Manhattan College lax coach John Odierna inks deal as Syracuse defensive coordinator, a national power

For the third time in three years,  the Manhattan men’s lacrosse program will have a new head coach patrolling the sidelines next Spring. The changing of the guard comes after John Odierna accepted the defensive coordinator position at Syracuse University on July 28.

In his lone season as the Jaspers head coach, Odierna oversaw the top scoring defense in the country allowing only 8 goals per game, the best mark in college lacrosse since the NCAA implemented a shot clock in 2019.  Under their new head coach, Manhattan won 10 games which tied for second best in program history and helped capture the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season title.

“It was a tough end to a really good season,” Odierna told The Riverdale Press following the season-ending  11-8 loss to Siena in the MAAC semifinals on May 4. “We were one win away from tying the record for most wins in program history.”

The 2023 Jaspers were chasing the 2002 team for the single-season wins record of 11. Odierna himself joined the Manhattan staff in 2015 as the defensive coordinator under former head coach Drew Kelleher. Ordierna became known in large part for his stout man-down units which were ranked number one in the country in 2018 and 2019.

When Kelleher left for UMass Lowell last Spring, former athletics director Marianne Reilly tabbed Odierna as the new Manhattan coach as well as a first-time head coach. Odierna was the associate coach under Kelleher when Manhattan won the MAAC Championship in 2022 after beating one-seed St. Bonaventure, 8-7, in the final. The triumph represented the program’s first championship in 20 years.

Odierna now joins a program at Syracuse that is home to 11 national championships, the most since the NCAA tournament became its modern version in 1971.

The Orange’s pantheon of legends includes Jim Brown, Gary Gait  and Casey Powell. Despite the Syracuse tradition carrying an expectation to win at will, the storied program last won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in 2017 and their last national championship dates back to 2009.

Odierna leaves a winning culture at Manhattan made to his own stylings and steps into a national spotlight under Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. Meanwhile, the Jaspers were set to return every eligible player except one.

Odierna is said to have doubled his salary by taking the D-coordinator position at Syracuse, according to sources.

Manhattan announced the promotion of assistant coach Doug Sage to interim head coach on July 30. Sage was hired at Manhattan in 2021 after parts of the last 20 seasons coaching at his alma mater Gettysburg, Stevens Institute of Technology, The University of Scranton, and Drew University.

He has coached at Scranton and Drew, and even coached Odierna as a player at Gettysburg.

In  2002, the duo teamed up to lead Gettysburg to an appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship game

“Coach (Drew) Kelleher and Coach Odierna gave me the chance to be part of the Jaspers lacrosse program two years ago and I can not thank both of them enough for their friendship and guidance,” Sage said in a press release posted by the school. “The foundation of our program has been built on belief, culture, and relationships.”

Sources told The Press Manhattan contacted Kelleher about a potential reunion but he turned them down. Kelleher entered a rebuild at UMass Lowell last season and the River Hawks went 0-13.

“Beyond excited for John Odierna as he takes his next step!” Kelleher tweeted after Odierna’s deal with Syracuse was announced. “He did amazing things (on the  Manhattan College lacrosse team), and the sky is the limit.”

Odierna was an assistant at Colby College and later Stevens Institute of Technology before arriving in Riverdale.