Lacrosse News - 2012-13

St. Ambrose signs a top scorer in Quinn Coyle

Mar. 8, 2013

St. Ambrose University Men’s Lacrosse Coach Brad Keel is happy to announce the signing of a top point-scorer from Illinois.

Senior attackman Quinn Coyle from Brother Rice high school in Chicago has signed his letter of intent to play lacrosse at SAU next fall.

Coyle is no stranger to a start-up program. He played on a traveling club team starting in middle school but his high school did not offer lacrosse when we arrived. With the help of the school’s Vice President, he started a lacrosse team at Brother Rice in 2010.

Since then, Coyle has led Brother Rice in assists and been second in goal total every season. He is also a two-time captain, adding to the solid leadership background of SAU lacrosse’s last signee, goaltender Mike O’Neil. Coyle has also been a member of the traveling U19 select team, the Chicago Blues, for the past two summers.

Coyle is a multi-sport athlete at his high school as also a member of the golf team. He works at Beverly Country Club near his hometown and has been awarded the Joseph E. Nolan caddy scholarship which helps pay his high school tuition.

"We are really excited to sign Quinn. His personality, leadership, ability, and experience with starting up a program are all factors that will make him a great fit for SAU," Coach Keel said.

St. Ambrose will begin play in the spring of 2014 as a fully-funded varsity sport. The Bees will be a member of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association, a league made up of over 200 schools across the United States and Canada.

Michael O'Neil becomes first SAU men's lacrosse signee

Feb. 27, 2013

St. Ambrose University Men’s Lacrosse Coach Brad Keel is excited to announce the signing of one of the top goaltenders from the Chicago area.

Michael O’Neil, a senior at Geneva Community High School, becomes the first scholarship signee in the history of the SAU men's lacrosse program after signing a letter of intent to attend St. Ambrose in the fall of 2013.

O'Neil has been a captain of his high school team the past three years and will being his leadership qualities to a young St. Ambrose program which starts competition in the spring of 2014. He has also posted the best save percentage for JV in the state of Illinois the past two seasons.

As well as an on-field leader, O'Neil is very active in giving back to the youth lacrosse community in the Chicago area. He is a regular at camps, clinics and leagues at the elementary and middle school level.

O'Neil will go down in history as the first SAU men's lacrosse scholarship signee when the program begins play in the spring of 2014 as a fully-funded varsity sport. St. Ambrose will be a member of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association, a league made up of over 200 schools across the United States and Canada.

Brad Keel named first men's lacrosse coach at St. Ambrose

Dec. 17, 2012

St. Ambrose University Director of Athletics Ray Shovlain announced today the hiring of Brad Keel as the University's head men's lacrosse coach. He will begin his duties in January as SAU will add men's lacrosse as a varsity sport starting in 2013-14.

Keel is currently serving as the head boys' varsity lacrosse coach at Seckman High School in Imperial, Mo. Taking over a second-year program in July 2011 that finished 0-12 in its inaugural season, Keel helped the Jaguars to a 6-6 record and a fifth-place showing in the Missouri State Tournament.

He has also served as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Samurai Lacrosse Club and has worked with the Missouri 22 select team, where he worked alongside several NCAA lacrosse coaches.

"Getting to become part of the SAU family is an honor and privilege," Keel said. "I am ecstatic to begin what I hope to be a long and successful career as the Fighting Bee head lacrosse coach and doing my part continuing to spread nationwide recognition of the University and the game of lacrosse."

Keel was a three-year starter at attack at Missouri Baptist University and was a member of the 2011 Spartan team that won the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference (GRLC) championship and advanced to the national tournament.

As a senior at Fox High School, he helped his team win the 2008 Missouri Division B State Championship.

"We feel, based on his coaching and playing career, Brad has a strong background and will establish a successful men's lacrosse program at St. Ambrose University," Shovlain said. "His coaching and recruiting contacts, especially in the St. Louis area, will help get the program off to a great start."

Keel graduated this month from Missouri Baptist with a degree in Sports Management.

St. Ambrose is in the process of making application to seek admittance into the GRLC, a league consisting of 12 Division I teams and 14 Division II teams, representing 10 states. SAU will apply for the GRLC Division II level, which is broken into three divisions - Northeast (DePaul, Judson, Missouri Baptist, Wabash, Wheaton), Northwest (Creighton, Dordt, Missouri S&T, Palmer) and South (Lindenwood-Belleville, Missouri State, St. Louis Univ., Washington-St. Louis). Cornell College competed as an associate member last year.

The GRLC is a member of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA), a national organization with more than 200 non-NCAA, college lacrosse teams in two divisions across 10 conferences.

SAU is working with the Davenport Park Board to play at their facilities, including the Davenport Soccer Complex on North Division Street, in the spring. The Bees will also utilize the Ambrose Dome for practice.

St. Ambrose to add men's varsity lacrosse in 2013-14

Sept.  24, 2012

St. Ambrose University Athletic Director Ray Shovlain announced today that the University will start varsity men's lacrosse next year. The team will begin play in the spring of 2014.

Lacrosse is the first varsity sport St. Ambrose has added since starting men's and women's bowling in 2009-10.

"We are very excited to add men's lacrosse," Shovlain said. "We believe lacrosse will be similar to other programs we have recently started, like dance, men's volleyball and bowling. It will give us the opportunity to attract additional, quality student-athletes to St. Ambrose from different recruiting areas."

St. Ambrose will make application to seek admittance into the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference (GRLC), a league consisting of 12 Division I teams and 14 Division II teams, representing 10 states. SAU will apply for the GRLC Division II level, which is broken into three divisions - Northeast (DePaul, Judson, Missouri Baptist, Wabash, Wheaton), Northwest (Creighton, Dordt, Missouri S&T, Palmer) and South (Lindenwood-Belleville, Missouri State, St. Louis Univ., Washington-St. Louis). Cornell College competed as an associate member last year.

The GRLC is a member of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA), a national organization with more than 200 non-NCAA, college lacrosse teams in two divisions across 10 conferences.

SAU is working with the Davenport Park Board to play at their facilities, including the Davenport Soccer Complex on North Division Street, in the spring. The Bees will also utilize the Ambrose Dome for practice.

A search for a head men's lacrosse coach will begin immediately with hopes of having a coach in place by the end of the fall semester to begin recruiting this spring.

More information on intercollegiate lacrosse, including more on the GRLC, is available on the MCLA website at www.mcla.us.