Liza Shoemaker Named Head Women's Lacrosse Coach
June 29, 2001 | Women's Lacrosse
BOSTON - Boston University named Liza Shoemaker the new women's lacrosse head coach in an announcement made today by Director of Athletics Gary Strickler. Shoemaker, a member of the United States National Lacrosse Team since 1997, comes to B. U. after serving as an assistant coach at Towson University for the past three seasons. She replaces Sue Murphy, who resigned to accept the head coaching position at the University of Richmond earlier this month.
Shoemaker, a native of Baltimore, was a four-year starter at midfield at the University of Delaware, which won two straight America East championships while she was a member of the team. As the captain of the 1998 Blue Hen squad, Shoemaker was honored as Delaware's Outstanding Senior Female Athlete. She was the 1995 Rookie of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Conference, and was a three-time Regional All-American and three-time Brine/IWLCA All-American. She was also named the NCAA Woman of the Year in 1998 for the state of Delaware, honoring female student athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics and community leadership.
A four-time member of the U. S. National Women's Lacrosse Team, Shoemaker has competed at the highest level of women's lacrosse and has worked with some of the most decorated and talented players and coaches in the game.
As a member of the Towson coaching staff, Shoemaker was involved in recruiting and scouting, and was responsible for the development of the Tigers' defense.
Shoemaker has held a number of coaching positions. In addition to travelling throughout the U. S. teaching lacrosse, she has been an ambassador for the game of lacrosse all over the world. In 1995, she traveled to Tokyo, Japan, to teach the sport to Japanese University students.
Shoemaker serves on the board for the Baltimore chapter of U. S. Lacrosse. She is a co-chair for the STX Festival, during which she supervises the annual event which features the Division I/II and Division III North/South Senior All-Star Games as well as high school and youth games.
Shoemaker inherits a Boston University program that recently surged onto the national women's lacrosse scene. Last year's team was 11-8 and finished the season ranked 16th in the country, while the 2000 squad finished the season ranked 11th in the nation with a school-record 15-4 mark. That team made the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament. She becomes the program's second head coach since it was reinstated as a varsity sport in 1996.
