Anne Phillips, who led Franklin & Marshall to an NCAA Championship and was the IWLCA Division III National Coach of the Year in 2007, was named Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse on June 23, 2008. Phillips is the eighth head coach in the 32-year history of Yale women's lacrosse.

In 2014 the Bulldogs finished with their best record in six years, improving their win total over the previous season for the third straight year. They allowed 44 fewer goals than they did in 2013 -- a 26 percent improvement. They had the third-best draw control total (185) and the third-best caused turnover total (140) in school history. Individually, sophomore Nicole Daniggelis earned All-Northeast Region honors for the second straight season. The Bulldogs also had four All-Ivy League honorees, the most they have had in Phillips' tenure. Defensively, they finished 13th in the nation in goals allowed per game (8.20) and 18th in the nation in caused turnovers (9.33 per game).

During Phillips' first six years in New Haven, the Bulldogs have had 15 All-Ivy League selections: 

• 2009 (3): Jenn Warden (Second Team); Kaitlyn Flatley, Whitney Quackenbush (Honorable Mention)
• 2010 (3): Michele Fiorentino, Devon Rhodes (Second Team); Whitney Quackenbush (Honorable Mention)
• 2011 (2): Fielding Kidd (Second Team); Kaitlyn Flatley (Honorable Mention)
• 2012 (1): Caroline Crow (Second Team)
• 2013 (2): Nicole Daniggelis (First Team); Devon Rhodes (Second Team)
• 2014 (4): Nicole Daniggelis (First Team); Jen DeVito, Adrienne Tarver (Second Team); Christina Doherty (Honorable Mention)

Yale has also had three Academic All-Ivy League selections during Phillips' first five seasons:

• 2009: Jenn Warden
• 2010: Claire Eliasberg
• 2011: Myra Trivellas

Yale also earned IWLCA Academic Squad honors in 2010 and 2011.

The Bulldogs have been active in community service during Phillips' tenure, "adopting" a local girl named Alanna who was undergoing chemotherapy at Smilow Cancer Hospital in 2010. They also played in a special fundraiser game for Hurricane Sandy relief at Oceanside, N.Y., in April of 2013.

Phillips posted a 93-24 record (.795) in her six seasons at F&M, making her the school's all-time leader in both wins and winning percentage. That winning percentage put her third among active Division III head coaches at the end of her final season. Phillips also coached 18 individual IWLCA All-Americans and six of F&M's top 10 all-time leading scorers in her tenure.

A 1980 Franklin & Marshall graduate, Phillips revitalized the F&M program in her six seasons in Lancaster. She took over a team that had gone 8-7 in 2002 and led the Diplomats to a 14-5 record and ECAC Championship in 2003. The team won another ECAC Championship in 2005, then made the NCAA Division III Elite Eight in 2006.

The Diplomats were ranked in the top 10 nationally in each of Phillips' years, but in 2007 they reached new heights. The team achieved No. 1 in the rankings for the first time, winning its first Centennial Conference Championship in 14 years. The Diplomats finished off an undefeated season -- 21-0 -- with a win over Salisbury in the NCAA Division III Championship. They ranked second in the country in scoring defense (5.33 goals allowed per game) and seventh in the country in scoring offense (15.19 goals per game). The team also was an IWLCA National Academic Merit Squad selection.

F&M went 19-2 in 2008, winning another Centennial Conference Championship and reaching the NCAA Division III Championship game again before falling to Hamilton. The Diplomats were ranked fifth in the country in scoring defense (6.71 goals allowed per game).

A native of West Chester, Pa., Phillips helped found the Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse program. Then known as Anne Ricciuti, she played on the school's first team in 1977. She scored 99 goals and had 46 assists in two seasons as an attacker before her career was cut short by knee injuries. She was also on the field hockey team, which went 51-20-7 in her four years, and is seventh on the school's career goals list in that sport with 38.

After receiving her degree in economics from F&M, Phillips spent nine years with Deluxe Check Printers in St. Paul, Minn., rising to the level of Regional Computer Operations Manager. She began her coaching career with Owen J. Roberts High School in Pottstown, Pa., in 1998. She gradually turned that program around from a 1-17 record her first season to a 19-1-1 mark and a state championship in her final season, 2001. She was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Coach of the Year.

Phillips is chairman of the US Lacrosse National Team Selection Committee, and helped select the U.S. rosters that won the World Cup in 2009 and 2013. She also helped select the U.S. roster that won the Under-19 World Championship in 2011. She was also a US Lacrosse National Team selector in 2007. She has been a member of the National All-American Selection Committee since 2003 and has been a member of the United States Lacrosse Coaches Council since 2006. Phillips was also the director of Girls' Lacrosse for the Keystone State Games from 1998 to 2002. 

