University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Lacrosse
- Title:
- Volunteer Assistant Coach
- Phone:
- 804-287-3116
Dan Carson joined Richmond in November, 2014, in time for the second season of lacrosse at the school. He will work with the face-off personnel, assisting with the offense and running the substitution box during the season.
Under Carson's leadership, the faceoff unit improved from a .362 winning percentage the season before his arrival to .495 in 2015, just two faceoffs from a .500 win percentage for the season. The program was ranked 34th in the country in that category in 2015, a marked improvement from the inaugural season of 2014.
The Spiders continued to reach new heights on the defensive side in 2015. Richmond finished 6-0 in the new league and boasted the nation's second-most stingy defense. The Spiders allowed just 7.44 goals per game, within less than half a goal per game from the nation's leader. Richmond also led the country in clearing percentage and finished fourth in the country in scoring margin, winning on average by more than four goals per game. The Spiders boasted the league's Defensive Player of the Year in Brendan Hynes, while goalie Benny Pugh was second nationally in both save percentage (.590) and goal-against average (7.42) for the year.
Richmond made the jump from 12th in 2014 to sixth in caused turnovers per game in 2015. Richmond also was the second-best in the nation in man-down defense, allowing opponents to score in less than a quarter of their man-advantage opportunities. In the program's 33 games, the opponent has been held to less than 10 goals in nearly half of them (16).
Seven Spiders earned All-Southern Conference, including a second-team nod for faceoff specialist Peter Moran.
Carson previously served as the head men's lacrosse coach at Grove City College for the two seasons previous to his time with the Spiders, earning CCLA Division II Coach of the Year after an 11-5 record and a spot in the MCLA D-II quarterfinals in 2014. He coached two First-Team and three Second-Team All-Americans, including the league's Offensive Player of the Year. He coached seven All-Conference players in his two seasons there.
Before that, he was a graduate assistant at Ohio Valley University from 2012-2013, where he later received his Master of Education in Cirriculum and Instruction in 2014. OVU produced the ECAC Offensive Rookie of the Year in his two year-stint there.
Prior to his time at OVU, he worked as an assistant offensive coordinator with the Yorktown High School program for two seasons after serving three seasons as the offensive coordinator and assistant coach for the Pure Lacrosse travel team.
Carson played four years at attack and served as the captain on the 2012 Marymount University squad, where he earned a B.A. in History in 2012. He tallied 98 career points, scoring 63 goals, once earning Capital Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week honor in 2008.
Carson enjoys surfing, playing sports and traveling. He lives in Richmond.
