Feb. 10, 2006

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy lacrosse head coach Richie Meade has announced that former Maryland lacrosse All-American Ryan Moran has joined his staff as an assistant coach, while Mark Goers will assume the title of Director of Lacrosse Operations.

Moran, who spent last year coaching at the Naval Academy Prep School in Rhode Island, will be responsible for Navy's face-off specialists, as well as the defensive midfield. He led NAPS to a 10-1 record a year ago which featured wins over Army's JV team, as well as Army's prep school.

Coaching has been in the Moran family bloodline for years. Ryan's father, Jack, has been a successful lacrosse and football coach for the past two decades at Chaminade High School on Long Island. Ryan's great uncle, Richie, was a standout lacrosse player at Maryland (1958-60) before becoming one of the most successful lacrosse coaches in the country. He led Cornell to three national titles and is a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

A 2003 graduate of Maryland, Moran served several roles for the Terrapins during his four-year career. During his freshman and sophmore seasons, he was a short stick defensive midfielder who contributed in the face-off game by playing on the wing, or taking the draws if needed. As a junior and senior, Moran's focus turned to the offense where he played the majority of the time at the midfield, but also played attack. In those two seasons he scored a combined 39 goals, and added 11 assists, this after not scoring a goal in either of his first two years. He also won 50 percent (38-76) of the face-offs he took during his senior campaign.

A First-Team All-ACC selection and member of the ACC All-Tournament Team his senior season, Moran led the Terps to a 12-4 record in 2004 and an appearance in the Final Four. By year's end, Moran was only player on Maryland's roster responsible for producing either a goal or an assist in every game except the Terrapins' NCAA semifinal contest against Virginia. For his efforts, Moran was named a USILA Third-Team All-American in 2003.

Moran was drafted by the Baltimore Bayhawks in the third round of the 2003 Major League Lacrosse College Draft where he was the 18th overall pick. He saw action in eight of the Bayhawks' games as a rookie, and was traded to the Philadelphia Barrage an the end of the season. While in Philadelphia, he played in every game, drawing four starts and helped lead the Barrage to the lacrosse championship. He produced five goals and added five assists and owned a .510 face-off winning percentage. Moran was traded to the Long Island Lizards in 2005 where he scored 10 goals and added six helpers. Additionally, he won .510 of his face-offs in the 14 games in which he played. The Lizards went on to play in the championship game, but were tripped up by the Bayhawks.

A native of Massapequa, N.Y., Moran is a 1999 graduate of Chaminade High School on Long Island. A standout lacrosse and football player, Moran earned All-America and all-league lacrosse honors his senior year and played in the North-South Game upon graduation. Additionally, he was an all-league safety on the football team his junior and senior campaigns.

"Ryan is a tremendous young coach," said Meade. "He was an outstanding leader when he played in college and is a competitive individual. He works particularly well individually with players and brings an enthusiasm and excitment to the staff and program."

"I am extremely excited to be able to coach at the United States Naval Academy," said Moran. "The opportunity to work under Coach Meade and Coach Tillman is something I feel extremely grateful to have. Moreover, I have an unrelenting respect for the caliber of student-athlete the Naval Academy recruits and produces. I look forward to the relationships I will form, and to the challenges that await me."

Goers is in his fifth season at the Naval Academy, but his first as Navy's Director of Lacrosse Operations. In this newly-created position, Goers will spearhead the Mids' travel, facilities scheduling, camps and clinics, as well as other administrative duties including budget, compliance issues and film. Additionally, Goers will continue to teach physical education classes to the Midshipmen.

"I'm excited to be able to move Mark over to our Director of Lacrosse Operations position," said Meade. "Mark possesses great administrative skills. It's an opportunity to direct his experience and energy into supporting the coaching staff and the Midshipmen."

"My family and I are excited to continue to be a part of the Navy lacrosse team," said Goers. "My decision to leave the coaching side was a tough one. I'm going to miss the daily interaction with the guys on the team- they're some of the very best men with which I've ever worked. I look forward to the challenges of my new job and furthering the mission of Navy lacrosse. "

As an assistant coach the previous four seasons, Goers molded the Mids into one of the premier face-off squads in the country. In 2004, Chris Pieczonka was ranked No. 2 nationally in face-offs, winning 67.6 percent (173 of 256) of his draws and led Navy as a team to a tie for No. 2 in the national rankings, winning 65.5 percent (268 of 409). By virtue of his ability to face-off, Pieczonka was ranked 10th nationally in ground balls, scooping up 5.81 per contest.

Another player Goers is credited in refining is two-time All-American Steve Looney. The middle of three lacrosse playing Looney brothers, Steve is the workhorse of Navy lacrosse. He is multi-faceted as a face-off specialist, a wing player on face-offs, a defensive midfielder and an offensive midfielder. The 2004 Patriot League Tournament MVP, Looney surfaced with the ball in 2004 and '05 in nearly every ground ball opportunity.

Goers came to the Naval Academy after a three-year stint at Ohio State, where he oversaw the Buckeyes' offense and face-off strategy.

G-o N-a-v-y