Brenda Crawford, 12 New Graduate Assistants Join Athletic Department

Aug. 18: St. Lawrence University Athletic Director Margie Straight announced the hiring of Brenda Crawford as the new head men's hockey trainer, as well as 12 new graduate assistant coaches, including four alumni, to work with nine of the University's athletic teams.

Crawford joins the St. Lawrence athletic training staff and will work with the Division I men's hockey program, as well as assist with the University's Division III programs.  She served as the primary trainer for Clarkson University's women's hockey team last year after working at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts, functioning as an athletic training teaching assistant.

Crawford has extensive experience in the Northeast, including work with Division I programs at Brown University in 2009. Crawford also worked as the assistant athletic trainer with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League in Ontario from 2005 to 2007.  Crawford, who graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2002 with a BA in Kinesiology, earned a second degree in Athletic Therapy from the Sheridan Institute of Technology in 2007 before gaining a master's degree in Athletic Training from Bridgewater State.

Meanwhile, joining the Saint staff as assistant women's basketball coach is former player Aliza Bogdanich '04, who led the 2004 team in scoring and rebounding and to a 20-6 record. Captain, team MVP, the Liberty League Player of the Year and an all-region selection as a senior, Bogdanich has been assistant coach at Morrisville State College and was varsity basketball and volleyball coach at the Forman School in Connecticut prior to beginning her collegiate coaching career a year ago.

Zach Wetherell '10, who had an outstanding career on the Saints Nordic ski team, will work alongside Ethan Townsend as a new assistant coach to the program.  Wetherell served as team captain for two seasons and competed in the 2010 NCAA Championships.  He recorded six top-10 finishes in his career, including a 5^th at the 2010 EISA Championships, leading his team to victory.

Nate Howard '11 will join the football team's coaching staff for the 2011 season as the defensive line coach following a standout senior campaign.  Howard, who served as a captain during the Saints' run to the 2010 Liberty League title, earned First Team All-Conference honors last fall.  He finished with 135 tackles including 13.5 sacks, in 27 career games with the Scarlet and Brown.

The final alumni returning to campus as an assistant coach is Kyle Benton '09, who will work as the assistant coach to the men's lacrosse team.  During Benton's tenure on the team, the Saints went to four straight NCAA Tournaments.  He earned Liberty League All-Academic honors three straight years while majoring in philosophy, and returns to Canton after a stint as an assistant lacrosse coach at Widener University.

Other graduate assistant hires include:

Chelsea Plimpton, a 2011 graduate of Fordham University where she went 40-16 with an earned run average under 2.00 as a pitcher after transferring from St. John's University to start her collegiate career, joins the Saint staff as assistant softball coach.

Melissa Anderson, a 2010 graduate of Northland College who was assistant volleyball coach and interim head volleyball coach at her alma mater joins the Saint staff as assistant volleyball coach. She was a three-year captain as a player, a two time all conference first team selection and a three-time team MVP.

Eileen Coyle, an all-conference selection in soccer at Geneseo and a two-year All America at Herkimer County Community College, joins the Saint women's soccer staff as assistant coach. She also played lacrosse at both Herkimer and Geneseo and has coached at both the Oneonta and Hamilton College soccer camps.

Ben Jordan, who played on three national championship soccer teams at Messiah College and a 2008 graduate of that institute, joins the Saint men's soccer staff as assistant coach. Jordan, who was part of Messiah teams which went 89-6-2 during his career and made four straight trips to the NCAA semifinals, has been an assistant coach at Penn State University and a trainer at Total Soccer Academy in State College PA.

Also joining the men's and women's soccer staffs as a goaltenders coach is Luke Seymour, a Canton, NY native who was a keeper at Canisius College for four seasons.  He graduated in the spring of 2011 with a Bachelor's Degree in communications and is certified to coach goalkeeping at levels I, II and III.

Beresford "Ozzie" Brown joins the Saint track and field staff as an assistant coach after coaching sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers at Moravian and Gwynedd Mercy colleges. A national champion in the decathlon and indoor long jump in 2008 and a two-time All-America in the hurdles, he was a five-time winner of USTCCCA regional honors.

John Galassi joins the men's lacrosse staff after working as the assistant head coach at Riverdale Country School in Bronx, NY.  Galassi earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in May of 2009 from Lafayette College.  He played in 51 games for the Leopards, finishing with 49 goals and 14 assists for 63 points.

Finally, Kelly Gordon has been hired to work as the running backs coach for the football team.  A 2007 graduate of Ithaca College, Gordon was a Second Team All-America selection (KR/PR) in 2006 and was the Bombers' Special Teams Player of the Year as well.  He had 347 receiving yards in his senior season, while adding three scores on kick/punt returns.