Correction appended
UPDATE: May 21, 6:37 p.m.
Interim women's lacrosse Head Coach Emma Wallace has signed an extension to remain at AU to become the full-time lacrosse Head Coach, Athletic Director Billy Walker said in a phone interview with The Eagle.
"She did a fantastic job," Walker said of Wallace's first year as lacrosse coach.
Wallace was promoted to head coach less than one year after joining AU as an assistant. Her new contract lasts for three years and runs through the 2016 season, according to AUEagles.com.
"It's thrilling to me I'm extremely excited to get the opportunity to get to work with these girls," Wallace said in a phone interview. "AU has been so supportive of me and my goals as a head coach that I feel that I am lucky to be in the position that I am."
Despite dropping the first six games of her head coaching career, Wallace went on to lead the Eagles to their first upset over a ranked team in at least 10 years. The Eagles in beat then No. 12 Johns Hopkins 10-9 in overtime.
Wallace went on to lead the Eagles to their best record in Patriot League play since the 2008 season. The Eagles came within one game of completing conference play undefeated for the first time in school history.
"I'm excited we turned our season around and had some very significant wins," Wallace said in an interview. "I'm really excited for the future."
Wallace joined the AU coaching staff in July 2012 and was named interim head coach in October when then head coach Laura Campbell stepped down.
Prior to AU, Wallace served as an assistant coach at the University California, Berkeley. Wallace is a graduate of Johns Hopkins, where she played for the Blue Jay lacrosse team that made the the NCAA Tournament three times during her collegiate career.
In addition to her promotion, Wallace was honored with the first annual AU Coaching Excellence award, recognizing her accomplishments with the lacrosse team.
Assistant Coach Colleen McCaffrey will also return for the 2013-2014 season, according to Wallace.
"I am so thrilled that we get the chance to work together continuing the effort that we put in already," Wallace said.
Correction: The first six games, not eight as previously written, of Wallace's head coach career at AU were losses. This article also incorrectly spelled Campbell's first name as "Lauren."
esaltzman@theeagleonline.com
