Men's Lacrosse
Scudder, Will
Will Scudder
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- wss211@lehigh.edu
Former associate head coach Will Scudder '11 was named the Head Lacrosse Coach on June 19, 2023. Scudder will enter his 11th year on staff in 2023-24.Â
He spent five years as an associate head coach and seven years as the defensive coordinator. Scudder was named defensive coordinator prior to the 2016 season and associate head coach following the 2018 season. Scudder was a former team captain and All-Patriot League honoree as a Mountain Hawk.
Scudder has helped Lehigh jump back into the national spotlight, making three consecutive Patriot League Championship games in 2018, 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Lehigh is the only men’s lacrosse program in the Patriot League to each of the last 10 Patriot League Tournaments.
Entering 2022, the Mountain Hawks are ranked in the national polls for a fourth straight season. This comes after a 2021 campaign which saw Lehigh rise as high as No. 5 in the rankings. The Mountain Hawks began the season 9-0, with wins over No. 10 Loyola, No. 7 Army West Point and No. 19 Navy. Lehigh was the second-to-last team in the nation to lose a game in 2021. The Mountain Hawks finished 8-0 in the Patriot League (regular season) before beating Colgate in the semifinals. The championship game was cancelled due to a positive COVID-19 test in Loyola’s tier 1 testing pool, but Lehigh earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament – the second time in three all-time NCAA berths that the Mountain Hawks were seeded.
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Individually, faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger was a first team All-American, finishing the season with an all-time NCAA record win percentage of 79.5 (225-of-283) with a program and Patriot League record 160 groundballs (in 12 games). Sisselberger was named the league’s Faceoff Specialist of the Year, becoming Lehigh’s second straight winner of that award (along with teammate Conor Gaffney). Goaltender James Spence and defenseman Anthony Tangredi were also named honorable mention All-Americans by various organizations. Teddy Leggett was named a Senior CLASS Award first team All-American while Gaffney was named an Academic All-American for a fourth time. Seven Mountain Hawks received All-League honors, the most honorees since 2013. Defensively, Lehigh finished second nationally in groundballs per game (41.92) and 18th in scoring defense (10.17).
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Lehigh was off to a 5-1 start in 2020 (2-0 in Patriot League play) when the season was cut short. The Mountain Hawks’ defense was allowing just 9.67 goals per contest (14th). Lehigh was second in groundballs per game (42.33) and eighth in faceoff win percentage (63.8). The Mountain Hawks were ranked 19th in the final Maverick Media Poll. Tangredi was named an honorable mention Media All-American after finishing the shortened season second nationally in caused turnovers per contest (2.67). Gaffney was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American for a third straight year (being named to the second team).
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Scudder helped lead a defense that finished sixth nationally in 2019, allowing just 9.47 goals per game. Lehigh’s man-down defense was also sixth in the nation (24.2). The Mountain Hawks allowed single-digit goals in nine games, helping the team post a 9-8 record, 5-3 in Patriot League play and earn a No. 2 seed in the league tournament. Scudder helped guide Lehigh to a 6-0 March, including three wins over nationally-ranked opponents in the span of 11 days - topping No. 16 Colgate (10-8), No. 17 Army West Point (11-8) and No. 15 Rutgers (13-10).
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Scudder helped coach Gaffney, the Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year, who was also named Scholar-Athlete of the Year (for a second straight season) and an Academic All-American (also for a second straight year). Gaffney broke a number of school and league records, including faceoff wins (249) and groundballs (152). His 69.7 faceoff percentage was good for fourth nationally. Gaffney was one of six Mountain Hawks named All-Patriot League for a second straight season, which included fellow first team honoree, defenseman Craig Chick. Chick continued to re-write the record books, literally, breaking the school record for caused turnovers for a third consecutive season with 42. Most notably, he ended his career with an NCAA career record 160 caused turnovers, becoming the all-time leader in the championship game vs. Army. After the season, Chick was named a second team All-American by both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse/Media, Lehigh’s highest USILA All-American in 93 years, since Hugh Robinson was named to the second team in 1926.
