Angela McMahon-Serpone - Women's Lacrosse Coach - University of Massachusetts Athletics

Angela McMahon-Serpone

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
amcmahon@admin.umass.edu
Phone:
545-3157

Entering her 12th year as head coach of the UMass women's lacrosse team in 2022, Angela McMahon-Serpone has built the Minutewomen into one of the premier programs in the Atlantic 10 and in New England. During her tenure as head coach, McMahon-Serpone has six-times been named the A-10 Coach of the Year after leading UMass to eight Atlantic 10 Tournament Titles, ten regular season conference crowns, and eight berths to the NCAA Tournament.

As one of top young coaches in the country, McMahon-Serpone was named in March 2018 to the United States Under-19 National Team coaching staff under her former coach at Northwestern, Kelly Amonte Hiller. McMahon-Serpone, along with UMass midfielder Ally Murphy, helped guide the U.S. team to a gold medal at the 2019 U19 World Championship in Peterborough, Ontario with a perfect 7-0 tournament record.

She stands 195-60 (.764) overall as a head coach which includes her time at UMass, UConn, and Bentley, and she ranks sixth in NCAA history in career winning percentage (.764), and fourth among active head coaches. McMahon-Serpone's career started quickly with the Minutewomen as she posted the best record for any coach in NCAA history during their first three years with a program at 54-8 overall.

With an average of 17-or-more wins each year at UMass, McMahon-Serpone sports an impressive 176-31 (.850) record leading the Minutewomen. The 176 wins during her 11 years at UMass makes the Minutewomen the second-most winningest NCAA program during that time span behind only Maryland. Her win total with the Minutewomen after the 2016 season also made her the winningest coach in program history surpassing the legendary Hall of Fame coach Pam Hixon, who originally set the program wins record (91) from 1979-1987.

Under her tutelage, UMass players have received high honors from the Atlantic 10 and the IWLCA. McMahon-Serpone and the women's lacrosse program have produced eight Offensive Players of the Year (Jackie Lyons; Katie Ferris - three times; Erika Eipp - twice; Holly Turner; Haley Connaughton), four Defensive Players of the Year (Katie Florence, Rachel Vallarelli, Kate Farnham, Sarah Crowley), two Midfielders of the Year (Hannah Murphy - three times; Stephanie Croke – three times), a Rookie of the Year (Ferris) and a Student-Athlete of the Year (Riley Perry).

All told, 72 players have earned All-Conference accolades, while 15 were presented All-Academic honors. Eight players have earned All-America status (Ferris, Lyons, Kelsey McGovern, Eipp, Murphy (2x), Crowley, Caitlyn Petro (2x)), while 44 have been tabbed to the IWLCA All-Northeast Regional teams. On four occasions, UMass produced a program-high five All-Region First Team picks following the 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 seasons. In 2021 UMass added 6 All-Region picks. Placing three on both the first and second teams respectively.

When McMahon-Serpone took over as head coach, it was not an unfamiliar program to her. She spent two years as an associate head coach for Alexis Venechanos in Amherst before moving on to be the head coach at Connecticut during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Much of the foundational work she put in during the 2007 and 2008 seasons at UMass with Venechanos helped pave the way for the Minutewomen's current success. The highlight of her time as associate head coach came in 2008 when UMass defeated top-ranked Richmond in overtime of the Atlantic 10 semifinals putting the Minutewomen in the league finals for the first time since 2003.

That helped set the stage for UMass to win Atlantic 10 Championship titles in 2009 and 2010. The 2009 season saw the Minutewomen earn their first berth to the NCAA Tournament in 25 years.

In 2013, McMahon-Serpone guided the program to its first win in the NCAA Tournament since 1984 as the Minutewomen advanced to the second round following a win over Connecticut. That came on the heels of setting new Atlantic 10 records for overall league championships (6) and consecutive championships (5).

UMass once again posted an NCAA Tournament win in 2015 after defeating Jacksonville in the first round. The Minutewomen spent much of the season ranked as the No. 1 defensive unit in the country en route to their seventh Atlantic 10 Championship, fifth undefeated run through the Atlantic 10 regular-season and the second-most wins (19) in program history.

The 2016 season was one for the books with the Minutewomen reaching the NCAA Elite Eight after posting a program record-tying 20 wins. UMass captured its eighth consecutive Atlantic 10 title, recorded its sixth consecutive undefeated record in A-10 regular-season play, and posted a pair of wins over Princeton and Cornell in the NCAA Tournament. Following the campaign, she earned Atlantic 10 and ECAC Coach of the Year honors.

In the 2021 season, the Minutewomen bounced back in tremendous fashion following the 2020 season getting cut short due to COVID-19. UMass posted a record of 15-3 and 10-0 in conference play including the A-10 and NCAA tournaments. McMahon-Serpone guided the Minutewomen to an Atlantic 10 Regular Season championship in addition to capturing the tournament crown at home on Garber Field on May 2nd, 2021 by defeating Saint Joseph University 18-7. UMass had six players earn All Conference accolades and two players earn an All-Rookie team selection. Haley Connaughton was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year award and Stephanie Croke captured the Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year Award for the third straight season (2018, 2019, 2021). In addition six players were named to the IWLCA Northeast All-Region Team. Caitlyn Petro was named an Inside Lacrosse Media All-American after leading the nation in draw controls and breaking the UMass single season record.

