Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 7/16/19
From Press Release and Staff Report
Cleveland State University head lacrosse coach Dylan Sheridan stepped down from his position Monday to accept an assistant coach/offensive coordinator position at Ohio State, leaving former St. Joseph’s Prep head coach and Villanova assistant Andy German as the interim head coach.
CSU Athletic Director Scott Garrett gave the title to German- a Radnor grad – immediately upon Sheridan’s decision. German has served as the top assistant coach with the program throughout its three-season existence. A national search will be conducted to fill the head coach vacancy permanently.
German guided St. Joseph’s Prep to the Catholic League championship and a berth in the PIAA boys’ lacrosse championship in 2015. He mentored 11 players to the All-Catholic team, including seven who earned first team accolades.
German was an assistant coach at Villanova for five years (2010-14), serving as an offensive assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the first three years and the Defensive Coordinator for the final two years. In 2011, German helped the Wildcats to a No. 7 ranking as the Wildcats earned their first-ever at-large berth to the NCAA postseason tournament. The following season, he helped Villanova to new heights after the team was ranked well inside the top-20 for all 16 weeks during the regular season.
In 2013, German helped lead the Wildcats to the Big East regular season title and No. 1 overall seed for the Big East Tournament where the Wildcats fell to eventual NCAA runner-up Syracuse in the title game.
Prior to his stint at Villanova, German was the offensive and recruiting coordinator at Susquehanna for two seasons. He has also served as the assistant coach of the Thailand National Team for the last two years, coaching the team in the 2014 World Games in Denver.
German attended Division III Alfred University for two years before transferring to Villanova for the 2006 season. At Villanova, he developed into a captain and two-year starter as a midfielder. He graduated from Villanova in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.
Sherida leaves the CSU program in good shape for German or whoever takes over.
“The Viking program is in a great place and poised for great things,” Sheridan said. “I hope, in time, people will understand that I merely pointed the ship in the right direction, and that our student-athletes did all the rowing. There is no doubt the program will move on without me.”
Sheridan, who arrived at CSU following coaching stints at Princeton and Denver, led the way as Cleveland State steadily built from the ground up, with the Vikings showcasing noticeable improvement from one season to the next.
Cleveland State had its finest season yet in 2019 with Sheridan leading the way. The Vikings won seven of their final 10 games to close the year, doubling their win total from the prior season in the process. In doing so, CSU posted a winning record in just its third season of existence despite facing six teams among the top 25 in the NCAA’s RPI.
Cleveland State led the nation in opponent clearing percentage (.707) this past season, edging out national champion Virginia, while also finishing sixth nationally in faceoff percentage (.631). CSU finished among the top 25 nationally in eight team statistical categories overall with Sheridan’s assistance in 2019 despite having no true seniors on its roster.