In 2018, the Mountain Hawks, were ranked as high as 12th nationally and defeated three nationally-ranked teams – beginning with road wins at No. 12 Army West Point and No. 18/19 Hofstra in the span of 10 days. The Mountain Hawks went on to finish the season 10-7, including 5-3 in Patriot League play. Earning the No. 4 seed in the league tournament, Lehigh dominated Colgate at home (11-6) then picked up a 10-9 overtime win against No. 11/13 Navy, just days after the Midshipmen won at Syracuse. Lucas Spence scored the game-winner less than one minute into overtime as Spence (58 points: 35 goals, 23 assists) and Andrew Pettit (66 points: 46 goals, 20 assists) combined for 124 points in 2018.
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Pettit, Chick and Gaffney were named first team All-Patriot League while Spence, defenseman Eddie Bouhall and long-stick midfielder Teddy Leggett earned second-team laurels. Leggett ended the year with 61 groundballs, becoming just the third non-faceoff specialist to reach 50 GBs in Kevin Cassese’s 11-year tenure as Lehigh head coach, the others being Casey Eidenshink and Chick. Leggett also won the Lehigh Athletics’ J. Daniel Nolan Award presented to the department’s top first-year male student-athlete. Gaffney was named the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year while garnering third team Academic All-America recognition by CoSIDA. A former faceoff specialist himself, Scudder worked extensively with Gaffney, who led the Patriot League in faceoff percentage (59.4), while shattering the school record for faceoff wins (212) – which is also good for second in league history.
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Scudder oversaw a defense that entered April eighth nationally in allowing just 8.30 goals per game. The Mountain Hawks went on to allow just six goals in the quarterfinals to Colgate and nine in the semifinals vs. Navy. Lehigh’s defense was led by Chick, who continued to re-write the record books, breaking his previous school record for caused turnovers with 41. He ended the year with 118 in his career, which is already a school and Patriot League record, and top 10 in NCAA history (with Chick’s senior year left to play). After the season, Chick was named a second team Inside Lacrosse All-American while garnering honorable mention All-America from the USILA.
In his first year on the Lehigh staff, Scudder helped coach a strong tandem at faceoff in 2014 that won 54 percent of its draws; Ryan Buttenbaum won 55 percent and Casey McAdam won 52 percent at the X. McAdam was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week after winning 17-of-23 faceoffs against Monmouth then 15-of-20 vs. Holy Cross.
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As a team, Lehigh advanced to its third straight Patriot League Championship Game in 2014, finishing the season 13-5 and within just one win of tying the school record set two years prior. The defense allowed just 7.22 goals per game, good for second in the nation and just 0.01 behind the nation’s leader.
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In 2015, a pair of Mountain Hawks split time at faceoff, both impressing down the stretch. Freshman Matt Ernst showed flashes of greatness, which included a four-game stretch (at Monmouth, Holy Cross, Colgate and vs. Princeton), which saw him win 58 percent of his draws (49-of-85). McAdam ended his season on a high note, winning 14-of-21 faceoffs in the Patriot League Quarterfinals at Bucknell.
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The Mountain Hawks struggled to begin 2015, but bounced back in a big way. Lehigh defeated a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in a five-day span, earning wins over No. 14 Princeton and at Wilson’s alma mater and No. 18 Stony Brook. The Mountain Hawks defeated Lafayette in their regular season finale, their fifth win in six games, to reach their fifth straight Patriot League Tournament.
Lehigh advanced to its sixth straight league tournament in 2016, finishing 4-4 in Patriot League play. The Mountain Hawks' defense had plenty of highlight moments. Just a freshman, Chick led the nation in caused turnovers with 37 while senior Tripp Telesco finished tied for ninth with 90. Lehigh allowed just four goals to NJIT, six to Lafayette and seven in a dramatic win at No. 20 Boston University, which essentially clinched the Mountain Hawks' berth into the league tournament.
