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Joe Alberici - Head Coach |
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Joe Alberici enters his third
season at the helm of the Army
lacrosse program. Following in the
footsteps of some of the biggest
names in the history of the sport,
Alberici roams the same sideline
where Hall of Fame legends such
as Jack Emmer, Dick Edell and F.
Morris Touchstone, once tread.
A former assistant to Emmer,
Alberici returned to the shores of the Hudson River after a nineyear
stint as an assistant coach at Duke where he helped the Blue
Devils tighten their grip as one of the nation’s premier lacrosse
programs.
Alberici became the 10th head coach in Army’s storied 90-year
history in 2006, and was tasked to fill the big shoes left by his
mentor, Emmer, who retired as college lacrosse’s all-time winningest
coach in 2005.
In his first season as head coach ,Alberici led the Black Knights to
their second-straight appearance in the Patriot League Tournament
Championship game. Two of his players –attackman John Walker
and defenseman Matt Luyster – capped their Army careers with
Honorable Mention All-America honors while leading the squad to
its ninth-straight season with at least eight victories against one of
the toughest schedules in the country.
Last year, Alberici guided the Black Knights through a roller coaster
season, highlighted by a 6-1 start and an upset of No. 2 Syracuse in
the Carrier Dome that marked the first time the Orange had ever
lost at home in February. Ranked as high as No. 8 in the national
polls during the campaign, the Black Knights would go on to qualify
for their third-straight Patriot League Tournament to finish the
season. His stalwart defense would only allow four opponents to
score over 10 goals en route to a 7.80 goals against average that
ranked 10th in the country. Alberici would also watch four of
his players garner all-conference honors, including Patriot League
Goalie of the Year Adam Fullerton, who finished his junior year
ranked among the nation’s leaders in goals-against average and save
percentage.
Alberici’s tenure at Duke coincided with the Blue Devils’ rise to
national prominence, which culminated in their magical run to the
Division I title contest in 2005, a game in which they fell 9-8 to
top-ranked Johns Hopkins. Ranked second in the nation behind the
Blue Jays for much of the spring, Duke forged a remarkable 17-3
ledger and established an NCAA record for victories in a single
season. Two of Duke’s losses were one-goal defeats at the hands of
Johns Hopkins, including an 11-10 double-overtime loss at JHU’s
Homewood Field in early April.
Alberici’s duties at Duke included recruiting director, assisting
with the daily administration of the program, serving as the Blue
Devils’ defensive coordinator and coaching the team’s goalkeepers.
After serving as offensive coordinator and working with Duke’s
man-up offense during his first eight years, he assumed the roles of
defensive coordinator and coach of the man-down defense during
his final season. He was promoted to associate head coach in 1999.
During Alberici’s nine years on head coach Mike Pressler’s staff,
the Blue Devils forged a sparkling 96-47 (.671) record, made seven
appearances in the NCAA Tournament – including a run of six
straight postseason trips between 1997 and 2002 – and captured a
pair of Atlantic Coast Conference titles (2001 and 2002). The Blue
Devils reached the Final Four for the first time in 1997, Alberici’s
initial year in Durham, before embarking on their remarkable
postseason run in 2005.
Under Alberici’s watchful eye, Duke
ranked second in the nation in
scoring defense, surrendering just
6.91 goals per game. Additionally,
Blue Devil senior goalie
Aaron Fenton was second
in the country in both goalsagainst
average (6.75) and save
percentage (.629).
Alberici spent the 1995 and
1996 seasons at West
Point, and helped
the Black Knights
to a 10-5 showing
and an NCAA
appearance in
1996. Army
won its final
five games
that season,
including
victories
over Hofstra,
Navy and
Rutgers,
to earn the
Academy’s 12th
postseason berth.
A 1991 graduate of
Alfred University,
Alberici was a
two-time lacrosse
All-American
in 1990 and 1991
and also garnered
Academic All-America
accolades as a senior.
A four-year starter
at attack, the Auburn,
N.Y., native set six
school scoring records and led the Saxons to winning seasons
in 1989, 1990 and 1991. A three-time team captain, Alberici led
the entire nation, including all three divisions, in assists as a junior,
garnering 78 helpers in 17 contests for a 4.6 assist per-game
average.
Following graduation, Alberici remained at his alma mater for two
years in the role of graduate assistant coach, earning his master’s
degree in education in 1993. He accepted his first head coaching
assignment soon thereafter when he was named to the top post at
SUNY Oneonta.
In 1994, the Dragons forged an 8-6 record and established a
single-season school record for victories, earning Alberici Empire
Lacrosse League “Coach of the Year” laurels. It was on the heels of
that spectacular season that Alberici made the move to West Point.
In his present role as the face of Army’s storied program, Alberici
has assumed control of a club that remains intertwined with the
history of collegiate lacrosse. In 90 seasons, the Black Knights have
amassed 690 victories, trailing only Johns Hopkins and Syracuse in
all-time wins at the Division I level.
Army has produced eight national champions, while 12 men
associated with the program (eight players and four coaches) have
been enshrined in the National Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame.
Alberici was recently appointed to the United States Intercollegiate
Lacrosse Association (USILA) Board of Directors, the sport’s
national governing body.
Alberici and his wife, Petra, reside at West Point with their son,
Maximus, 4, and daughter Isabella, 1.
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