Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 9/17/21
From Press Release
Lehigh head men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Cassese announced on Friday the additions of Noah Fossner and David DiMaria to the coaching staff. Fossner joins as an assistant coach while DiMaria, a 2013 Lehigh Lacrosse graduate, will serve as director of operations.
Fossner will serve as Lehigh’s goalie coach and assistant defensive coordinator following four seasons at his alma mater, the University of Delaware. The former All-American goaltender coached a Blue Hens’ defense that ranked in the top 20 nationally in 2019, 2020 and 2021 – including finishing ninth at the end of the 2019 and 2020 seasons. In 2021, Delaware led the CAA in goals against average and save percentage.
Fossner mentored goalie Matt DeLuca, who earned multiple All-America honors and ranked in the top 15 nationally in save percentage, saves per game and goals against average in consecutive seasons. Fossner also coached defenseman Owen Grant, who was CAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2021.
Fossner has a wide breadth of experiences. Prior to Delaware, he was lacrosse operations coordinator at Harvard during the 2016-17 school year, overseeing day-to-day operations of the Crimson. The year prior, he was volunteer assistant coach and goalie coach at Boston University, as junior goaltender Christian Carson-Banister finished first in the Patriot League in several categories.
Prior to BU, Fossner was at Delaware as assistant coach and defensive coordinator. His first coaching position was at Rutgers as volunteer assistant coach from July, 2011 to August, 2013. While there, Fossner mentored Kris Alleyne, who was named Big East Goalkeeper of the Year as a true freshman.
As a player, Fossner was a three-year starter and team captain, three-time CAA champion, three-time NCAA Tournament participation and 2017 NCAA Semifinalist. Fossner played in 51 career games and 3,003 minutes, posting 552 saves and allowing 483 goals. He ranks second all-time at Delaware in career minutes played, third in career goals against average (9.65), and sixth in career saves (552).
Also new to the staff is a familiar face, as former Lehigh All-American DiMaria ’13 returns to the program as director of operations. As a player, DiMaria was a crucial part of Lehigh’s initial breakthrough as a program, posting a team-high 47 points in Lehigh’s 14-3 season of 2012, which included the program’s first-ever Patriot League Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament berth.
A year later, DiMaria was named a candidate for the Tewaaraton Award, posting 73 points via 33 goals and 40 assists, as the Mountain Hawks earned back-to-back Patriot League Tournament Championships and a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. DiMaria was named Patriot League Tournament MVP in 2013 and also served as a team captain. DiMaria stands second in program history for career assists (117) and third for career points (205). He was later named to the Patriot League 25th Anniversary Team and drafted by the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse in the 2013 Entry Draft.
DiMaria returns to Lehigh Lacrosse following several years in the sales industry in the New York City area, most recently as the Northeast sales manager at AtmosAir Solutions and also as a surgical and orthobiologics sales specialist at Zimmer Biomet.
Fossner and DiMaria will join a Mountain Hawks’ program that went 10-2 last season and a perfect 9-0 in the Patriot League, earning the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament.