eight regular-season games and was the last time to go undefeated in League games. The team spent the majority of the season ranked No. 1 nationally and won the Patriot League tournament.   He scored 18 goals and finished with 53 assists, a total that stood as a school single-season record until 2017 and is now fourth on the program’s single-season chart. Ward ended his time on the playing field for Loyola with 57 goals and 120 assists. His 177 career points enter the 2026 season tied for 10th all-time at Loyola, and his 120 assists are third.   Ward earned USILA All-America Second Team honors and was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year in 2014 as a senior. A Dean’s List honoree at Loyola as a junior and senior, Ward earned a spot on the Patriot League All-Decade Team and also picked up USILA Scholar All-America recognition in 2014 while graduating with his Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in finance.   He was selected in the second round of the Major League Lacrosse draft in 2014 and was a member of the Charlotte Hounds’ inaugural season. He led the Hounds in points (33) as a rookie and finished third in MLL Rookie of the Year voting.   Ward is married to the former Carlianne McCabe, a 2016 graduate of Lafayette College, where she was an All-Patriot League Second Team selection as a midfielder as a senior. They have two daughters, Hudson and Jordan.  

Sean Cottle joined the Loyola University Maryland men’s lacrosse staff as an assistant coach in August 2024 season.   Cottle has been a club and high school coach in the Baltimore area of the last several years, most recently working as offensive coordinator at Archbishop Spalding High School and as head coach of the Annapolis Hawks 2025 team.    Cottle’s father, Dave, is a member of the IMLCA, Greater Baltimore Lacrosse Foundation and Loyola Athletics Halls of Fame. He was the head coach at Loyola from 1983-2001, and he has the second-most wins in program history (181), and he later directed the University of Maryland to 99 victories from 2002-2010.   Sean Cottle started his coaching experience in 2016 as the director of operations for Hoganlax and the Annapolis Hawks, coordinating the former’s tournaments and the latter’s scheduling and operations.   He was also the Hawks’ offensive coordinator from 2016-19 helping the team become one of the most prolific in the Class of 2019.   In 2019, he became the JV head coach at Archbishop Spalding, and he then became an offensive assistant for the varsity program that was one of the top teams nationally and in the MIAA.   Cottle took over as head coach of the Hawks’ 2025 team as head coach in 2022, coaching and coordinating 25-plus players who have made NCAA Division I commitments. He took the team from being unranked to top-five nationally in two years.   Starting in 2023, Cottle was the offensive coordinator at Archbishop Spalding, guiding the Cavaliers offense over the last season, guiding the offense to becoming one of the highest scoring in the MIAA and a berth in the MIAA Semifinals.   Cottle played his prep career at St. Mary’s High School in Annapolis, Maryland, and he graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies in 2019.  

Steve Vaikness has been an invaluable member of the Loyola men's lacrosse coaching staff since rejoining the program in 2006 as a volunteer assistant coach. A collegiate teammate of Greyhounds' Head Coach Charley Toomey, Vaikness has developed Loyola's faceoff unit into one of the nation's finest and has been regarded by national media as the NCAA's top faceoff coach. He coached the two players who have the most faceoff wins and ground balls in school history, brothers Graham '17 and Bailey '21 Savio. Under Vaikness' tutelage, Bailey Savio won 808 faceoffs, a Loyola and Patriot League record while picking up 472 ground balls, also records for the school and conference. He broke the Loyola marks previously set by Graham Savio of 709 and 340. In 2012, Vaikness guided first-year faceoff midfielder J.P. Dalton to a .523 winning percentage, and the senior captain and his unit had one of their most dominating performances in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Dalton won 17-of-22 faceoffs against his All-American counterpart and a team that had won .678 restarts against the Greyhounds in two previous meetings that year. From 2009-2011, John Schiavone has become one of the nation's premier faceoff specialists under Vaikness' tutelage. In 2010, Schiavone was named an All-America Honorable Mention player after finishing sixth in the country in faceoff winning percentage. In 2009, the Greyhounds led the ECAC and were fifth in the NCAA with a .566 faceoff winning percentage. Schiavone was fourth in the NCAA last year, winning .587 of the faceoffs he attempted. In his first three seasons as an assistant coach with the Greyhounds, Vaikness' instruction at the faceoff `X' paid large dividends, as well. The Greyhounds were 12th nationally in faceoff percentage (.556), and Tim McDermott was ninth individually, winning .586 of his restarts. In 2007, Loyola registered the nation's fourth-best face-off win percentage as a team, and had the country's third-best faceooff man in Dan Kallaugher. A native of Camillus, N.Y., Vaikness attended West Genesee High School and played for the 1985 New York State Championship Team. He came to Loyola and in his four years, helped the Greyhounds advance to three NCAA Tournaments, including the Quarterfinals in 1988 and the NCAA Championship Game in 1990. As a senior, Vaikness earned the John R. Mohler Award, presented annually by the Loyola College Alumni Association for excellence in the areas of athletics, scholarship and character. He earned his bachelors degree in marketing and immediately began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Greyhounds during the 1992 and 1993 lacrosse seasons. Vaikness earned his MBA from Loyola's Sellinger School for business in 1994 and thereafter entered the business world. As a lacrosse coach, Vaikness has stayed active with local club and recreational programs, including the Green Turtle Lacrosse Club and the Lutherville Timonium Recreation Council. He currently works at the Holladay Corporation, a residential developer located in Washington, D.C. Vaikness and his wife, Gengy, have three children - Tim, Anna and Brigid - and reside in Towson, Md.