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Scudder helped lead Lehigh to its seventh straight league tournament berth in 2017. As a team, the Mountain Hawks allowed just six goals in a home win over No. 16/18 Boston University. In the next home game, Lehigh allowed just 10 in a win over No. 13/14 Princeton, holding the nation’s No. 3 ranked offense to its second lowest total of the season which was five goals less than its season average entering the game. Individually, Chick continued his stellar play, setting a school record with 40 caused turnovers. He and classmate Bouhall combined for 100 groundballs and 60 caused turnovers on the season, both earning All-Patriot League honors. Chick was named to the first team and garnered Inside Lacrosse honorable mention All-America recognition.
Scudder played in 51 games over his career in the Brown and White, highlighted by his junior campaign when he won 56 percent of his faceoffs (140-of-251) to earn Second Team All-Patriot League honors. This came after a sophomore season which saw him win 56 percent (152-of-273) with 69 groundballs. Scudder played a key role in the rise of the Mountain Hawks’ program, advancing to the league tournament as a senior in 2011 and helping set the stage for the two straight Patriot League Championships that followed in 2012 and 2013.
Scudder ended his collegiate career by winning 331-of-612 faceoffs (54.1 percent) with 156 groundballs. He also added three goals and four assists. Scudder played in the prestigious North-South Senior All-Star Game following his senior campaign.
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Upon graduation, Scudder worked with A.G. Administrators, Inc. in the sports insurance industry from Summer 2011 until Spring 2013, while also serving as an assistant lacrosse coach at Great Valley High School in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013. While at Great Valley, he helped lead the school to its first league title, coached six First Team All-Chesmont players, two members of the All-State team and one ALL American. He then moved onto Fever Lacrosse Inc. in Haverford, Pa. where he served and continues to serve as Director of Operations, in charge of managing tournaments, camps, clinics, and the 14 club teams within the Fever Program.
Coach Scudder resides in Historic Bethlehem with his wife Megan (a former Lehigh graduate '10 and women's lacrosse player), and son William Sullivan Scudder III.
He spent five years as an associate head coach and seven years as the defensive coordinator. Scudder was named defensive coordinator prior to the 2016 season and associate head coach following the 2018 season. Scudder was a former team captain and All-Patriot League honoree as a Mountain Hawk.
Scudder has helped Lehigh jump back into the national spotlight, making three consecutive Patriot League Championship games in 2018, 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Lehigh is the only men’s lacrosse program in the Patriot League to each of the last 10 Patriot League Tournaments.
Entering 2022, the Mountain Hawks are ranked in the national polls for a fourth straight season. This comes after a 2021 campaign which saw Lehigh rise as high as No. 5 in the rankings. The Mountain Hawks began the season 9-0, with wins over No. 10 Loyola, No. 7 Army West Point and No. 19 Navy. Lehigh was the second-to-last team in the nation to lose a game in 2021. The Mountain Hawks finished 8-0 in the Patriot League (regular season) before beating Colgate in the semifinals. The championship game was cancelled due to a positive COVID-19 test in Loyola’s tier 1 testing pool, but Lehigh earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament – the second time in three all-time NCAA berths that the Mountain Hawks were seeded.
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Individually, faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger was a first team All-American, finishing the season with an all-time NCAA record win percentage of 79.5 (225-of-283) with a program and Patriot League record 160 groundballs (in 12 games). Sisselberger was named the league’s Faceoff Specialist of the Year, becoming Lehigh’s second straight winner of that award (along with teammate Conor Gaffney). Goaltender James Spence and defenseman Anthony Tangredi were also named honorable mention All-Americans by various organizations. Teddy Leggett was named a Senior CLASS Award first team All-American while Gaffney was named an Academic All-American for a fourth time. Seven Mountain Hawks received All-League honors, the most honorees since 2013. Defensively, Lehigh finished second nationally in groundballs per game (41.92) and 18th in scoring defense (10.17).
