Navy Coaching Staff
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Coaching Roots
ST AN
ROSS
ASSISTANT COACH • FOURTH YEAR Coaching Career
Returning for his fourth season as a member of the Navy coaching staff is Stan Ross, who, after mentoring the Mids’ offensive squad alongside Anthony Gilardi in 2009, will oversee the defensive unit, as he did in 2010. Under Ross’ leadership, Navy was ranked No. 2 in the Patriot League and 13th nationally in scoring defense, surrendering 8.67 goals per game. Anchored by First-Team All-Patriot League defenseman Michael Hirsch, who returned to the playing field after suffering a season-ending knee injury late in ‘09, the Mids killed off 66.7 percent of their foes’ extra-man opportunities. Ross also took over the responsibility of overseeing Navy’s goalkeeping corps. He helped develop RJ Wickham into a Tewaaraton nominee and an Honorable Mention All-American in his sophomore season. Named the 2010 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year, Wickham was ranked No. 5 in the country in save percentage (.593) and 11th in goals-against average (8.55). He led the conference in both save percentage and saves per game (12.53) and was third in GAA. In 2009, Navy scored more goals and dealt out more assists than the prior season. The Mids averaged 8.94 goals, while turning in 5.56 assists per contest. Navy’s starting attack combined to score 52 of Navy’s 143 goals, while the trio also accounted for 38 of the 89 assists. Junior Tim Paul paced the Mids with 32 points on 18 goals and a team-high tying 14 assists en route to garnering Honorable Mention All-America recognition. Meanwhile, attackman Brendan Connors reaped the rewards of Ross’ coaching, as he came into his junior season having scored just two goals and dealt out two assists. Connors, in turn, paced the team in 2009 with 21 goals and 10 assists. Meanwhile, Navy also saw great production out of its midfield where Patrick Moran earned First-Team All-Patriot League honors behind his 20-goal, three-assist performance, while all-league middie Joe Lennon had the hot end at the end of the season, scoring four goals in leading the Mids to a tripleOT win over Colgate in the Patriot League semis. Though he coached Navy’s offense in 2009, he orchestrated the Mids’ mandown unit, a squad that yielded just six extra-man goals in 40 attempts (.850) and was ranked No. 1 in the country. In particular, the Mids’ finest performance came against league rival Colgate. Having faced the Raiders twice during the season, Colgate was 0 for 6 against the Mids’ man-down unit. Ross helped carry on the Navy tradition of producing one of the stingiest defensive units in Div. I lacrosse. The Mids have been ranked among the nation's top four in scoring defense in eight of the last nine years and the top three in each of the last five seasons. In 2008, Ross helped Navy secure a No. 3 national ranking in fewest goals allowed per game, surrendering 104 goals in 16 games (6.50). Going into the NCAA quarterfinals, the Mids had been ranked No. 1 for seven consecutive weeks. The Mids held 10 of their 16 opponents to seven or fewer goals, winning 22 in a row when achieving this feat. Navy held seven of its foes scoreless in the opening stanza, including nationally-ranked Maryland. The Terps, who owned the nation’s seventh-ranked scoring offense, were unable to score against the Mids for the first 41 minutes of the game. Navy held Lehigh and Holy Cross to a combined 36 shots in back-to-back contests. The Mountain Hawks were held without a shot in the first quarter, while the Crusaders managed just two shots in the opening half. Ross guided Navy’s man-down defense to a No. 16 national ranking, stopping the EMO on 74.3 percent of the opportunities. Overall, the Mids surrendered nine extra-man goals and just two by Patriot League foes. Four defensive players garnered All-Patriot League recognition under his direction, including Jordan DiNola who became the program’s first player to be named the league defensive player of the year. Additionally, DiNola joined an elite list of players in school history who have been named All-Americans three times.
Ross, who was named the third head coach in Butler lacrosse history on June 16, 2004, spent two seasons (2005-06) as the Bulldogs’ head coach before the program was dropped and the season cancelled on Jan. 31, 2007. He led the Bulldogs to a 9-17 record over two years, while nine of his player garnered AllGreat Western Lacrosse League recognition. In his first season on the job, he inherited a program that featured just four seniors, but nonetheless led the Bulldogs to five wins. Four of Butler's losses in his first season were against ranked opponents and all on the road, while first-year players accounted for 65 percent of the team's goal-scoring. Ross began his coaching career at Loyola where he was an undergraduate assistant to Dave Cottle in 1996. Upon graduating, Ross moved on to the University of Denver where the Pioneers were in their first year of Division I competition. In addition to coaching the defense, he assisted with fund-raising and recruiting. A year later, Ross accepted a position with Princeton as the program's defensive coach. That season the Tigers won the National Championship, finishing the 1998 campaign with a 14-1 record. From Princeton, Ross went on to serve as Tony Seaman’s top assistant and defensive coordinator at Towson for six seasons (1999-04). In addition to his duties as defensive coordinator, he directed Towson's recruiting and scouting programs and served as the staff liaison to the Tigers' strength and conditioning coach. While at Towson, Ross helped lead the Tigers to a 49-38 record, including three NCAA Tournament appearances. The Tigers finished the 2001 campaign with a record of 14-4 and advanced to the national semifinals after being crowned America East champions. Towson went on to win back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association titles and earned an automatic NCAA Tournament berth in his final two seasons with the program (2003-04). Additionally, the Tigers advanced to the national quarterfinals in 2003.
Playing Career
After a stellar prep career at Baltimore Boys' Latin School where he earned AllMetro honors for two straight years, he enjoyed a successful college career at Loyola College. He lettered all four years for the Greyhounds as a close defenseman and was a starter as a junior and senior.
Personal
Ross is a 1996 graduate of Loyola (Md.) College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education. He and his wife, Kathleen, are the parents of a son, J.D., and a daughter, Katie.
Anthony
Gilardi
ASSISTANT COACH • THIRD YEAR Coaching Career
Joining the program as an assistant coach in October of 2008, Anthony Gilardi begins his third season as a member of the Navy coaching staff. He will once again focus on the success of the Mids’ offensive unit. Under Gilardi’s leadership, Navy averaged 9.13 goals per game and 14.20 points per outing in a season that saw the Mids outscore their opponent by a goal per game. Honorable Mention All-American midfielder and MLL draft pick Patrick Moran anchored the Navy offense with his 28 goals, including nine extra-man scores. He was also one of the nation’s leaders in hat trick in 2010. Navy scored more goals and dealt out more assists in 2009 than the season prior. The Mids averaged 8.94 goals, while turning in 5.56 assists per contest.
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