TOWSON, Md. – Towson University women's lacrosse head coach Sonia LaMonica has been named the head coach of the Baltimore Brave, which will play in the Women's Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL).
The WPLL, which will begin play in the summer of 2018 and run during the summer each year, will field five teams during its inaugural season. Along with the Baltimore Brave, the other teams will be the New England Command, the New York Fight, Philadelphia Fire and Upstate Pride.
"I'm thrilled to join the WPLL and lead the Baltimore Brave and I can't imagine a more exciting time in our sport to be involved," said LaMonica. "With the vision and leadership of both Michelle DeJulius and Jen Adams, I'm extremely confident that this will be an exceptional product for players and fans alike. I look forward to working with the best and more importantly, showcasing outstanding role models to future generations."
LaMonica recently completed her seventh season on the sidelines with the Tigers. She has led Towson to four Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championships and five appearances in the NCAA Tournament, the most recent coming this past spring as the Tigers earned an at-large bid. LaMonica has led the Tigers to an 85-47 record during that stretch. She has coached two CAA Players of the Year, three CAA Defensive Players of the Year and two CAA Rookies of the Year. Under LaMonica's watch this past spring, freshman Olivia Conti set the school record for single-season caused turnovers (49) while senior Samantha Brookhart broke the single-season (55) and career (97) assist records at Towson.
LaMonica brings plenty of experience to the WPLL as she won three international medals playing for the Australian National Team in the World Cup, including a gold medal in 2005 when she was named to the IFWLA All-World Team. She also won a silver medal with the U19 Australian National Team.
LaMonica joins a veteran coaching group as Navy's Cindy Timchal was named the coach of the Fire, Hofstra's Shannon Smith was picked to guide the Fight, former Dartmouth coach Amy Patton will lead the Command and Wagner's Katie Rowan will guide the Pride.
The WPLL will hold a draft for its inaugural season on Wednesday, Aug. 23 at 7:30 p.m. The draft can be seen live on Lax Sports Network. One of LaMonica's former Tigers, Brookhart has entered into the initial draft class.
