Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/5/22
From Press Release
Former St. Joseph’s standouts Mike Rastivo and Anthony Joaquim have returned to Hawk Hill as members of the men’s lacrosse coaching staff, head coach Taylor Wray announced recently. Rastivo holds the title of assistant coach, while Joaquim takes on the role of volunteer assistant coach.
Rastivo will work hand-in-hand with offensive coordinator and newly dubbed recruiting coordinator, Scott Meehan, on the offensive side of the ball, while Joaquim will assist Wray on the Hawks’ defensive end.
The former Saint Joseph’s All-American and NEC Player of the Year, Rastivo, returns to St. Joe’s after spending the past year and a half at LIU where his offense finished offense ranked 8th in goals/game, 2nd in shot percentage, and 10th in points per game nationally.
“Beyond his coaching acumen, his leadership skills, Mike’s passion and loyalty for SJU are beyond measure; he bleeds Crimson & Gray,” Wray said. “I can think of no one better to mentor the young men in our program. Mike and Scott loved working together when Mike was on staff as our volunteer, and we saw first-hand what Mike was capable of doing as the offensive coordinator last year at LIU.”
Prior to his time with the Sharks, he spent one season as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater.
“I am honored to return to the staff at Saint Joseph’s University,” Rastivo said. “Coach Wray has been a mentor of mine since my time here as a player and I look forward to contributing to the culture that he and Coach Meehan have created. I have always whole heartedly believed in Coach Wray’s standards of hard work, discipline and selflessness that he has used as the corner stones of this program. Returning to my alma mater is a dream come true.”
Rastivo was a four-year starting attackman on Hawk Hill from 2014-18, and as an assistant coach for the Hawks, focused his efforts on offensive player development, coordination of substitutions, and face-off game.
In a shortened 2020 season due to COVID-19, Rastivo worked with Hawks’ rookie attackmen Levi Anderson (15g, 9a) and Matt Bohmer (14g, 6a), who averaged 3.4 and 2.9 points per game, respectively, through seven contests. As a unit, SJU’s offense put up 72 goals on the year for an average of over 10 goals per game and scored double-digit goals in six of seven total competitions as the Hawks went 5-2 overall.
Also working with the face-off unit, Rastivo saw sophomore Zach Cole earn Inside Lacrosse All-American Second Team honors after winning possessions at a clip of 75.6%.
He has also spent time as both the Director of HHH Operations, Middle School Division and as the Offensive Coordinator at Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.). Rastivo worked with Big 4 Lacrosse/HHH Philadelphia since the fall of 2016.
The only USILA/Nike All-American in program history (after earning Honorable Mention recognition in 2016), Rastivo is Saint Joseph’s program record holder in career goals, scoring 129 times over 59 career games played. He also ranks third in all-time career points (190) and 10th in all-time career assists (61) on Hawk Hill, and owned a point-scoring streak of 52 games, spanning from April 5, 2014 to April 21, 2018, which ranked fifth among all active Division I players upon graduation.
A three-time All-Conference selection, Rastivo was voted the 2016 Northeast Conference Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year (35g, 22a) as well as the 2015 NEC Offensive Player of the Year (43g, 19a). He was also tabbed to the 2016 Tewarraton Award Watch List.
After falling to an injury that sidelined him for the entire 2017 season, Rastivo worked his way back to total 37 points (24g, 13a) in all 15 starts en route to 2018 All-NEC Second Team honors as a graduate student.
Rastivo was also tabbed a 2018 Senior CLASS Award All-American selection, which speaks not only to his honors on the field, but to his successes in the classroom, within the community, and of his character, and was Saint Joseph’s representative at the 2018 Philadelphia Sportswriters Dinner.
The three-year team captain led the Hawks to four NEC postseason appearances during his playing time on Hawk Hill.
A native of South Setauket, N.Y. and product of Choate Rosemary Hall and Ward Melville, Rastivo graduated from Saint Joseph’s University in May 2017 with a degree in business administration and also earned his M.S. in organization development and leadership from SJU.
Joaquim joins the staff for his first collegiate coaching role, while simultaneous playing for the NLL’s Philadelphia Wings.
“To have someone with Anthony’s familiarity and loyalty to the program, coupled with his professional experience, it just made him a terrific fit,” Wray said. “It’s been a seamless addition this fall. He brings new ideas, passion and it was clear from his first day, he is not shy about getting right out there and coaching the guys. We are incredibly thankful to have him with us”
A 2017 graduate of Saint Joseph’s University, Joaquim played in all 62 games of his four-year career, which remains tied for second in program history in career games played. The Guelph, Ontario native recorded 140 ground balls and 35 caused turnovers to go with 26 points on 16 goals and 10 assists in his time spent as a short stick defensive midfielder on Hawk Hill.
“It feels good to be back on Hawk Hill,” Joaquim said. “I’m excited to be back and be a part of the team in a coaching capacity. The goal is still the same to win a NEC championship and I’m hoping to do so as a coach.”
He went on to make his professional debut with the NLL’s New England Black Wolves in 2018 before playing with the NLL’s Philadelphia Wings in 2019, 2020, and 2021. He also spent the 2020 season on the Philadelphia Barrage roster. He had been an assistant at Westtown School the past year.
Joaquim was drafted in the first round of the entry draft in 2017 to the Black Wolves and selected in the sixth round of the 2018 expansion draft to the Wings.