Nielsen Tabs Capicchioni as Volunteer Assistant Coach
9/7/2017 1:50:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan women's lacrosse head coach Hannah Nielsen announced today (Thursday, Sept. 7) that Ginny Capicchioni will join her staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Capicchioni will work primarily with the Maize and Blue goalies, as she boasts a wealth of experience as both a coach and a player at the collegiate, national and international levels.
"I am excited to bring Ginny on as part of the coaching staff," said Nielsen.
"Ginny brings such a unique perspective of the game and I am excited to tap into her knowledge and for her to bring that to the players. We are excited to have her on board!"
Capicchioni brings six years of collegiate coaching experience to Michigan, including her most recent stint at the University of Louisville, where she helped lead the Cardinals to the 2017 ACC quarterfinals and a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Individually, she coached the 2017 ACC Defender of the Year and a Second Team All-American in goalie Brittany Read. She began her collegiate coaching career in her home state of New Jersey as an assistant coach at Drew University (DIII).
"I am very honored and excited to join Hannah Nielsen's coaching staff," said Capicchioni. "I look forward to helping build a championship program."
Capicchioni still holds several goalkeeping records from her playing days at Sacred Heart University (1998-2001), where she was a three-time first team All-NEC selection. She tops the record books in saves in a season (286), saves in a career (896), single-season save percentage (.634), career save percentage (.609), single-season goals against average (6.95) and career wins (32). She was a two-sport athlete at Sacred Heart, as she was also a four-time letterwinner and two-time all-conference honoree in field hockey.
Following her collegiate career, Capicchioni broke barriers in the sports world, becoming the first female in North America to sign with a men's professional team, the first female to play in a men's professional lacrosse game and the first female to play for a men's national team in any sport.
After playing one season with the New Jersey Storm of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), she began her nine-year career in the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA). In 2011, after eight seasons, she took a hiatus from her CLA career, as she was selected to the USA Men's World Indoor Team and went on to compete in the 2011 World Indoor Championships. Capicchioni was then drafted by the Kentucky Stickhorses of the North American Lacrosse League (NALL) in 2011, and also played one season for the Baltimore Bombers (2012-13). In the fall of 2013, Capicchioni was drafted second overall in the European Lacrosse League (ELL) draft. She competed with the expansion team, Pietro Filipi, in Radotin, Czech Republic. Most recently, she capped her playing career with her final season in the CLA in 2016, when she competed with the Windsor Aigles.
In 2015, Capicchioni authored the patent "The Goalkeeping Game," which encompasses goalie combines in every sport involving a goaltender. Just a few months later, she co-founded Premier Series Lacrosse, a 503(c)(3) corporation, which is a drafted, men's indoor lacrosse league, which raises money and awareness for the United States Military. In addition, she is currently the founder and owner of Gladiator Lacrosse, LLC.
Capicchioni graduated from Sacred Heart with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2001 and later went on to earn a master's degree in school counseling from Loyola University in 2008.
