Just a little over a week before the Riverhawks men’s lacrosse team kicked off its season on Feb. 25, the Athletic Department promoted the team’s assistant coach to the top job. 

Jeremy Ross, a former AACC athlete, replaced Joe Stanilaus, who accepted the head coach position at the University of the District of Columbia. Stanilaus finished his Riverhawk carrer at 42-30, including regular season and postseason games. 

“It was always a dream of mine to be a head coach,” Ross, who graduated from Broadneck High School, said. “I played here, and this place got me to a new school, got me to the next level and now … I have the opportunity to turn back and help some of these kids out.”

Ross played for the Riverhawks from 2015-2017. In regular season and playoff games he scored 71 career goals and assisted on 14. Ross also assisted Stanilaus for three years.

He said his goal for the season is to win at nationals. 

“Every year we set goals [to] win each game,” Ross, who played lacrosse at NewBerry College in South Carolina, noted. “Then …  we want to win the region, and we want to make it to the tournament, and we want to win the tournament. We’re setting goals [and] we just want to be successful.”

Attacker Payton Williams said the promotion of Ross will pay off in the long run.

“I think that overall, it’s going to be a change that you might not see the results overnight,” Williams, a third-year communications student, noted. “But over time, it’ll be a better call for the future.”

Photo Editor Megan Cunningham contributed to this story.