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Lehigh was off to a 5-1 start in 2020 (2-0 in Patriot League play) when the season was cut short. The Mountain Hawks’ defense was allowing just 9.67 goals per contest (14th). Lehigh was second in groundballs per game (42.33) and eighth in faceoff win percentage (63.8). The Mountain Hawks were ranked 19th in the final Maverick Media Poll. Tangredi was named an honorable mention Media All-American after finishing the shortened season second nationally in caused turnovers per contest (2.67). Gaffney was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American for a third straight year (being named to the second team).
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Scudder helped lead a defense that finished sixth nationally in 2019, allowing just 9.47 goals per game. Lehigh’s man-down defense was also sixth in the nation (24.2). The Mountain Hawks allowed single-digit goals in nine games, helping the team post a 9-8 record, 5-3 in Patriot League play and earn a No. 2 seed in the league tournament. Scudder helped guide Lehigh to a 6-0 March, including three wins over nationally-ranked opponents in the span of 11 days - topping No. 16 Colgate (10-8), No. 17 Army West Point (11-8) and No. 15 Rutgers (13-10).
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Scudder helped coach Gaffney, the Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year, who was also named Scholar-Athlete of the Year (for a second straight season) and an Academic All-American (also for a second straight year). Gaffney broke a number of school and league records, including faceoff wins (249) and groundballs (152). His 69.7 faceoff percentage was good for fourth nationally. Gaffney was one of six Mountain Hawks named All-Patriot League for a second straight season, which included fellow first team honoree, defenseman Craig Chick. Chick continued to re-write the record books, literally, breaking the school record for caused turnovers for a third consecutive season with 42. Most notably, he ended his career with an NCAA career record 160 caused turnovers, becoming the all-time leader in the championship game vs. Army. After the season, Chick was named a second team All-American by both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse/Media, Lehigh’s highest USILA All-American in 93 years, since Hugh Robinson was named to the second team in 1926.
In 2018, the Mountain Hawks, were ranked as high as 12th nationally and defeated three nationally-ranked teams – beginning with road wins at No. 12 Army West Point and No. 18/19 Hofstra in the span of 10 days. The Mountain Hawks went on to finish the season 10-7, including 5-3 in Patriot League play. Earning the No. 4 seed in the league tournament, Lehigh dominated Colgate at home (11-6) then picked up a 10-9 overtime win against No. 11/13 Navy, just days after the Midshipmen won at Syracuse. Lucas Spence scored the game-winner less than one minute into overtime as Spence (58 points: 35 goals, 23 assists) and Andrew Pettit (66 points: 46 goals, 20 assists) combined for 124 points in 2018.
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Pettit, Chick and Gaffney were named first team All-Patriot League while Spence, defenseman Eddie Bouhall and long-stick midfielder Teddy Leggett earned second-team laurels. Leggett ended the year with 61 groundballs, becoming just the third non-faceoff specialist to reach 50 GBs in Kevin Cassese’s 11-year tenure as Lehigh head coach, the others being Casey Eidenshink and Chick. Leggett also won the Lehigh Athletics’ J. Daniel Nolan Award presented to the department’s top first-year male student-athlete. Gaffney was named the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year while garnering third team Academic All-America recognition by CoSIDA. A former faceoff specialist himself, Scudder worked extensively with Gaffney, who led the Patriot League in faceoff percentage (59.4), while shattering the school record for faceoff wins (212) – which is also good for second in league history.
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Scudder oversaw a defense that entered April eighth nationally in allowing just 8.30 goals per game. The Mountain Hawks went on to allow just six goals in the quarterfinals to Colgate and nine in the semifinals vs. Navy. Lehigh’s defense was led by Chick, who continued to re-write the record books, breaking his previous school record for caused turnovers with 41. He ended the year with 118 in his career, which is already a school and Patriot League record, and top 10 in NCAA history (with Chick’s senior year left to play). After the season, Chick was named a second team Inside Lacrosse All-American while garnering honorable mention All-America from the USILA.
