Erie, Pa. - Head coach Chris Ryan of the third-ranked Mercyhurst College men's lacrosse team announced Monday afternoon the promotion of Brendon Burke from assistant coach/defensive coordinator to associate head coach.

"Brendon has proved to be one of the top assistant coaches in the nation," said Ryan. "He has a proven track record of success at every program he has been involved with and we are appreciative of his efforts on the part of Mercyhurst College and the men's lacrosse program."

Over the past three seasons, Burke has helped the Lakers to a 33-9 record while molding the defense into one of the top units in the country.

In his first season in 2007, the Lakers posted a program-best 13-2 record and made their first-ever appearance in the national championship game thanks to a defense that ranked second in the country, allowing just 6.52 goals per contest. After the season, Burke saw two of his players honored by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association as Joe Thon was named the USILA Defensive Player of the Year while Mike Grizanti and Jason LaShomb earned the titles of All-American.

The following season the Lakers defense dipped slightly (6.7) due to the graduation of Thon and Grizanti, but still ranked in the top-5 as Matt Spahr and LaShomb began to develop into two of the top players in Division II. Spahr was named a Second Team All-American while LaShomb earned the distinction of first team as well as the title of USILA Goalkeeper of the Year.

With the emergence of the junior class, Burke saw his defense move back into the spotlight in 2009. The Lakers finished the year 11-3 and allowed just 6.2 goals per game, tying national champion C.W. Post for the second-best defense in the country. Spahr and LaShomb repeated as All-Americans (second team) and joined Mike Thon as the first Lakers in program-history to be elected to the prestigious USILA North / South All-Star Game.

Prior to Mercyhurst, Burke spent two seasons at Canisius College, an NCAA Division I institution that competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). During his time at the Buffalo, N.Y. campus, Burke coached defense and served as the recruiting coordinator.

In 2006, the Griffins advanced to the MAAC Semifinals and earned a share of their first-ever regular-season league championship. Before Canisius, Burke acted as an assistant coach at SUNY-Cortland, where he helped the Red Dragons to the No. 2 ranking in the country, the SUNYAC regular season championship and a spot in the 2003 NCAA Division III tournament.

Burke played at the Division II level at St. Andrew's Presbyterian College, where he was a four year starter for the Knights, captained the team his senior year, and helped lead the team to the 2002 NCAA Division II semifinals.

2009-06-15