Andrew Copelan

Director and Head Lacrosse Coach

Andrew Copelan completed his third season at the helm of the Fairfield University men's lacrosse team with a visit to the ECAC Lacrosse League's inaugural tournament championship game. Under his direction the Stags have won 23 games, finishing .500 or better in each campaign and with 12 wins over conference foes.

Copelan was named the program's third head coach in varsity history on August 25, 2008, and has put the Stags back into the national conversation. The Stags 2011 Recruiting Class was ranked 20th in the nation by InsideLacrosse and in each of the last two years Copelan has inked a Top-100 national recruit. Fairfield has had success on the field as well, receiving votes in national polls in each of his three seasons at the helm.

Under Copelan's tutelage the Stags have seen a record number of players earn All-ECAC Lacrosse League honors, headlined by the program's first major award winner in 2011 when Charlie Cipriano was named the ECAC Keeper of the Year. Fairfield had a program-record five players earn ECAC accolades following the 2010 season and the Stags have had 10 All-League players under Copelan's direction – with nine in the last two seasons.

Two of those players, Brent Adams (2010) and Sean Bannon (2011), were named Preseason All-America Honorable Mentions, the first time in nearly a decade the Stags have had players so honored in successive seasons. Adams is the programs first-ever three-time All-ECAC selection and just the second two earn All-ECAC First Team honors in successive seasons.

On the field, Copelan's squads have seen success, with several key victories to their credit. Perhaps the biggest win came in 2010 when Fairfield travelled to Houston, Texas and defeated third-ranked and eventual national runner-up, Notre Dame, 10-8. In 2011 the Stags upset third-seeded Loyola 10-9 in the semifinals of the ECAC Lacrosse League tournament, just the second victory over the Greyhounds in program history, to earn a berth in the first-ever conference championship game. The Stags then rattled off five unanswered goals in the title game as their upset bid of top-seeded and fifth-ranked Denver fell just short in the title bout.

Copelan led the Stags to their second consecutive eight-win campaign in 2011. The season saw Fairfield finish third in the nation in man-up scoring, as the squad converted 25-52 chances. The team's defense, which held six opponents to six or fewer goals, ranked 11th nationally as it allowed just over eight goals a game to its foes. That same defense held opponents man-up offenses to just 15 goals, in 62 chances, to finish the season ranked 12th in the nation with a penalty kill percentage of nearly 76 percent.

In his three seasons at the helm, four players have been chosen to represent the Stags at the prestigious USILA North-South All-Star Game, 10 have been named to All-ECAC Teams and six to All-NEILA rosters. In addition, four Copelan coached Stags have been drafted by Major League Lacrosse, with Joe Marra becoming the second player in program history to be taken in the collegiate draft in 2010.

The 2010 Stags went 8-6 overall, including the win over national runner-up Notre Dame. That victory jumpstarted a five-game win streak, which included ECAC wins over Ohio State, Hobart and Bellermine. Those three victories pushed the Stags to their second consecutive third-place league finish under Copelan. Copelan also led the Stags in their first-ever nationally televised game, taking on ECAC foe Denver at Rentschler Field on ESPNU.

In his first season at the helm of the Stags, Copelan led the squad to a 7-6 record, a three-game improvement over the previous year, and the team's first winning season since 2005. In addition, Fairfield had its best season in ECAC Lacrosse League play, posting a winning record, 4-3, for the first time in its four seasons in the league. The Stags finished in third place, on the strength of an overtime win over Penn State on the road.

Fairfield is the second head coaching stop on Copelan's resume, having become the youngest head coach in the nation at Marist College in 2004. That first season he was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year, leading the Red Foxes to the MAAC Regular Season crown and their first winning season in six years. He followed that the next season by leading Marist to its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. All told, in five seasons as a Division I head coach, Copelan has a 33-27 mark.

Copelan came to Fairfield after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland, from 2006-08. In each of those campaigns the Terrapins qualified for the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Final Four in 2006.

In his final two seasons at Maryland, Copelan served as the Terps offensive coordinator, leading one of the top ranked offenses in the nation. In 2008 the Terps finished the year 13th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 10.5 goals per game and as the sixth-best team in man-up scoring. The Terps were also seventh in the nation in scoring margin in 2008. In 2007, Copelan had Maryland ranked fourth in the nation in man-up goals and 12th in goals.