In his first year on the Lehigh staff, Scudder helped coach a strong tandem at faceoff in 2014 that won 54 percent of its draws; Ryan Buttenbaum won 55 percent and Casey McAdam won 52 percent at the X. McAdam was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week after winning 17-of-23 faceoffs against Monmouth then 15-of-20 vs. Holy Cross.
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As a team, Lehigh advanced to its third straight Patriot League Championship Game in 2014, finishing the season 13-5 and within just one win of tying the school record set two years prior. The defense allowed just 7.22 goals per game, good for second in the nation and just 0.01 behind the nation’s leader.
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In 2015, a pair of Mountain Hawks split time at faceoff, both impressing down the stretch. Freshman Matt Ernst showed flashes of greatness, which included a four-game stretch (at Monmouth, Holy Cross, Colgate and vs. Princeton), which saw him win 58 percent of his draws (49-of-85). McAdam ended his season on a high note, winning 14-of-21 faceoffs in the Patriot League Quarterfinals at Bucknell.
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The Mountain Hawks struggled to begin 2015, but bounced back in a big way. Lehigh defeated a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in a five-day span, earning wins over No. 14 Princeton and at Wilson’s alma mater and No. 18 Stony Brook. The Mountain Hawks defeated Lafayette in their regular season finale, their fifth win in six games, to reach their fifth straight Patriot League Tournament.
Lehigh advanced to its sixth straight league tournament in 2016, finishing 4-4 in Patriot League play. The Mountain Hawks' defense had plenty of highlight moments. Just a freshman, Chick led the nation in caused turnovers with 37 while senior Tripp Telesco finished tied for ninth with 90. Lehigh allowed just four goals to NJIT, six to Lafayette and seven in a dramatic win at No. 20 Boston University, which essentially clinched the Mountain Hawks' berth into the league tournament.
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Scudder helped lead Lehigh to its seventh straight league tournament berth in 2017. As a team, the Mountain Hawks allowed just six goals in a home win over No. 16/18 Boston University. In the next home game, Lehigh allowed just 10 in a win over No. 13/14 Princeton, holding the nation’s No. 3 ranked offense to its second lowest total of the season which was five goals less than its season average entering the game. Individually, Chick continued his stellar play, setting a school record with 40 caused turnovers. He and classmate Bouhall combined for 100 groundballs and 60 caused turnovers on the season, both earning All-Patriot League honors. Chick was named to the first team and garnered Inside Lacrosse honorable mention All-America recognition.
Scudder played in 51 games over his career in the Brown and White, highlighted by his junior campaign when he won 56 percent of his faceoffs (140-of-251) to earn Second Team All-Patriot League honors. This came after a sophomore season which saw him win 56 percent (152-of-273) with 69 groundballs. Scudder played a key role in the rise of the Mountain Hawks’ program, advancing to the league tournament as a senior in 2011 and helping set the stage for the two straight Patriot League Championships that followed in 2012 and 2013.
Scudder ended his collegiate career by winning 331-of-612 faceoffs (54.1 percent) with 156 groundballs. He also added three goals and four assists. Scudder played in the prestigious North-South Senior All-Star Game following his senior campaign.
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Upon graduation, Scudder worked with A.G. Administrators, Inc. in the sports insurance industry from Summer 2011 until Spring 2013, while also serving as an assistant lacrosse coach at Great Valley High School in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013. While at Great Valley, he helped lead the school to its first league title, coached six First Team All-Chesmont players, two members of the All-State team and one ALL American. He then moved onto Fever Lacrosse Inc. in Haverford, Pa. where he served and continues to serve as Director of Operations, in charge of managing tournaments, camps, clinics, and the 14 club teams within the Fever Program.
Coach Scudder resides in Historic Bethlehem with his wife Megan (a former Lehigh graduate '10 and women's lacrosse player), and son William Sullivan Scudder III.
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