Caitlin Defliese was named to head coach Joe Spallina's staff in August 2011 and elevated to associate head coach in August 2015. Defliese comes to Stony Brook after serving as Spallina's top assistant at Adelphi, where the two of them helped the Panthers win the 2011 NCAA Div. II national championship.
"Having worked with Caitlin [in 2011], it was essential that she join me here at Stony Brook," Spallina said. "She has an outstanding lacrosse mind and a winning pedigree. She is a tireless worker and a proven winner, someone who can relate to the players and dissect the x's and o's."
Defliese is primarily charged with working with Stony Brook's gem of a defensive unit that has shattered national, conference and school records. The Seawolves allowed 5.65 goals per game in 2013, an NCAA Division I record they actually topped in 2014 when they yielded 5.17 goals per game. SBU was the only squad in the country to surrender fewer than six goals per game in 2013 and held top-ranked Maryland to its two lowest goal totals of the season (11 and 8).
In 2014, Stony Brook held teams to single-digit goal scoring in 19 of 21 teams, to five goals or fewer 13 times, to three goals or fewer six times and to one goal or fewer four times. SBU posted its first-ever shutout in a 13-0 win over Monmouth Feb. 19. Once again, the unit was the only one in the nation to post a goals-against average (GAA) of fewer than six goals allowed per game. The Seawolves held Albany's nationally fourth-ranked scoring defense to one goal in the conference championship game, an all-time tournament low. The six total goals the unit yielded during the America East Championship broke the record of seven it set in 2013.
Defliese was in charge of Adelphi's defense and specialized in draw controls. She helped the team rank No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense with a 5.95 goals per game allowed average.
Defliese was a four-year letterwinner on defense at Boston University and helped the Terriers win four straight America East championships and reach a No. 8 national ranking. She was a first-team All-America East selection in 2010 after posting 36 ground balls, 16 draw controls and 19 caused turnovers.
Defliese is a Garden City, N.Y., native and product of Garden City High School, which she helped reach the New York state finals twice, including a championship win in 2006. During her senior year in 2006, she was named All-County, All-Long Island and All-America and was selected to participate in the Under Armour All-America game.