Anne Phillips Head Coaching Record

2003 F&M 14-5 ECAC Champions
2004 F&M 10-9
2005 F&M 14-3 ECAC Champions
2006 F&M 15-5 NCAA Elite Eight Regional Finalist
2007 F&M 21-0 NCAA National Champions, Centennial Conference Champions
2008 F&M 19-2 NCAA National Finalists, Centennial Conference Champions
2009 Yale 5-11
2010 Yale 6-9
2011 Yale 3-12
2012 Yale 5-10
2013 Yale 8-7
2014 Yale 9-6

Total 129-79 (.620)

Anne Phillips Head Coaching Highlights

• Three straight NCAA Tournament appearances 2006-2008
• NCAA Championship (2007)
• 18 Individual IWLCA All-Americans in first six seasons
• 2007 IWLCA Division III National Coach of the Year
• Chairman of US Lacrosse National Team Selection Committee

Updated May 27, 2014

Andrea Cofrin, who led Saint Anselm to its first NCAA Tournament appearance last season, joined the Yale women’s lacrosse staff as an assistant coach in the fall of 2014.

Cofrin brings nine years of head coaching experience to her new role -- including one year at Saint Anselm, five years at Siena, two years at Lees-McRae College and one year at the University of Dallas. She has also served as an assistant coach for one year at Siena and one year at Oneonta State, and she spent more than three years as co-director and co-owner of the travel program ADK Lacrosse.

In 2014 Cofrin led Saint Anselm to a 13-4 record, the best in program history. The Hawks were ranked No. 9 in Division II, their first top 10 appearance. The team had one All-American, two first team NE-10 honorees, the Saint Anselm Female Athlete of the Year and an inductee into the Chi Alpha Sigma National Student-Athlete Honor Society.

The Hawks were also active in community service under Cofrin’s leadership, raising $3,000 to support “Ovations for the Cure of Ovarian Cancer” with their third annual “Teal the Field” game. Their other service activities included a walk for autism and work with Girls Inc.

Prior to her time at Saint Anselm, Cofrin was the head coach at Siena for five years, leaving as the winningest coach in school history. She was the MAAC Coach of the Year in her second season (2010), and went on to lead the Saints to four consecutive MAAC Tournament appearances. She coached seven first team All-MAAC selections, including the 2012 MAAC Defender of the Year. Her team was named an IWLCA All-Academic Squad twice, and she had 31 MAAC all-academic selections. The team also participated in multiple community service efforts, volunteering for Ronald McDonald House, Habitat for Humanity and the Double H Ranch Camp Challenge Ride to benefit children with life-threatening illnesses.

Cofrin’s other head coaching stops included Lees-McRae, where she helped the team score 72 more goals (and allow 33 fewer goals) in 2008 than it did in 2007, and the University Dallas, where she also coached soccer and served as the senior women’s administrator. The soccer team went 10-3 under her leadership, earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

As an assistant coach at Siena in 2005, Cofrin helped the Saints to a share of the regular season MAAC championship and their first MAAC Tournament appearance.

Cofrin’s coaching career began at Oneonta State, where she helped the team to a 10-6 mark in 2004 as an assistant.

Cofrin is a 2003 graduate of Frostburg State, where she earned a B.S. in sociology. She is currently working on her M.S. in sports psychology at Capella University.

At Frostburg State, Cofrin was a four-year starter and helped the team to a pair of ECAC Tournament appearances. She served as captain her senior year, when she was fourth on the team with 20 goals. She was also a two-year starter for the soccer team, making a pair of AMCC Tournament appearances.

Cofrin is a native of Liverpool, N.Y., and attended Liverpool High School. She will be residing in Hamden, Conn., with her husband, Shawn, and eight-month old daughter Rhiannon.

Updated Aug. 21, 2014

Ashley Casiano, a two-time all-conference goaltender for Marist who helped the Red Foxes to the NCAA Tournament in 2010, joined the Yale women's lacrosse staff as an assistant coach for the 2014 season. She works primarily with the goalkeepers, and helped Erin McMullan '14 post career-best totals in save percentage, saves and goals-against average in 2014. As a team, Yale finished the season ranked 13th in the nation in scoring defense (8.2 goals allowed per game) and 18th in the nation in caused turnovers (9.33 per game).

Casiano joined the Bulldogs after receiving her B.A. in communications with a concentration in sports communication from Marist, where she earned MAAC All-Academic Team recognition as a senior and made the Dean's List twice. In 2013 she was ninth in the country in saves (149) and 13^th in save percentage (.461). That helped her earn second team All-MAAC honors for the second season in a row. She started every game except one for the last three seasons of her career, leading her team in ground balls each year.

As a freshman Casiano helped the Red Foxes earn an NCAA Tournament berth by beating Fairfield 9-7 in the MAAC Tournament championship. She was named to the all-tournament team for her efforts, and over the course of her career the Red Foxes make a total of three MAAC Tournament appearances. She was a two-time all-tournament selection.

A native of South Windsor, Conn., Casiano lettered in lacrosse and basketball all four years at South Windsor High. She has worked as a coach at various camps, including Yale's camp, and has also volunteered with Special Olympics.

updated May 27, 2014