In her 11 years at the helm, UMass has been one of the top offensive and defensive units in the country. The Minutewomen have been ranked in the top 8 nationally in points, the top 5 in scoring offense, the top 11 in scoring defense and the top 4 in win percentage within that span. Her 2012 squad led the entire nation in points with 491, while the 2015 edition finished as the No. 2 scoring defense nationally. In 2016, UMass ranked third in scoring offense, ninth in scoring defense and fifth in scoring margin, while the 2019 squad led the nation in draws controls per game (19.11) and points per game (25.58), and was second in the NCAA in scoring offense (17.47 goals per game). In 2021, the Minutewomen offense was again at the top of the rankings placing second in scoring offense with 17.72 goals per game. In addition, the UMass defense ranked 12th in the country for scoring defense in 2021 allowing only 9.72 goals per game. The draw control unit was dominant once again in 2021 ranking first in the country in draw control percentage (.656) and second in draw controls per game (19.00). Additionally, the program has been ranked among the Top 10 in RPI during the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons.

McMahon-Serpone has turned UMass into a dominant force among Atlantic 10 institutions. The Minutewomen won an NCAA record 61 consecutive league games spanning eight years and now holds the league record for overall (11) and consecutive championship titles (9). UMass also holds a 22-game home win streak during her tenure which is the fourth-longest mark in NCAA history. The Minutewomen also hold the third-longest home win streak with 31 wins at McGuirk Stadium between 2011 and 2014. Since taking over as head coach, McMahon-Serpone has guided UMass to an impressive 85 wins in 91 home contests since 2011 - a .934 percent home winning percentage.

In addition to her coaching responsibilities with the Minutewomen, McMahon-Serpone established and coordinated a partnership between the A-10 Conference and the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a charitable organization created to raise public awareness regarding pediatric brain tumors. She also directed all UMass camps, clinics and local tournaments; served the first-ever Italian National Women's Lacrosse Coach for the 2017 FIL World Cup; and has been a member on the IWLCA North/South Committee and the NCAA Championship Committee as well during her time with UMass.

Though her time at UConn was short, the native of Weston, Mass., helped revitalize a Huskie program that had fallen on hard times. In the year prior to her arrival in Storrs, UConn posted a 1-15 record. She led the Huskies to a 3-13 mark in 2009. In 2010, UConn had its first winning season since 2007 with a 9-8 overall tally.

Prior to taking over at UConn and UMass, McMahon-Serpone also served as the head coach at Division II Bentley in 2006. She guided the Falcons to a 7-8 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the Northeast 10 Conference. At Bentley, she also served as a member of the Division II North Regional Lacrosse Committee.

McMahon-Serpone began her collegiate lacrosse career at UMass before transferring to Northwestern in 2001 to help rebuild a program that had been dormant for the previous 11 years. She spent three seasons with the Wildcats on attack where she finished her career with 44 goals and 23 assists.

She was a two-time tri-captain of the squad that advanced to the 2004 NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since the program reclaimed varsity status in 2002 and helped build the foundation for each of Northwestern's four consecutive national titles. In her senior season, she earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, American Lacrosse Conference Academic Honors and the Northwestern Scholastic Achievement Award.

Since 2002, McMahon-Serpone has also worked as a counselor and administrator at a variety of lacrosse camps. During that time, she has instructed campers of all skill levels and helped with the organizational camp operations. In addition, she was the founder and CEO of Destination: Hawaii, a summer training trip to Hawaii for girls lacrosse players.

McMahon-Serpone graduated from Northwestern in 2004 with a degree in communication studies. She added a master’s degree in Sports Leadership from Northeastern University in 2012. She married Justin Serpone in the summer of 2009 and resides in Hadley, Mass. Serpone is the head coach of men's soccer at Amherst College. The two had their first daughter, Lily, in 2011; son, Tyson, in 2013; and welcomed their second daughter, Annabelle, in 2016.

last updated: October 27, 2021

Angela McMahon's Year-By-Year Head Coaching Results
Year	W	L	Pct.	Season Notes
2006 - Bentley	7	8	.467
2009 - UConn	3	13	.188
2010 - UConn	9	8	.529	Best Season Since 2007
2011 - UMass	17	3	.850	Atlantic 10 Champions; NCAA First Round
2012 - UMass	19	2	.905	Atlantic 10 Champions; NCAA First Round
2013 - UMass	18	3	.857	Atlantic 10 Champions; NCAA Second Round
2014 - UMass	18	2	.900	Atlantic 10 Champions; NCAA First Round
2015 - UMass	19	2	.905	Atlantic 10 Champions; NCAA Second Round
2016 - UMass	20	2	.909	Atlantic 10 Champions; NCAA Elite Eight
2017 - UMass	17	4	.810	Atlantic 10 Champions; NCAA Second Round
2018 - UMass	14	5	.737	Atlantic 10 Regular-Season Champions
2019 - UMass	15	4	.789	Atlantic 10 Regular-Season Champions
2020 - UMass	4	1	.800	Season suspended due to COVID-19
2021 - UMass	15	3	.833	Atlantic 10 Champions; NCAA First Round
UMASS TOTAL	176	31	.850	10 A-10 Titles; 8 NCAA Tournaments
TOTALS	195	60	.765	10 A-10 Titles; 8 NCAA Tournaments

Angela McMahon's Head Coaching Honors
2011	Atlantic 10 Coach Of The Year
2012	Atlantic 10 Coach Of The Year
2013	Atlantic 10 Coach Of The Year
2015	Atlantic 10 Coach Of The Year
2016	Atlantic 10 Coach Of The Year ECAC Coach of the Year
2017	Atlantic 10 Coach Of The Year