Former Syracuse Coach Miller To Head Women's Lax

In a surprising move that is sure to boost the standing of the Crimson’s struggling women’s lacrosse program, former Syracuse head coach Lisa Miller has been hired as the new coach at Harvard, Nichols Family Director of Athletics Bob Scalise announced Tuesday.

Miller leaves the Orange almost exactly two months after being named the 2007 Big East coach of the Year, her second such honor in the 10-year history of Syracuse women’s lacrosse. She's been at the helm of the Orange program since its inception in 1998, guiding the team to a 103-51 record including six postseason appearances, five trips to the NCAA tournament and an ECAC Championship in 1999.

One of the top programs in all of women’s lacrosse, Syracuse is now without a coach for the first time in team history. Miller arrived there a year before the team began competition in 1998, recruiting 17 freshman to come to a school already well-renowned for its men’s lacrosse success but with no experience in the sport of women’s lacrosse.

In contrast with Miller’s success in essentially creating a powerhouse with the Orange—Syracuse led the nation in offense this year with 16.43 goals per game—the Crimson program she inherits went just 5-11 in 2007, averaging 9.75 goals per contest compared to 15.5 scored by the team’s opponents. In nearly every statistical category, Harvard pales in comparison to the Orange—a fact that isn’t deterring Miller early on.

“I don’t consider it a step down,” she said of taking the Harvard job. “Harvard has a lot of potential to be good, they compete in one of the best conferences in the country, and they usually have two or three teams in the tournament. It’s going to be a challenge working with kids there, recruiting, rebuilding and tapping into the Harvard history of success in lacrosse, but it’s not a step down.”

A native of Plymouth, Mass., Miller has long thought about the possibility of moving back to the area where she grew up, but it was the reaching out of those within the Crimson lacrosse network—and a vacancy finally presenting itself—that ultimately lured Miller to Cambridge.

“In the back of my mind I’ve always thought about the Harvard job because I grew up in the area,” she said. “I know a lot of the older alums…it was a little bit of people who used to play lacrosse contacting me and my contacting the athletic department.”

It’s an athletic department that does have experience fielding competitive women’s lacrosse teams. Started in 1976, the Crimson has won the Ivy League 12 times, has appeared in the NCAA Championship nine times and won the title in 1990.

But in six seasons under former coach Sarah Nelson ’94, who resigned in early May, Harvard struggled to a 22-68 record, including a tie for fifth in the conference in 2007.

Any attempts at restoring the Crimson’s Ivy League dominance will be daunting, but it’s nothing compared to the task Miller faced when she got in New York nearly a decade ago.

“Syracuse didn’t exist when I arrived there,” she said. “It was a different experience, but I have been to other programs that were sort of in a rebuilding phase, and part of it is coming in and changing the culture, establishing a culture that wants to win and can win.”

Rising senior attacker Natalie Curtis said that it was the “extraordinary things” she’s done at Syracuse that has the whole team “thrilled” for her arrival.

“We’d like to capitalize on Lisa’s transition knowledge and expertise, because she’s always had a reputation for being in tip top shape,” Curtis said. “Her teams have always been able to run down any opponent for 60 minutes.”

Curtis and company saw first-hand this year what a Miller-coached team can do.

“We’ve been blown away by them three years in a row,” rising senior midfielder Caroline Simmons said. “I’m just really excited to see what she does with our team.”

The Orange beat the Crimson by a 23-12 score at Jordan Field back in March, though Miller maintains that it was the never-die attitude she saw in Harvard that has her excited about the years to come.

“I thought they fought back,” she said. “They were very good at the draw control, and I jumped on them early and they did fight back, which is a good sign for the future.”

Realizing that the “they” she referred to was now the “we” that she was a part of, Miller did her best to sum up the transition process.

“They, we, them…who?” she quipped.

Miller, shifting back to a serious tone, said that she’s going to be “raising the expectation” for Harvard lacrosse under her tutelage.

“We’re going to be recruiting, building depth, and focusing on the little things,” she said.

“We’re so excited for this season with her, we have really high expectations for her just as she has high expectations for us,” Curtis said. “It’s just about meeting halfway there and seeing the success from that.”

—Staff writer Malcom A. Glenn can be reached at mglenn@fas.harvard.edu.