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Erica Bamford
Former US National Team member Erica Bamford (née LaGrow) was announced as Yale’s Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women’s Lacrosse on July 1, 2015. She has led Yale to back-to-back appearances in the Ivy League Tournament championship game. The Bulldogs were ranked as high as No. 13 in the national poll in 2023.
In 2022 Bamford led Yale to a memorable season. The Bulldogs' win total (11) was their best since 2008. That included a five-game winning streak, the team's longest within a season since 2014. They tied the school record for Ivy League wins in a season (six) and earned a spot in the Ivy League Tournament for the first time. They went on to beat Cornell for their first Ivy League Tournament win.
The season featured several milestone victories, including the team's first win vs. Penn since 2004, the team's first win at Cornell since 2004 and the team's first win vs. Dartmouth since 2015. The Bulldogs earned a national ranking and set the school records for goals (211, breaking the record of 205 set in 2017) and draw controls (248, breaking the record of 243 set in 2019). The team's second-place finish in the Ivy League represented their best finish in the standings since 2007.
The early part of Bamford's tenure in New Haven saw the Bulldogs make a number of strides. In her first season they were in contention for a spot in the Ivy League Tournament until the final game, and they saw year-to-year improvements in their shooting percentage, free position shooting percentage, draw controls, clears and save percentage. In her second season, 2017, the team broke the school records for goals in a season, points in a season and draw controls in a season. Yale also beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2010. In 2018 the Bulldogs beat a pair of ranked opponents and had the second-most draw controls in program history (230). The 2020 team was off to a 4-2 start before the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancelation of the season.
In Bamford's time in New Haven, Yale has had five All-Region honorees, two All-ECAC honorees, 25 All-Ivy League selections and one finalist for the Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award.
The Bulldogs have excelled in the classroom, earning the IWLCA Academic Merit Squad honor for the top GPA in the country in 2018 and 2019 while also earning IWLCA Academic Honor Squad recognition in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Prior to joining the Bulldogs, Bamford spent seven years as an assistant coach at Florida. She helped the Gators make five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, win five regular season conference championships and win three conference tournament championships. She also has a gold medal from the Women’s World Cup during her time playing with the National Team.
At Florida Bamford worked under former Yale head coach Amanda O’Leary, a US Lacrosse Hall of Fame member who has earned a pair of national coach of the year honors. Bamford was the Gators’ offensive coordinator and helped the team lead the nation in goals with 326 in her final season -- the fourth straight season the Gators scored at least 310 goals and finished in the top five nationally in scoring offense.
Bamford graduated with honors from North Carolina in 2008, earning a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science. She was a part of four straight NCAA quarterfinal appearances for the Tar Heels. In her senior season she scored 24 goals, was named second team All-South Region for the second time and was named first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference. A four-year starter at midfield, she was on the conference honor roll every year. She also earned All-ACC Academic honors twice, and received the University of North Carolina Athletics Director’s Scholar-Athlete Award for excellence in academics and athletics.
In addition to her standout collegiate career, Bamford was also a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team from 2007-2012. In the summer of 2009, she helped the U.S. win gold at the Federation of International Lacrosse Women’s World Cup in Prague. Additionally, she was a member of the touring team that captured the 2008 Prague Cup.
Bamford remains active in the game at the national level. She serves as a selector for the U.S. Women's National Team and also coaches and selects for the National Team Development Program.
Bamford is a native of Skaneateles, N.Y., and attended Christian Brothers Academy. Since 2004 she has been coaching at various levels, including four summers as a volunteer coach at the Star-Riders Lacrosse Club in Central New York. She also provided a five day multi-sport camp for school age children in rural Honduras in 2010, and has been an active member of the Big Brother Big Sister program since 2005. In 2022 she was inducted into the Upstate Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
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