University of Virginia

University of Virginia Athletics Admin
McCue Center - PO Box 400846 Charlottesville, VA 22904

Division 1 Virginia Northeast

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Sonia LaMonica

LaMonica takes over UVA’s storied program for the 2023-24 season after serving as the head women’s lacrosse coach at Towson for the last 14 seasons. At Towson, she amassed a 139-91 record and owns a 147-101 all-time coaching record after starting her head coaching career at Mount St. Mary’s for one season.

During her tenure at Towson, LaMonica led the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and four Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament Championships. She has been named the CAA Coach of the Year five times.

Towson finished first or second in the CAA in 10 of her 14 seasons at the helm and made nine CAA tournament championship game appearances, including six-straight. LaMonica has coached six players to All-America honors and has had numerous All-CAA and All-Region honorees.

LaMonica consistently challenged her teams with tough schedules against top-ranked opponents. Towson finished .500 or better in 12 of the 14 seasons she oversaw the program, with one of the two being cut short due to the pandemic.

A native of Darlington, South Australia, LaMonica (pronounced La – MAHN – ick – uh) was named the 10th head coach in the history of the Towson women’s lacrosse program after the 2010 season. She returned to lead the Tigers after a one-year stint as the head coach at Mount St. Mary’s.

As the Mountaineers’ head coach, LaMonica led Mount St. Mary’s to an 8-9 record in 2010 and a berth in the Northeast Conference (NEC) semifinals. She coached five players who earned All-NEC honors.

Prior to becoming the Mountaineers’ head coach, LaMonica spent two seasons as a member of Missy Doherty’s staff at Towson and helped the Tigers win a pair of Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championships.

Before joining the Tigers’ staff, LaMonica was an assistant coach at the University of Denver, helping the Pioneers to a 15-5 record during the 2006 season. She coached the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Player and Rookie of the Year along with three all-conference selections and the program’s first IWLCA All-West/Midwest region honoree.

LaMonica is also the head coach of the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League’s (WPLL) Baltimore Brave. LaMonica led the Brave to the league championship in 2019 and guided the team to the title game in the inaugural season a year earlier.

In addition to her success as a coach, LaMonica is a member of the Australian National Team. She helped Australia win the gold medal at the 2005 World Cup Championship and a silver medal at the 2009 World Cup Championship. In the summer of 2013, LaMonica played a key role in helping Australia earn a bronze medal at the World Cup Championship in Canada.

Named to the 2005 IFWLA All-World Team, she was also a member of the U-19 Australian National Team that won the silver medal at the 1999 World Championships and was also the recipient of the U21 South Australian Sportswoman of the Year award.

A 2003 graduate of Maryland, LaMonica was a three-year starter for the Terrapins. She earned first team All-America honors and was a candidate for the Tewaaraton Trophy during her senior season after leading Maryland to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship. A team captain during her senior season, she was a member of three ACC championship teams and helped the Terrapins win the 2000 and 2001 NCAA titles.

LaMonica scored 111 goals in her college career, including 49 goals as a senior, along with 55 assists.

Formerly Sonia Judd, LaMonica is married to former Maryland men’s lacrosse standout Michael LaMonica. The couple resides in Parkton, Md., with their sons, Luca and Bodhi and daughter, Marley.

Michael LaMonica, a member of the Towson coaching staff, will join Sonia as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers.

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Michael LaMonica

LaMonica joins Virginia for the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach after spending 13 seasons at Towson as an assistant coach.

In 2022, LaMonica helped lead the team in one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, featuring nine teams mentioned in the ILWomen/IWLCA poll at some point over the season. In CAA play, the team dominated, going 5-1 to clinch the No. 1 seed in the 2022 CAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.

Among several career and season bests, LaMonica guided offensive threats Blair Pearre and Kaitlin Thornton as they scored 100 goals to move up on the program’s top 20 all-time scoring list. He also led Blair Pearre (first team All-CAA), Kerri Thornton (first team All-CAA), Milana Zizakovic (second team All-CAA/CAA All-Rookie), Halley Koras (CAA All-Rookie) to conference postseason praise.

In 2021, LaMonica helped converted transfer Nikki Sliwak to attack. The graduate student responded by finishing second on the team in scoring with 55 points (31g, 24a). She scored a career-high five goals against William & Mary, handed out a career-best four assists two times and was the only player to have a point in all 18 games.

During his Towson tenure, LaMonica has coached four First-Team Colonial Athletic Association attackers: Andi Raymond (2012-204), Ashleigh Rohrback (2013-14), Natalie Sulmonte (2017-19) and Emily Gillingham (2018). Carly Tellekamp scored 100 goals over a two-year period (2017-18). Sam Brookhart set the single-season assist mark with 55 helpers in 2017 and sits atop the all-time assist list with 97 helpers, six more than Rohrback.

