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DeSales University

Center Valley, PA 18034
Pennsylvania Northeast
Private Small Developing team
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Samantha Broxterman

Samantha (Ziegler) Broxterman was named the fourth head coach in DeSales University women’s lacrosse history in June, 2023.


Broxterman has an extensive background in coaching prior to her arrival at DeSales that includes seven years at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. as the head girls lacrosse coach where her teams advanced to the ISL A Championship three times in four seasons and won the 2018 ISL A regular season championship as she finished with a 51-35 record in the four years the team had a season around the pandemic.


She also spent five years as the head girls lacrosse coach at Hutchison School in Memphis, TN boasting an 85-7 career record that included an 80-game winning streak from 2011-15. Hutchison was ranked as high as #18 Nationally and won five Tennessee State Championships. Broxterman was named the Best of Preps Coach of the Year three times while at Hutchison and mentored 10 US Lacrosse All-Americans and 25 Academic All-Americans in her time there.


In addition, Broxterman spent one year as a graduate assistant coach at East Stroudsburg in 2009-10 and was an assistant coach at Lafayette College from 2007-09. She also coached club for Stars Lacrosse and No Excuse Girls and has represented Team DC at the Under Armour All America Underclass Tournament and Team Tennessee at the US Lacrosse National School Girls Tournament.


She graduated from Lafayette College in 2006 where she was a four-year starter with the Leopards, serving as team captain in 2006 and was a four-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll member. Broxterman earned her Bachelor of Science in psychology at Lafayette and later earned a Master of Science in Sport Management at East Stroudsburg in 2010.


Broxterman originally hails from Harleysville, PA where she graduated from Souderton HS in 2006. She played field hockey and lacrosse at Souderton winning multiple Suburban One League titles and a District Championship.


Broxterman was married to husband, Andrew, in 2020 and they have one son, Sean.

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Sydney Plunkett

Plunkett joined the women's lacrosse coaching staff in the summer of 2022, serving as the Interim head coach for the 2023 season leading DeSales to a 6-11 overall record. She graduated Cum Laude from Albright College in the spring of 2022 with a bachelor's degree in child and family studies.


While at Albright, Plunkett was a four-year starting defender accumulating 87 ground balls and causing 50 turnovers in her career. She was named Honorable-Mention All-MAC Commonwealth as a junior.


She will be pursuing her Masters of Education in Early Childhood Education while at DeSales.

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Shelby Iezzi

Iezzi joined Coach Broxterman's staff in the Fall of 2023. She is a 2013 graduate of Bloomsburg University and earned her Masters degree in Leadership from Alvernia University.


She arrives at DeSales with 10 years of coaching experience spending time as the goalie director at Dynamite Lacrosse (now known as True Dynamite), as well as six years as a head coach for various teams, and has mentored over a dozen goalies on their journey to playing collegiate lacrosse over the last nine years.


Iezzi was an Assistant Coach at Pope John Paul II for five years helping the Panthers turn around a new program into PAC Playoff appearances in four out of five seasons on the sidelines, going undefeated in 2017 and 2018, winning the Frontier Division Championship.


In 2010, Iezzi led the PSAC with a .548 save percentage and averaged 8.37 saves per game, earning her First Team All-PSAC East honors. While splitting time between the pipes sophomore and junior year then ending her career as a defender, due to a knee injury while in goal, Iezzi picked up 70 ground balls and finished with a .500 save percentage. During her time at Bloomsburg, Iezzi was an integral vocal leader aiding the Huskies to three PSAC Playoff appearances and winning the PSAC Championship in 2012.


She has a daughter Kylie, born in 2019.

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Matthew Brancaccio

Extension 1634


Brancaccio returns for his eighth season and his sixth as the head coach of the Bulldogs after serving as an assistant coach under Mike Schambach for two years before being named the head in 2015.


Brancaccio led the Bulldogs the best season in school history in 2019 when DSU posted a record of 17-2, won its first-ever MAC Freedom Championship, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in team history. DeSales started the season with a school-record 15-game winning streak and set numerous team records.


In five seasons at the helm, Brancaccio now owns a 40-37 (.519) record. He has guided DSU to the MAC Freedom postseason three times, been named the MAC Freedom Coach of the Year twice (2016, 2019), and is DSU’s all-time leader in wins (40) and the only coach in team history with a winning percentage over .500.


Prior to DeSales, Brancaccio served as the head coach of Dominican College in 2011 leading the Chargers to a 2-13 overall record.


Brancaccio graduated from DeSales in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in sport & exercise science. He is one of the most decorated players in DeSales men’s lacrosse history as the all-time leader in assists with 107 and also ranking sixth all-time in goals scored (80), second all-time in points (187), second all-time in games played (63), and 11th in ground balls (152).


Brancaccio led the Bulldogs to their first and only conference playoff appearance his senior year, knocking off Messiah College in the final game of the regular season to earn a playoff spot, losing to Elizabethtown College in the opening round in 2009.


He was named to All-MAC Second-Team as both a junior and a senior.

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