Presbyterian College

Presbyterian College Athletics
105 Ashland Ave Clinton, SC 29325

Division 1 South Carolina Southeast

Private Very Small National competitor

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Coaches

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Eric Clakeley

Eric Clakeley recently concluded his fourth season as the head women's lacrosse coach at Presbyterian College in the spring of 2023. He was announced as the sixth head coach in program history in August of 2019.

Over his time in Clinton, Clakeley has overseen a pair of All-Big South postseason honorees, nine weekly award-winners, and is currently directing the program's highest point-getter in Blue Hose history (Abby Edmisten, 160 points).

Clakeley's 2023 squad assembled its best Big South progression in program history, beginning the league slate with a 3-1 mark against conference opponents and a combined scoring sequence of 41 goals in those contests. PC found six overall victories on the year, the most since the university made the jump to the Division I level in 2008.

Senior defender Kendall Goldfarb was selected as the 2023 Big South Scholar Athlete of the Year and was additionally selected as the conference's recipient of the prestigious George A. Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence (an award given to one male and female student-athlete league-wide for each sport).

In the 2022 season, junior Abby Edmisten led the Blue Hose with 38 goals including 19 free position goals to pace the offensive attack throughout 2022. Edmisten set the program’s DI record with 41 free position goals in her career. Senior Heidi Shafer became the fourth player in DI history with 300+ saves in her career.

Presbyterian improved its win total for the second straight season in 2021, including a 12-11 win at Longwood, its first Big South road win since 2017. Sophomore Abby Edmisten earned a Big South Offensive Player of the Week award and finished second in the league in goals/game (3.42) and third in points/game (4.08) on her way to being selected to the All-Big South Second Team. Edmisten's season included tying the program's single-game record for both goals (9) and points (10) in a win at Lander. The sophomore finished the season with 41 goals, second-most in a season in Blue Hose history.

The 2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19, but not before the team showed an improvement over previous seasons. The Blue Hose picked up an early win against Howard at home before improving to 2-1 on the season with an exciting 10-9 overtime win against Akron. Sarah Marshall and Abby Edmisten both picked up weekly honors from the Big South, while players like Kara DiClemente were in the middle of breakout seasons with collegiate-best totals in various statistical categories.

Clakeley came to PC from Lafayette College where he served two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the women’s lacrosse team. In his time with the Leopards, the team ranked highly within the Patriot League in save percentage and saves per game. In his first spring, he lowered the team’s goals against average by half a goal. The program also had the most players receive Patriot League All-Academic honors as well as receive All-Academic Team honors from the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association.

Prior to his time at Lafayette, he spent one season as an assistant coach for women’s lacrosse and field hockey teams at Lindenwood University-Belleville. While with the Lynxs, Clakeley worked on both sides of the ball.

Clakeley got his start at the high school level in 2012. In one season as defensive coordinator with University High School’s boy’s lacrosse, the team led the state in every defensive statistical category. He then accepted a job with Seneca Valley High School, where he spent four seasons as an assistant coach. The team advanced into Pennsylvania’s Class 6A district playoffs on three occasions during his tenure. While there, he also assisted the Athletic Director in day-to-day operations and spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the varsity football team.

He served as a men’s lacrosse official for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association from 2009-2016 in which he completed over 200 game assignments and was selected to officiate the 2015 and 2016 WPIAL Playoffs.

Clakeley graduated from Penn State in 2016 with a degree in business and from Lindenwood in 2018 with a master’s in business administration. Alongside his wife, Nicole, he has two daughters - Marion and Eliza.

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Lauren Chong

Lauren Chong was hired as assistant coach to the Blue Hose on August 20, 2024. The newest addition to head coach Eric Clakeley's staff for the 2024-25 academic year, Chong joins the PC family after spending the past three seasons at Lander.

Chong arrives at PC after a very accomplished playing career at nearby Division II institution Limestone in Gaffney, which led to a three-year coaching appointment at Lander. She was elevated from assistant to associate over her final year with the Bearcats in 2024.

“We could not be more excited to have Lauren join our program”, commented Clakeley who just completed his fifth season at PC. “She brings a wealth of experience to the role, and will have a massive impact from day one.”

“Lauren’s primary responsibilities will be coordinating the offense and specialty units. We are ready for a refresh on that side of the ball and throughout the search process it was clear that she was the individual to lead that initiative.”

COACHING CAREER AT LANDER (2022-24)

Chong comes to Presbyterian after a productive three-year stint at Lander where she supervised 29 victories (10 of which were Gulf South Conference wins). Following her promotion to the “associate” title, the Bearcats posted a .528 shooting percentage which ranked third in all of Division II.