The 2018 season saw a 16-5 record as LaMonica helped lead the Tigers to victory over No. 4 Penn State, No. 6 Florida and No. 25 Johns Hopkins. Towson fell to James Madison in overtime in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship and went on to play two rounds in the NCAA Tournament with his guidance.

LaMonica’s fifth season with the Tigers full-time was highlighted by No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 19 Elon as well as a first-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

In the first four years spent as an assistant, LaMonica helped guide an offense that averaged 9.5 goals per game while capturing three CAA titles and making three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a second round game against Penn in 20116.

LaMonica was a four-year starter at midfield for the University of Maryland from 1999 to 2002. He earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors as a junior and finished his career with 68 goals and 14 assists. LaMonica also had 90 career ground balls and five game winning goals.

LaMonica continued his lacrosse career after graduating from Maryland. He was a member of Major League Lacrosse for two seasons, playing for the New Jersey Pride, Denver Outlaws and San Francisco Dragons.

LaMonica also has international experience as he helped the United States Under-19 National Team win a world championship in Australia during the summer of 1999. He finished the seven-game tournament with five goals and five assists. LaMonica served as an assistant coach at the Women’s World Cup in Canada during the summer of 2013. He helped his wife, Sonia, and team Australia earn a bronze medal at the event.

LaMonica brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Tigers. He served as the offensive coordinator at Calvert Hall College High School immediately after graduating from Maryland. He was also a volunteer assistant for the Mount St. Mary’s women’s lacrosse team in 2010 and a coach for the LXM Pro Tour Baltimore in 2011.

LaMonica is the older brother of former Tiger women’s lacrosse player Jackie LaMonica and the son of former Towson gymnastics assistant coach Lynda Filbert.

He is married to the current Cavalier women’s lacrosse coach, Sonia LaMonica, and the couple has a pair of young sons, Luca and Bodhi and a daughter, Marley.

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Kerrigan Miller

Kerrigan Miller joined Sonia LaMonica’s staff as an assistant coach for Virginia women’s lacrosse in July 2023.

Miller spent the 2023 season with LaMonica as an assistant coach at Towson, helping the Tigers to an 11-7 season. Prior to joining LaMonica’s staff at Towson she was a graduate assistant and director of operations for the undefeated national champion North Carolina Tar Heels in 2022. During that run, she helped guide UNC to a 22-0 record with a 66.6 percent draw control win rate.

A former No. 1 recruit in the nation from Bayport-Blue Point High School in Bayport, N.Y., and two-time Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year, Miller spent the 2021 season leading UNC to Championship Weekend in Towson. Starting all 21 games in the UNC midfield, Miller notched 21 goals and 41 draw controls, helping the team to a 20-1 record.

Currently, Miller is playing professionally in Athletes Unlimited and has been a member of the USA Women’s Senior National Training Team the past two years.

Previous to UNC, Miller was the top recruit in the nation in the high school class of 2016, heading to USC. There she earned 2018 and 2019 Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year, 2019 Pac-12 Tournament MVP and 2017 MPSF Freshman of the Year, twice being named an All-American. Leading USC to the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament and regular-season title, Miller tallied 104 goals, 120 caused turnovers, 158 grounds balls and 157 draw controls in her career for the Women of Troy.

Miller earned her undergraduate degree at USC in 2020 with a bachelor of arts in communications, minoring in sports media industries. She earned her master’s degree in sport administration from North Carolina in 2022.

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Caylee Waters

Caylee Waters joined the Virginia women’s lacrosse staff as an assistant coach in July of 2023.

Waters is currently a US National Team member and competes professionally with Athletes Unlimited. She is a two-time National Goalie of the Year and was part of the 2016 National Championship team with North Carolina. Waters also split time in goal during Team USA’s gold medal run to win the 2022 World Cup.

Waters joins LaMonica’s staff after serving as a volunteer assistant coach for Army West Point, where she helped lead the team to its first NCAA Tournament berth in program history. Prior to that, she served as a volunteer assistant coach for one year at her alma-mater UNC. That season the Tar Heels won their third NCAA Championship in program history. Waters started her coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at Stanford during the 2018 season. That season the Cardinal posted a 15-5 record and won the Pac-12.

A Darien, Conn., native, Waters was a two-time All-American and four-time All-ACC selection. She still owns the single season record in saves (177). She finished her career with 462 saves and a 49-9 record in goal for the Tar Heels.

Waters graduated from North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in media and journalism in 2017.