Skidmore College Women's Lacrosse

Belinda Colgan was promoted to the head coaching position in 2019 after a successful stint as assistant coach. Colgan stayed at Skidmore after graduating in 2004. As a student she played polo and helped at the Van Lennep riding center, schooling horses and taking on various duties around the barn. She parlayed that into a barn manager position after graduation, becoming a riding assistant and assistant coach of the riding team in 2006.   She has been an integral part of three Skidmore national championship teams and three reserve championship teams. She trained numerous riders  (students and community) to many championships and personal bests both in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association and A Circuit competitions.  

Get to know coach Ghilardi Elizabeth Ghilardi took over the Skidmore women's lacrosse program prior to the 2011 season.  Ghilardi guided the 2024 Thoroughbreds to their most wins (9) since 2019 and earned a home playoff game for the first time within that span. Ghilardi coached Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year and IWLCA Third Team All-American Liv Kazanjian '24 as well as two other all-conference players in Ella Harris '24 and Maeve McKinley '24 who both earned Honorable Mention. Kazanjian was Skidmore's third All-American under Ghilardi. In 2023, Ghilardi became the first coach in program history to reach the 100-win plateau with a dominant 22-11 triumph over RIT on April 22. The Thoroughbreds returned to the postseason in 2023 for the first time since 2019 after finishing 4-6 in the Liberty League and a tie for seventh. Ghilardi coached Gabriella Modesti '25 to a 40-goal season and All-Liberty League Second Team honors.  The Thoroughbreds returned to the Liberty League Semifinal in 2019 after winning seven games in the league for the third year in a row and for the fourth time in the previous five years. Overall, Skidmore made the postseason in five consecutive seasons from 2015-19. Cas Szwajkowski '19 became the second IWLCA All-American to play under Ghilardi when she garnered Third Team honors with a program record 90 goals.        Ghilardi led Skidmore to three consecutive Liberty League Championship game appearances from 2015-2017. The Thoroughbreds posted a combined 35-19 record over the three years with an impressive 20-7 mark in the conference. In 2016, Ghilardi coached junior defender Rachel Talanian, who became the third IWLCA All-American in school history, and first in 13 seasons. Talanian repeated that feat in 2017, becoming the program's first two-time honoree. At Robert Morris, Ghilardi specialized in training goalkeepers and the attack. That 2010 season saw the Colonials place five players on the Northeast Conference All-Conference team, the most in the program’s history. Prior to Robert Morris, Ghilardi was the assistant women's lacrosse coach at Connecticut College where she was responsible for on and off-campus recruiting, practice preparation and specialized in on-field coaching for the attack and goalkeepers. While at Connecticut College she coached two All-NESCAC players, six Regional All-Americans, four NESCAC All-Academics, an IWLCA D III Academic Honor Roll Team and a NESCAC All-Academic Team. She was a member of the Regional All-American Committee in 2009 and the IWLCA Rules Committee in 2008. In addition, Ghilardi was the Co-Director of the Connecticut College Lacrosse Camp, as well as the fall and winter lacrosse clinics from 2006-2009. She worked as a coach for the Nor'Easter Lacrosse Club, the Elite Lacrosse Program at Greenwich Academy and coached at several camps across the country, including the Amonte Sports Lacrosse Camp, the Princeton Lacrosse Camp and the Elite 180 Camp. Ghilardi competed in lacrosse at Colby College and graduated in 2006 with a B.A. in human development and education. While at Colby she was named team MVP and first team Regional All-American in 2006. During that year she finished third on her team with 56 points, including 36 goals and 20 assists. She graduated with an M.A. in psychology from Connecticut College in 2009.   COACHING RECORD BY YEAR OVERALL CONFERENCE YEAR SCHOOL W L W L POSTSEASON / NOTES 2011 Skidmore College 10 8 5 3 Liberty League Semifinal 2012 Skidmore College 9 7 4 5 T-6th in Liberty League 2013 Skidmore College 3 13 2 7 8th in Liberty League 2014 Skidmore College 6 10 5 4 5th in Liberty League 2015 Skidmore College 13 5 7 2 Liberty League Championship game 2016 Skidmore College 10 8 6 3 Liberty League Championship game 2017 Skidmore College 12 6 7 2 Liberty League Championship game 2018 Skidmore College 11 7 7 3 Liberty League 1st Round 2019 Skidmore College 12 6 7 3 Liberty League Semifinal 2020 Skidmore College 0 5 0 1 Remainder of season canceled (3/12) 2021 Skidmore College 2 4 0 4 9th in Liberty League 2022 Skidmore College 4 11 4 6 7th in Liberty League 2023 Skidmore College 8 9 4 6 Liberty League 1st Round 2024 Skidmore College 9 9 6 4 Liberty League 1st Round 2025 Skidmore College 6 10 3 7 T-8th in Liberty League 15 SEASONS TOTAL 115 118 67 60 PERCENT .494 .528