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Men's Lacrosse
  
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Recognized as one of the nation's top lacrosse coaches, Greg Cannella beginning his 12th year at the helm of the University of Massachusetts program in 2006. Cannella has brought his Minutemen to five NCAA Tournaments, winning four tournament games since 1997, captured five New England championships including 2005, claimed the 2005 and 2002 ECAC Lacrosse title after earning a share of the 2001 crown. He has been named ECAC Coach of the Year on three separate occasions in 2004, 2002, and 2001 and New England Coach of the Year three times including last season. A 1988 UMass graduate Cannella took the reigns of the UMass lacrosse program in the fall of 1994 with a great understanding of the program's storied history. He was a two-time letterwinner under the legendary Dick Garber in the mid-1980s and an assistant coach for two seasons with the Minutemen. Cannella is just the fourth head coach in the program's history. Cannella has led UMass to 57 wins over the last five years, the winningest five-year span in the program's history. The 2005 season will go down as one of the most successful in school history as the Minutemen tied the school record for wins a 13-3 record. UMass advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the 10th time in school history while winning the ECAC and New England Championships. The season was historic as UMass knocked off Syracuse twice in a three-week span including a 16-15 win in the NCAA First Round to end the Orange's 22-year run of reaching the NCAA Semifinals. UMass was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter as well as in Sports Illustrated after the monumental win. Cannella continued to coach some of the nation's top players as attackman Sean Morris was selected as UMass' first-ever finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy as the sport's top college player. Morris was one of four All-Americans on the 2005 team which also featured seven All-New England selections. In the spring of 1995, the Minutemen made their 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament--eighth best among Division I schools--in Cannella's first season in charge of the lacrosse program. Cannella led UMass to one of the most successful campaigns in school history during the 1997 season. It featured an NCAA Tournament victory in the opening round against Hofstra, and a gutty performance against Princeton that gave the eventual undefeated national champions their toughest challenge of the season. In addition, the Minutemen were New England champions for the 16th time, finishing the year with a perfect record against regional foes. UMass had one of the nation's most fearsome defenses in 1998 and was ranked as high as eighth. Among his first four-year class, Cannella had three All-America selections. In 2001, Cannella led UMass to one of its best regular seasons in the program's rich history. The Minutemen finished the season with a 12-2 overall record and a 5-1 ECAC mark; the 12 victories tied for the third most ever by a UMass team. The Minutemen earned a share of the ECAC title and captured their 17th New England championship. Cannella helped to turn around a team that finished the 2000 season with a 6-8 record. The 2001 Minutemen ended the season in the top 10 in all seven of the statistical categories the NCAA keeps, including being first in man-down defense and scoring margin, while being second in scoring offense. Four players earned All-America honors following the season, the most in a decade. For his efforts, he was named ECAC and New England Coach of the Year. In 2002, Cannella continued the UMass success. His squad posted a 12-4 record, a perfect 5-0 ECAC record and a berth in the school's 14th NCAA Tournament. The Minutemen didn't stop there, posting a first-round victory over Fairfield, 17-4, before falling in overtime to top-ranked Johns Hopkins, 13-12, in the national quarterfinals. He had four players taken in the Major League Lacrosse draft, four athletes gain All-America honors, had five players recognized as All-New England and seven more receive All-ECAC recognition. For the second straight season, Cannella was named ECAC Coach of the Year and New England Coach of the Year by his peers. His 2002 offense averaged over 14 goals a game, which led the NCAA. The 2003 UMass squad tied a school record with 13 victories, advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for only the fifth time in school history and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the country, the highest ranking ever for the Minutemen. In addition, the Minutemen ended a 24-game losing streak to Syracuse, becoming the first UMass team to defeat the Orangemen in over two decades. In 2003, UMass reached the quarterfinals on the NCAA tournament for the second-straight year, a first in the programs storied history. After the season, a trio of Minuteman were selected in the Major League Lacrosse draft. A 1988 UMass graduate, Cannella starts his 12th year as head coach after serving as an assistant coach at UMass for two seasons. He served as the chief offensive coach and recruiting coordinator on Ted Garber's staff in 1993 and 1994. The 1993 team advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Cannella has earned the reputation of being one of the nation's finest recruiters. He has recruited 45 high school and junior college All-Americans in his tenure at UMass. Prior to returning to his alma mater, Cannella spent four years as an assistant coach at Stony Brook from 1988-92. Cannella served as the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator on John Espey's staff. He earned a master's degree in liberal studies while coaching at Stony Brook. Cannella earned a bachelor's degree in physical education while playing at Massachusetts from 1986-87. He was a two-year starter for the Minutemen and a member of two NCAA Tournament teams. Cannella scored 64 points (33 goals, 31 assists) in his UMass career. He was a member of the first UMass team to win an NCAA Tournament game, when the Minutemen defeated New Hampshire 16-6 to advance to the quarterfinals in 1986. Prior to playing at UMass, Cannella spent one year at Nassau (N.Y.) Community College, where he was a first team All-America selection and led Nassau to the 1985 Junior College national title. A native of Lynbrook, N.Y., Cannella played for three years at Lynbrook High School. One of the most prolific scorers in Lynbrook history, Cannella was a high school All-America selection and still ranks among Lynbrook's all-time leading scorers. At Lynbrook, he played under the tutelage of current Towson and 1994 United States World Team coach Tony Seaman and Larry Glenz, whose son, Kevin, completed a four-year career with UMass in 2004. The youngest of five children, Cannella is the son of John and Dolores Cannella. John Cannella is the founder of the lacrosse program at Lynbrook High School and a well-respected coach and member of the Long Island lacrosse community. Cannella has been an instructor and lecturer at numerous camps and clinics. He serves as the director of the Greg Cannella's All-Star lacrosse school at UMass, as well as the operations director of the prestigious Peak 200 camp held at Springfield College. Cannella served as the President of the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association in 1998, 1999 and 2000, and served as the Vice President in 1997. Cannella is currently the chairman of the annual NEILA Scholar Athlete Team, which he started in 1999. He has also served on the NCAA Championships Regional Advisory Committee that selected the teams for the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 1998 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Cannella was a regional voter in the USILA/STX weekly poll from 1997-2001, as well as a USIlA regional voter for All-Americans since 2003. He now serves on the prestigious committee to help select the Tewaaraton Award, a honor given to the nation's top player. Cannella was born on Sept. 2, 1965, in Rockville Centre, N.Y. He and his wife, Laurie, reside in Hadley with their son Vance (5), and daughter Virginia (3). Year-By-Year Coaching Record Year W L Pct. Season Notes 1995 7 6 .538 NCAA First Round 1996 7 5 .583 1997 9 6 .600 NCAA Quarterfinals 1998 7 5 .583 1999 4 8 .333 2000 6 8 .429 2001 12 2 .857 ECAC Co-Champions 2002 12 4 .750 NCAA Quarterfinals ECAC Champions 2003 13 3 .812 NCAA Quarterfinals 2004 7 7 .500 2005 13 3 .812 NCAA Quarterfinals. ECAC Champions TOTALS 97 57 .630 Five NCAA Appearances Three ECAC Championships
The Cannella File
PLAYING CAREER
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Cannella's Coaching Highlights
Cannella's Milestone Wins
Cannella's Coaching Connection |
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