Dan Sheehan Has Led Le Moyne Men's Lacrosse to Five National Championships

Posted: Mar 15, 2021

Dan Sheehan, the first coach in the Northeast-10 Conference’s history to lead a men’s team to a national championship, is the winningest coach in Division II men’s lacrosse history. Through 23 years in charge at Le Moyne College, Sheehan has led the Dolphins to 318 victories (against just 54 setbacks) and five national championships. His 318 career victories are the most in Division II men’s lacrosse history and impressively are the 16th-most across all three divisions of NCAA men’s lacrosse. His five national championships, meanwhile, are the most in DII and tied for the fifth-most across all three divisions. In addition to all the numbers listed above, there have been five undefeated national champions in Division II history, with Sheehan and the Dolphins making up three of those five.

The 1995 Ithaca College graduate has guided Le Moyne to 17 berths in the last 18 NCAA Tournaments - its only trips to the national tournament in program history. A 13-time NE10 Tournament Champion and 16-time NE10 Regular Season Champion (15 with an undefeated record), Sheehan is a seven-time Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year, the 2000 USILA Division II Coach of the Year, the 2010 FieldTurf Division II Coach of the Year as well as the 2013 and 2016 Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) Division II Coach of the Year. From 1999 through 2006, the Dolphins won an NCAA and NE10-record 70 consecutive conference games.

Sheehan has coached 103 USILA All-Americans, including 55 First Team selections. The Dolphins have had 27 USILA national position players of the year, including four who also were named the overall USILA Player of the Year. Sheehan has coached seven NE10 Players of the Year, 13 Defensive Players of the Year, 10 Goalkeepers of the Year and two Rookies of the Year, while guiding 102 Dolphins to NE10 First-Team accolades and another 57 to the Second Team.

Sheehan took over in 1998 and in 2000 guided the Dolphins to their first NE10 Championship with a 13-3 overall mark. Three years later he took them to new heights, becoming the first men’s lacrosse coach in the NE10 to lead a team into the NCAA tournament and the first Le Moyne coach to gain the nation’s No. 1 ranking. Le Moyne topped the national statistics in scoring offense, scoring defense and margin of victory (11 goals per game).

The following year, the Dolphins were victorious in their first 14 games, including their third straight NE10 Championship, en route to hosting an NCAA Tournament contest for the first time. Le Moyne was ranked atop every USILA Division II regular season coaches poll as the Dolphins set a then school-record for wins.

Sheehan and the Dolphins avenged the 2003 NCAA Semifinal loss to New York Tech the next year to earn their first berth in the national championship game. An 11-10 double overtime triumph over Limestone in front of 19,202 at M&T Bank Stadium in the NCAA Division II Championship capped off a perfect 2004 season with a 16-0 record. Le Moyne trailed 10-9 with nine seconds remaining, but out of a timeout Brandon Spillett rushed the cage and scored with two seconds left to send the game into overtime. The Dolphins dodged several Limestone chances in the extra sessions, but Spillett netted the decisive goal in the second overtime. The Dolphins raced through the regular season unbeaten, hosted the Northeast-10 Conference Championship as the regular season titlist for the fifth consecutive time, topped Bryant 7-6 for their fourth straight league crown and edged N.Y. Tech 7-5 to advance to the national championship game.

In 2006, he guided the Dolphins to a program record 18 wins and its second National Championship. Le Moyne was ranked first in every poll, led the nation in goals against average for the sixth consecutive season and landed eight players on the USILA All-America team en route to its second perfect season in three years. The Dolphins downed Dowling 12-5 in front of 23,990 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for their second national championship.

In 2007, the Dolphins earned their third national championship and second consecutive title by defeating Mercyhurst, 6-5, in Baltimore, Maryland. The USILA honored Most Outstanding player of the game, Mike McDonald, with the Turnbull Award, and three other players were announced as First Team All-Americans. From 2004 to 2007, Sheehan led his teams to 63 wins and only dropped 3 contests. With a third national championship ring, the senior class left as the program’s most decorated. The 2007 Dolphins led the nation in goals against average for the seventh consecutive season.

Sheehan guided the 2008, 2009 and 2010 teams back to the National Championship game as the Dolphins went 46-5 in the span, including 39-0 in the regular season. With the five consecutive championship game berths, Le Moyne became just the third program to accomplish the feat.

In 2013, Sheehan led the Dolphins to their fourth National Championship in 10 years with an 11-10 victory over Mercyhurst University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For his efforts, Sheehan was named the IMLCA Division II Coach of the Year. After entering the Northeast-10 Conference Championships as the third seed (its lowest seed since 1999), the Dolphins knocked off Saint Anselm at home before defeating #6 Merrimack (8-4) and #2 Adelphi (7-5) on the road to claim their 11th Northeast-10 Conference Championship. Seeded third in the NCAA Tournament’s North Region, Le Moyne started its run to a fourth national title with a 9-8 overtime victory at second-seeded LIU Post in the first round. The following week, the Dolphins rallied from an early deficit to beat top-seeded Adelphi University, 16-13, in the National Semifinals to earn their seventh berth in the title game. After heading into halftime of the national championship game tied at five with Mercyhurst, the Dolphins rattled off six straight goals in the third and fourth quarters en route to the victory.

Sheehan guided the Dolphins to the National Championship game for the eighth time in 2015. The Dolphins posted a record of 16-3, including a Northeast-10 record of 11-0, the program’s 13th undefeated conference slate in 16 years. The Dolphins had four USILA First Team All-America selections and two position player of the year award recipients, while having eight Northeast-10 All-Conference honorees and three player of the year award winners.

Sheehan led the Dolphins to their fifth National Championship in 2016 with the Dolphins registering an 8-4 victory over top-ranked, previously-unbeaten and two-time defending National Champion Limestone College to close out the season with a 20-0 record. The Dolphins became the fifth undefeated National Champion in Division II history and the 20 wins are the most by an undefeated team in DII history, besting the 18 wins by the 2006 Dolphins.

Three weeks before winning the national championship, Sheehan guided the Dolphins to their 12th Northeast-10 Conference Championship. The Dolphins went undefeated in Northeast-10 Conference play for the 14th time in 17 seasons. The Dolphins led the nation in scoring defense (13th time in last 15 years), man-down defense and winning percentage, while ranking second in scoring margin and assists and fourth in ground balls.

Sheehan has the Dolphins once again poised for success in 2021 as they are the reigning NE10 Champions and entered the season ranked No. 1 in the USILA National Preseason Poll.

Dan Sheehan Links of Note:

ABOUT THE NE10
Beginning its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.