William Smith College

William Smith College Athletics
300 Pulteney St. - Winn-Seeley Gym Geneva, NY 14456

Division 3 New York Northeast

Private Small Developing team

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Coaches

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Anne Phillips

Phillips was named the head coach of the Heron lacrosse team in July of 2015. She is just the third coach to lead the William Smith lacrosse program.

Phillips has guided the Herons to a 77-25 overall record in six seasons at the helm of the lacrosse program. William Smith has won four Liberty League regular season championships, five tournament championships and made five NCAA tournament appearances.Phillips and her assistants have been named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year three times.

Phillips has mentored 26 All-Liberty League selections, 14 All-region selections and seven IWLCA All-Americans, including three first team All-Americans (Allie Flaherty '17 in 2017, Sarah Honan '17 in 2017 and Mekayla Montgomery '21 in 2021). She has also coached one Liberty League Player of the Year (Flaherty in 2017) and three Liberty League Defensive Players of the Year (Honan in 2017 and Mekayla Montgomery in 2019 and 2021).

Phillips' charges have excelled in the classroom as well. She has mentored two of the Herons' three CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (Geneva Calder '16 in 2016 and Sarah Benyo '18 in 2018), 31 IWLCA academic honor roll selections and 72 Liberty League All-Academic picks. The team has been named an IWLCA honor squad five times.

In her first season with the Herons, Phillips led the team to a 12-8 overall record and an 8-1 mark in the Liberty League. William Smith captured its first Liberty League tournament championship since 2004. The Herons earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament topping Roger Williams 13-7 in the first round before falling to Gettysburg 4-2 in the second round.

In 2017, Phillips led the Herons to a program record 20 victories, finishing the year with a 20-2 overall mark. William Smith went a perfect 9-0 in the Liberty League capturing its second straight regular season and tournament titles. The Herons earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Herons set a program record for longest win streak, notching 17 straight victories from March 16 through May 20. William Smith advanced to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. The Herons finished the year ranked No. 5 in the nation in the IWLCA poll. William Smith was ranked second in in Division III in win percentage (.909), and third in scoring defense (4.82) and save percentage (.571). The Herons also set a program record for caused turnovers in a season with 255. Phillips and her staff were named the ECAC North Coaching Staff of the Year. In addition, Phillips coached the IWLCA Senior All-Star game in 2017.

The Herons finished the 2018 season with a 15-5 overall record. William Smith went 9-1 in Liberty League play. The Herons captured their third straight Liberty League regular season and tournament titles. William Smith earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, making its 19th appearance in program history. The Herons advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

In 2019, Phillips guided the Herons to a 17-3 overall record. William Smith was a perfect 10-0 in Liberty League play. The Herons captured their fourth straight Liberty League regular season and tournament titles. William Smith earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, making its 20th appearance in program history. She was named the IWLCA Empire Region Coach of the Year. Phillips earned her 200th career win thanks to a 12-11 victory over Ithaca in the Liberty League Championship.

In 2020, William Smtih was 3-2 when the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, logging wins over Oswego, Nazareth and Dickinson.

The 2021 season saw William Smith capture its fifth consecutive Liberty League tournament title, defeating Ithaca 17-13. The Herons posted a 10-5 overall record with a 6-2 mark in conference play. William Smith advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament knocking off Meredith 19-3 and No. 1 Franklin and Marshall on 13-5 on the Diplomats home field.

Phillips spent seven seasons as the head coach of the Yale lacrosse team before coming to William Smith. Under Phillips, the Bulldogs posted some of the best defensive numbers in the country, ranking 13th in the nation in scoring defense in 2014 and 18th in 2015. Phillips mentored 19 All-Ivy League selections at Yale, including four in each of the past two years. Her teams also earned IWLCA Academic squad honors in 2010, 2011 and 2014.

Prior to Yale, Phillips served as the head coach at Franklin & Marshall for six seasons. She posted a 93-24 record (.795), making her the school's all-time leader in wins. Phillips led the Diplomats to Centennial Conference Championships in 2007 and 2008 and three straight NCAA tournament appearances from 2006-2008. In 2007, she guided the team to an undefeated season that culminated in winning the NCAA Division III National Championship which was hosted by William Smith on McCooey Field. The Diplomats defeated conference rival Gettysburg 13-7 in the national semifinals and then topped Salisbury 11-8 to capture the program's first national title.

In 2007, Phillips was tabbed the IWLCA Division III National Coach of the Year. At F&M, Phillips coached 18 IWLCA All-Americans and six of the Diplomats' top 10 all-time leading scorers. Franklin & Marshall was ranked in the top 10 nationally in each of Phillips' years as coach.

Phillips' career record stands at 213-112.

A native of West Chester, Pa., and a graduate of Franklin & Marshall, Phillips helped found the Diplomat women's lacrosse program. She played on the school's first team in 1977. She scored 99 goals and logged 46 assists in two seasons before her career was cut short due to injury.

Phillips is the chair of the US Lacrosse National and U19 Team Coach Selection Committee. She helped select the U.S. rosters that won the World Cup in 2009 and 2013, serving as the chair of the U.S. Lacrosse National Team Selection Committee from 2008-2013. Phillips has been a member of the National All-American Selection Committee since 2003 and has been a member of the United States Lacrosse Coaches Council since 2006.

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Morgan Ewert

Ewert joined the William Smith lacrosse staff prior to the start of the 2012 season. She will assist with all aspects of the program, with an emphasis on working with the defense and goalies.

In her time at William Smith, Ewert has helped the Herons to a 111-58 overall record. The Herons have won the Liberty League regular season title four times and the tournament title in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, earning five trips to the NCAA tournament in those years, advancing to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals in 2017.

Ewert has mentored 34All-Liberty League selections, 19 all-region selections and nine IWLCA All-Americans.

A Geneva native, Ewert played four years of collegiate lacrosse, primarily as a goalie. She played for two years at Monroe Community College and then transferred to St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, N.C. In her first season at MCC, the team logged a 13-3 record, won the NJCAA regional tournament and advanced to the national semifinals. She earned all-region honors and was selected to the NJCAA regional and national all-tournament teams. In her sophomore season, the Tribunes won the NJCAA regional tournament and advanced to the national championship. For the second straight year, Ewert earned a spot on the regional and national NJCAA all-tournament teams. At St. Andrews, she served as captain in her junior and senior seasons. Ewert earned the Knight's award, a coach's award for outstanding play, and was selected to compete in the IWLCA North-South All-Star game after her senior season.

Ewert's lacrosse experience also includes time as a coach. She served as a volunteer lacrosse coach for her alma mater, Geneva High School, during the summer of 2009. Ewert also spent the summer working as a camp counselor at the Top Shelf Lacrosse Camp in Buffalo, N.Y. She served as a counselor at Hobart and William Smith's Summer Day Camp, supervising and organizing lacrosse activities and working specifically with goalies.

Ewert graduated in May 2011 from St. Andrews with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies focused in business administration, therapeutic horsemanship and Spanish.