Lander earned 18 All-Conference selections, three All-Region members, and seven All-Tournament players during Chong’s time there. She coached 23 GSC Players of the Week and, in 2022, the Gulf South Freshman of the Year (Autumn Huskey).

Her debut year on the sidelines (2022) came with a seven-win turnaround from Lander’s previous season. Winning their first four matches as well as their last three, the Bearcats were chosen as the GSC Coaching Staff of the Year in recognition of the program’s swift improvement.

Chong’s second season as a coach (2023) entailed 11 wins for Lander, avenging the prior year’s GSC Tournament defeat to Alabama-Huntsville by downing the Chargers 15-13 in the Semifinals.

After appearing in the league championship game and narrowly falling to Flagler (16-12), the Bearcats authored eight more wins with Chong as an associate this past spring. Lander put together the highest percentage of draws in the entire conference, with Chong also serving as Recruiting Coordinator.

Lauren also held the title of Academic Success Coordinator while at Lander, monitoring classroom performance of over 30+ student-athletes and overseeing a team that earned a collective 3.62 GPA for the 2023-24 calendar.

PLAYING CAREER AT LIMESTONE (2017-21)

A native of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Lauren enrolled at Limestone where she was an important piece to one of the most consistent lacrosse programs at the D-II stage. Over five seasons, she competed in 81 of a possible 83 matches and recorded 86 total points (71 goals, 15 assists).

The Saints compiled an overall record of 70-13 during Chong’s tenure, including an otherworldly conference trek of 41-1. As a player, Lauren never lost a single league outing while Limestone was in Conference Carolinas (33-0), winning 40 consecutive conference bouts which included a switch to the SAC.

Her squads captured three straight Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships, embarking on four separate streaks of at least eight wins in a row and being part of a team that accomplished at least 15 goals in 61 contests.

On 27 occasions, Chong’s Saints registered a minimum of 20 scores. From 2017-19, Limestone’s combined record stood at a remarkable 52-8.

Lauren was selected for Academic All-Conference recognition twice during her playing spell, named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll in 2019 and 2021.

FRESHMAN YEAR (2017)

Lauren’s college career started off very strong by winning 17 of her first 20 matches and producing 14 goals along the way. Her breaking-out party came in a 16-6 victory over Millersville, scoring four times as one of three multi-goal efforts that year.

The Saints knocked off Mount Olive in the CC Tournament Finals by a 16-5 difference in the last clash of the campaign. Chong dished out a first-period assist to get the team’s scoring underway, going on to crack the final goal of the year with 3:50 remaining.

SOPHOMORE YEAR (2018)

Limestone’s fortunes continued in Lauren’s second go-around, which featured a 17-3 overall record for the second straight spring and an improvement to 19-0 in CC games over her first two seasons.

Aided by Chong’s nine goals, the Saints qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning 10 matches in a row and their second league tournament crown. They’d handily defeat Belmont Abbey 18-8 for the conference trophy, ultimately seeing the season end at the hands of Florida Tech in the Southeast Regionals (13-11).

JUNIOR YEAR (2019)

Statistically the team’s best season – evidenced by an 18-2 mark and an 11-match winning streak near the close of the spring – Limestone pulled off a three-peat of Conference Carolinas Tournament titles by besting Mount Olive once more, 12-9.

Chong played every bout of her junior stint, going for a career-high 24 points (18 goals, six assists). As LU heated up near the end of the year, so too did Chong as she guided in nine goals over the final five features and offered up six multi-goal performances.

COVID-SHORTENED SENIOR YEAR (2020)

Prior to the season’s pandemic-related disruption, Limestone had ventured to a 6-2 mark and remained unbeaten in league affairs. Lauren roasted North Greenville and Converse with six combined goals (three each) in back-to-back wins, ending the abbreviated season with 11 strikes and two helpers.

FIFTH & FINAL YEAR (2021)

Moving to the SAC for Chong’s last chapter on the field, Limestone made their second Southeast Regional trip in a span of four full seasons, just missing out on the league tournament championship against Queens and finishing with a 12-3 record.

Lauren’s final campaign was one to remember, publishing a career-best 19 goals and tying her personal-high with four connections in a 21-6 W over Newberry.

Her final victory as a player came in the Regional Semifinals opposite Mount Olive once again, where she secured the game-tying goal with 4:31 left in regulation, a shot that ultimately sent the match into overtime.

Limestone emerged with the win by a 9-8 clip, the 70th time in Chong’s career that her side came out on top.