St. John Fisher University Athletics

After 14 years leading the St. John Fisher women’s lacrosse program and 16 overall as a collegiate head coach, Linda Michele announced her retirement in May 2025. She left as the winningest head coach in Empire 8 Conference history and one of the most successful in NCAA history. 

Michele became a Cardinal in September 2011 after two seasons as SUNY Brockport’s head coach (2010-11). The 2010 NCAA Division III Coach of the Year led the Golden Eagles, who won just five games in 2009, to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances. 

Of course, nobody knew it at the time, but St. John Fisher’s first season under Michele in 2012 marked the beginning of an unrivaled stretch of Empire 8 dominance. The Cardinals won the conference and advanced to the NCAA DIII Tournament 13 seasons in a row with Michele at the helm, a number that in all likelihood would be 14 if not for the coronavirus pandemic shutting down the 2020 season after just three games.

Michele went 229-68 as a head coach, including 206-57 at Fisher and 23-11 at Brockport. Her .771 career winning percentage ranks 19th all-time among women’s lacrosse coaches at all three NCAA levels and ninth all-time in DIII. At the time of her retirement, she was 16th in all of the NCAA and fifth in DIII in winning percentage among active coaches. 

Named Empire Region Coach of the Year by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association in 2021 and 2025, Michele produced a winning record in each of her seasons as a head coach and led the Cardinals to 15 victories or more 10 times. She went 26-0 in the Empire 8 tournament and ended her career on a 65-game winning streak against conference teams. 

The Cardinals had a historic final season under Michele in 2025, as they went 19-1 overall, set the program’s single-season goals record (355) and tied the program’s single-season wins record, set by the 2019 team that went 19-2. They reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time under Michele. 

Michele’s 2021 team authored the best season in school history, reaching the NCAA DIII Final Four. The Cardinals took down Cazenovia, No. 6 Catholic, No. 16 William Smith and No. 10 Messiah before falling 12-10 to No. 3 Tufts in the national semifinals. 

Since 2012, Fisher has had nearly 100 all-conference selections, five E8 Player of the Year winners, four E8 Rookie of the Year winners, four E8 Defensive Player of the Year winners, two E8 Goalkeeper of the Year winners and one E8 Midfielder of the Year. Michele and her staff, which included her husband, Mark, won the conference’s Coaching Staff of the Year award five times. 

The Cardinals had at least one IWLCA All-American in eight of Michele’s seasons, including a program-record three in 2025. Michele coached the Empire 8 career record holders in draw controls (Sydney Carpenter, 504 from 2022-25) and points (Taylor Hughes, 304 from 2011-14). 

In 2021, Lauren Swartz became St. John Fisher’s first-ever NCAA Elite-90 honoree. The award annually honors the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. 

Inducted into the Rochester Chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2008, Michele founded the Lady Roc Lacrosse Club, a premier travel lacrosse team for girls in Western New York, in 2001. She also served as the USWLA and US Lacrosse National Tournament Director, US Lacrosse coach and Empire State Games Western Region coach during her career. 

Michele coached field hockey and girls lacrosse at East Rochester High School before entering the collegiate coaching ranks. Over 13 seasons coaching lacrosse for the Bombers, she went 160-40, won four Section V titles and appeared in the New York State final three times. The East Rochester native also coached at the Albany Girls Academy from 1990 to 1996, where she finished with a 78-14 record.

As East Rochester’s field hockey coach from 1998-2008, she compiled a 185-28-12 record and led the Bombers to three Class C Sectional Championships. 

Michele received her Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from SUNY Cortland in 1982 and a Master of Science in Health Education from Russell Sage College in 1992.

She currently resides in East Rochester with her husband, Mark. They have four children, Whitney, Sean, Jordan and Casey.

Career Year By Year

By The Numbers 

All-Empire 8 Selections: 95 (45 first team)

IWLCA All-Region Selections: 33 (25 first team)

IWLCA All-Americans: 12 (3 first team)... Sydney Carpenter (2023, 2024, 2025, 2x first team), Maddie Lowney (2025), Hanna Kumpf (2025), Shannon Foster (2023), Sydney DeGirolamo (2021 first team), Logan Chase (2021), Molly Tice (2019), Taylor Hughes (2014), Melissa Leonhard (2012 and 2013)

IWLCA Honor Roll Selections: 76

Empire 8 Player of the Year/Offensive Player of the Year Winners: 5... Taylor Hughes (2014), Sydney DeGirolamo (2021), Sydney Carpenter (x2, 2022 and 2024), Hannah Kumpf (2025)

Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Winners: 4... Sydney DeGirolamo (2019), Shannon Foster (2021), Sydney Carpenter (2022), Maddie Lowney (2023)

Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year Winners: 4... Molly Tice (2019), Shannon Foster (2023), Maddie Lowney (x2, 2024 and 2025)

Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year Winners: 2... Lily Goodsell (2023), Kaylee Gadol (2025)