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Lindsey Munday
One of the most accomplished collegiate women’s lacrosse players in the history of the sport, Lindsey Munday was handpicked to lead the first-ever USC women’s lacrosse team and was officially hired on Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. She enters her seventh season (2019) as the head coach of the Women of Troy.
Munday’s accolades both as a player and as a coach earned her recognition as Lacrosse Magazine’s 2013 Person of the Year. She is a two-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Coach of the Year (2015 and 2016) and was chosen as the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) West/Midwest Coach of the Year in 2016. Inside Lacrosse (ILWomen) honored Munday as its 2016 National Coach of the Year.
Through six seasons, Munday holds a 79-38 (.675) overall record with a 42-11 (.792) mark in league games (MPSF 2013-17; Pac-12 2018-current).
As members of the MPSF for the league’s final five season, the Trojans advanced to the league tournament in every season under Munday. USC appeared in its first conference title game in 2015; and then won back-to-back MPSF regular-season and tournament championships in 2016 and 2017.
Munday led the Women of Troy to their first-ever berth in the NCAA tournament in 2015 where USC defeated James Madison in the first round. In 2016, USC became the first-ever team from the West Coast to host an NCAA tournament game. The Trojans received a first-round bye, defeated Stanford in the second round, and advanced further than any MPSF team had ever gone with a quarterfinal appearance against Syracuse. USC repeated its NCAA quarterfinal run in 2017 and advanced there to face Boston College before falling to the national runners-up.
Her squads produced 29 All-MPSF selections including the 2013 MPSF Rookie of the Year (Amanda Johansen), the 2015 MPSF Player of the Year (Michaela Michael), and the 2016 MPSF Player of the Year (Courtney Tarleton). In 2018, Kerrigan Miller was named the Pac-12’s Midfielder of the Year. Under Munday, the Trojans have had 21 IWLCA All-West Region choices (10 first team and 11 second team). In 2015, Michael became USC’s first-ever All-American (third team). The following year, she and Tarleton became the Trojans’ first-ever IWLCA first-team All-Americans. Michael completed her career as a three-time All-American. With Miller’s third-team selection in 2018, she received the seventh IWLCA All-America certificate by a Trojan under Munday.
In the team’s first year as a varsity sport, Munday’s Women of Troy finished with an 8-10 overall record. The Trojans surprised the MPSF with a 5-3 record for fourth place and received a berth in the league tournament where they fell to 11th-ranked regular-season champion Denver in the semifinals. Three Trojans received 2013 postseason honors including Johansen’s MPSF Rookie of the Year award. Johansen and Tarleton each took home all-conference first-team honors while Caroline de Lyra was chosen for second-team recognition.
In 2014, the Trojans (9-9 overall) finished with a 6-3 record in conference games and made their second appearance in the MPSF tournament. USC set a new program record with a four-game winning streak, and earned its first-ever win over a ranked opponent when the Trojans upset No. 13 Stanford, 11-10, on April 20, at the LA Memorial Coliseum.
In 2015, USC (14-6 overall) finished a then program-best second in the conference with an 8-1 record and set a new school record winning streak with seven games between February 22-March 28. All six of the Trojans’ losses were to top-20 opponents, but USC beat No. 19-ranked James Madison, 13-10, in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Durham, N.C.
Munday’s 2016 squad started the season ranked No. 19 and made a steady climb up the rankings as the Trojans broke MPSF records with 20 wins and an incredible 20-game winning streak. USC won both the regular-season and MPSF tournament championships; and the Women of Troy earned a second-consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament and received a first-round bye. The Trojans hosted first- and second-round games at the Coliseum to become the first-ever West Coast team to host an NCAA tournament game. USC’s appearance in the NCAA quarterfinal marked the furthest any MPSF had ever advanced and its No. 5 final ranking in the IWLCA poll was the highest ever for an MPSF team. Munday was named the MPSF and IWLCA West/Midwest Coach of the Year and Tarleton was chosen for MPSF Player of the Year honors.
2017 brought more success as USC finished ranked No. 8 in the final coaches poll following an 18-4 season. The Trojans advance to the program’s second-consecutive NCAA quarterfinal after USC went 8-0 in the MPSF’s final season and won back-to-back league regular-season and tournament titles. USC earned its third straight bid into the NCAA tournament and reached its highest ranking (No. 3) and produced the second-longest winning streak in school history (12).
Munday’s USC squad was part of history in 2018 as a new era of West Coast lacrosse was established with the inaugural season of Pac-12 play. The Trojans, having to replace over 200 goals due to graduation, finished the year with a 10-8 overall record but still advanced to the first-ever Pac-12 tournament’s semifinal round.
Munday’s mantle includes a pair of NCAA titles won as a player with the Northwestern program in 2005 and 2006. She then became an assistant at NU where she helped the Wildcats to another three titles from 2007-09.
As a player, Munday’s performance on the field landed her a spot on the 2009 U.S. women’s national team where she helped Team USA to the world title and earned All-World recognition as an attacker with 17 goals and 20 assists for 37 points in just seven games. She was later selected to represent the U.S. again, on the 2012-14 roster and was named team captain for the 2013 FIL World Cup where she led Team USA to its record seventh world title. Munday also added nine goals and 15 assists to her international career totals in 2013 and was chosen to represent the U.S. again in 2014 as it begins preparations to defend its crown in 2017.
Just 26 years old when she was first chosen to head the Women of Troy, Munday came to USC after a fall stint as the head coach at Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland.
Previously, Munday was the top assistant at her alma mater for four years (2007-10) where she served as the recruiting coordinator and offensive coach, and helped with opponent scouting reports. Northwestern was 85-4 during her tenure and went 23-0 in 2009. The Wildcats won NCAA titles in 2007, 2008, and 2009, and advanced to the championship game in 2010. While at NU, Munday helped coach several All-Americans, including Tewaaraton Trophy winners Kristen Kjellman and Hannah Nielsen and Tewaaraton finalist Katrina Dowd.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Northwestern history, Munday was a Tewaaraton Trophy semifinalist herself in 2005 and 2006. She finished her four-year (2003-06) career as the program's all-time leader in assists (128), third in points (268), and fifth in goals (140). Munday also set single-season NU records for points (107) and assists (54) in 2005. The Wildcats were 64-12 during her career, and won the school’s first-ever NCAA titles in the sport.
Munday’s prowess helped Northwestern become the first school outside of the Eastern Time zone to win the national title and the first program to win consecutive NCAA championships. She was a two-time first-team All-American (2005-06), All-Region, and All-American Lacrosse Conference selection and earned All-Region second team laurels in 2004. As a freshman and sophomore, Munday received ALC All-Conference second-team notice in 2003 and 2004. She made the NCAA All-Tournament team in 2005 and co-captained the Wildcats in 2006. In 2006, Munday won the Medal of Honor, given annually to a graduating male and female from each conference school for outstanding academic and athletic talent. She received her bachelor's degree in communications from Northwestern in 2006.
A three-sport star at Mountain Lakes (N.J.) High School, Munday earned prep All-America first-team honors in lacrosse in 2002, and was an All-State second team selection in basketball. She was also a three-time All-Conference first-team pick in soccer.
Munday’s sister Jen played lacrosse and basketball at College of New Jersey, and her brother Paul played lacrosse at Muhlenberg College. Born May 28, 1984, Munday resides in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
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