As soon as Emily Boissonneault found out that Pitt would be adding a women’s lacrosse program, and therefore a head coach, she drove through a city she had never visited, trying to envision a future for herself in Pittsburgh.
At the time, she hadn’t had any contact with the university about the opening, but despite the challenge of starting a program from scratch, it was everything she wanted in a job. When she returned a few months later, it was for an interview. And on Tuesday afternoon, as she sat in front of a full media room in Petersen Events Center, it was as Pitt’s first-ever women’s lacrosse coach.
For Boissonneault, the next two years — the Panthers don’t start play until spring 2022 — will be a stark contrast to the last two at James Madison, where she was the associate head coach for a program that won the 2018 national championship. That means two years of establishing a brand, growing lacrosse in the city and piecing together a roster that can compete in the nation’s toughest conference.
Head coaching, though, has always been the dream.
“I knew I wanted to be a head coach,” Boissonneault said. “I've known that since I was in college. This was right up my alley. And I wanted to be in the ACC, but I was definitely picky. I wanted to be close to home. I wanted to be somewhere that my family could enjoy as well and be a part of the process.”
Boissonneault is acquainted better than most with starting a new program, something she was involved in as a player at Detroit Mercy from 2010-13. That experience stood out to athletic director Heather Lyke, who helped start a women’s lacrosse program at Ohio State, where she was the assistant athletic director, before working on the men’s lacrosse NCAA tournament selection committee.
Given that experience, Lyke knows the challenges that the program will face. It’s the reason she’s provided a two-year window for it to be phased in, rather than trying to cobble together a team for the 2020 or 2021 seasons without a sufficient foundation. And now, it’s the reason she was able to zero in on Boissonneault in the hiring process.
“I think what you're looking for is someone who has ... an internal belief in themselves in order to portray the confidence that you need in order to take on a challenge, something that's never been done before,” Lyke said. “You're still looking for really strong characteristics as far as being prepared to be a head coach or someone who had head coaching experience — we were looking at all types of candidates. But you wanted someone who had such belief in themselves that they weren't gonna be deterred.”
Lyke’s experience also served as part of her pitch to Boissonneault. She knows the support a new program needs, and with Pittsburgh’s proximity to the sport’s traditional hotbeds in DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Long Island, Pitt’s ability to compete from Day 1 was emphasized.
From there, the fit between Boissonneault and the program felt natural. Her biggest on-field challenge come 2022 will be competing in the vaunted ACC. In that very first interview, she assured Lyke she was up to the task.
“I've prepared and coached against every school in the ACC except for two,” Boissonneault told her. “And I've taught the defense. And we've beat them all.”
She’ll have to wait until 2022 to get a crack at the final two. But when she does, it will be as a head coach, realizing a unique dream to usher in Pitt’s newest sport.
Theo Mackie: tmackie@post-gazette.com
First Published: July 2, 2019, 7:25 p.m.