Copelan also served as the recruiting coordinator for Maryland in his final two seasons, with great success. InsideLacrosse ranked the Terps' 2008 class as the third best in the country, while the 2007 class was ranked second. Individually, Copelan helped the Terps secure six of the top-50 recruits in its 2008 class.

Copelan coached players have received numerous accolades under his tutelage. In two seasons with the Red Foxes, Keith Detelj was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the year (2004) and Dan Needle was named the 2005 Rookie of the Year. In those two seasons, nine Marist players earned All-MAAC accolades.

Copelan was a four-year varsity letter winner at Bucknell University, where he earned All-Patriot League accolades. Additionally, he was named to the Academic Honor Roll for Student-Athletes in each of his four seasons.

A native of Pittsford, N.Y., Copelan currently resides in Bridgeport, Conn.

Kevin Conry

Assistant Coach

Kevin Conry is in his first season as a member of the Fairfield University men's lacrosse coaching staff.  In his role as assistant coach he will serve as defensive coordinator, as well as assisting with recruiting and game and practice planning.

Conry, a native of Rockville Centre, N.Y., has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Penn State University.  With the Nittany Lions he assisted in recruiting efforts, helping sign the fifth-best recruiting class in the nation in 2008, according to Inside Lacrosse Magazine.  On the field he worked with the Penn State defense, helping them earn a national ranking of 13th in goals-against average in 2007.  He began his coaching career as an assistant at Siena College from 2004-06.

A 2004 graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Conry, was a four-year member of the men’s lacrosse program. He served as captain of the man-down unit, and was a member of the Blue Jays’ 2003 Division I National runner-up team. Conry, who holds a Bachelors degree in political science, also earned a Masters of Science in Education from the University of Albany in 2006.

Tony Vallance

Assistant Coach

Tony Vallance is now in his second season as an assistant coach with the men’s lacrosse program at Fairfield University.  He is responsible for coaching the goalkeepers and face-off men, as well as assisting in recruiting and practice and game planning.

Vallance comes to Fairfield from Bellarmine University where he has served as an assistant coach since Dec. 2003.  In that time he has worked with the goalkeepers, face-off men and defensive unit.  In addition, Vallance was responsible for recruiting efforts, strength and conditioning and opponent scouting.

Vallance began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at Dean (MA) Junior College during the 2001 season, coaching the goalies and defensive unit.  He spent Oct. 2001 through May 2002 in the Republic of Kiribati with the US Peace Corps.  Upon his return to the States, Vallance was hired as an assistant coach at Muhlenburg in July 2002, working again, with the goalies and defensive unit.  He also handled recruiting, and scouting in that role, which he held until making the move to Bellarmine.

A native of Laurel, Md., Vallance was a goalkeeper for Penn State from 1995-97.  He earned his degree, B.S., in Labor and Industrial Relations, graduating in 1998, from the University Park, Pa., institution.

Andy Whitley

Assistant Coach

Andy Whitley begins his first season as a member of the men's lacrosse coaching staff. Whitley will have a role in day-to-day operations of the Stags program, with his primary responsibilities being with the face-off men and scout team preparation.

Whitley comes to Fairfield after serving as an assistant coach at Yale for three seasons. With the Bulldogs worked with the goaltenders and defense, as well as helping design and implement the team's game plan on a game-by-game basis. He began his coaching career in 1997 at Wesleyan as the defensive coordinator. In that time the Cardinal defeated four top-20 teams and appeared in two ECAC Tournaments. Whitley also spent three seasons as an assistant coach at The Hopkins School in New Haven, Conn.

Whitley earned a pair of varsity letters at Franklin and Marshall College, helping the squad to the schools third-ever NCAA Tournament berth in 1995. He was a two-time All-Centennial Conference selection as a goalkeeper and currently ranks 18th in league history with a .574 save percentage and 25th with 346 career saves. Whitley played two seasons at Alfred University, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons. Whitley graduated from Franklin and Marshall in 1996 with a B.A. in Sociology.

Whitley, a native of Milford, Conn., and his wife Sarah Freedman, currently reside in Norwalk, Conn.