A 2011 Saint Vincent College graduate, Zach Wilfong was named the Bearcats’ head men’s lacrosse coach in April 2020.
During his inaugural season on the sidelines at his alma mater, Wilfong led Saint Vincent to a 9-3 record. Offensively, the team’s 13.9 goals and 47.3 shots per game ranked in the top three of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference while the SVC defense surrendered an average of just 7.8 goals per game and boasted the PAC’s top penalty-killing percentage at .830. Nine Bearcats earned All-PAC accolades, highlighted by a trio of first-team selections in midfielders Caleb Hawkins and Zack Novelli and defenseman Brody McMahon.
In his first season with the Bearcats in 2021, Wilfong guided his squad to a 9-3 overall record and 4-2 PAC mark. Ten SVC players earned All-PAC accolades, with Hawkins, McMahon and Zack Novelli all First Team selections. Six different Bearcats scored 10 or more goals, as SVC averaged 13.7 goals per game, while surrendering only 7.8. The nine wins were tied for fourth most in a single season in program history.
In 2022, Wilfong led the Bearcats to a 13-2 record and a berth in the PAC Championship game. The 13 victories marked the second most in a season in program history. Wilfong guided nine Bearcats to All-PAC honors, including four First Team selections in Jordan Billet, Brody McMahon, Noah Sperling and Caleb Hawkins, while senior defenseman Ethan Cavin became the first player in program history to be named Scholar All-America by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. The Bearcats outscored their opponents a combined 129-51, and finished the season as the NCAA Division III leader in team defense, surrendering an average of just 6.47 goals per game.
In 2023, he led the Bearcats to a 15-3 overall record with a 6-1 record in the PAC, earning a berth in the PAC Championship for the second season in a row. Wilfong guided nine Bearcats to All-PAC accolades for the second straight year as well, including the PAC Defensive Player of the Year, Brody McMahon. Saint Vincent once again finished the season with one of the top defenses in the entire country. Wilfong also helped lead McMahon to All-American honors as he was the first ever Bearcat men's lacrosse player to do so.
Prior to joining the SVC coaching staff, Wilfong served as head coach at La Roche University during the 2020 season. His influence was quickly felt, as the Redhawks went 2-2 in a 2020 season that was abbreviated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It marked the best four-game start to the season for the Redhawks since 2013, while the two wins were already the most in a single season by a La Roche team since 2016.
Prior to his time at La Roche, Wilfong served as head coach of the men’s lacrosse club team at the University of Pittsburgh for the 2019 season. Six of his players earned All-Continental Lacrosse Conference (CLC) honors, while he led the team to the quarterfinals of the CLC playoffs.
For the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Wilfong served as offensive coordinator at NCAA Division II power Seton Hill University. In 2017, he helped lead the Griffins to a 12-6 record and their first-ever Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) championship. A season later, the Griffins repeated as GMAC champs and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament for the first time in team history. Seton Hill finished the season with a 17-2 overall record, with Wilfong presiding over an offense that averaged 16.4 points per game to rank first in NCAA Division II.
In 2016, Wilfong was an assistant coach at Ohio Northern University, helping the Polar Bears to an 8-7 overall record in their first season of competition. He began his coaching career with a three-year stint as assistant coach at Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School.
Wilfong remains one of the most decorated players in the 35-year history of men’s lacrosse at Saint Vincent College. As a senior in 2011, he became just the second player in team history to eclipse 200 career points and still ranks fifth all-time with 201. His 81 career assists rank fourth in team history and his 120 career goals are good for seventh. A three-year team captain for the Bearcats, Wilfong was the first player from Saint Vincent College ever selected to compete in the prestigious United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III North-South All-Star Game in 2011.
A native of Columbus, Ohio, he graduated from Saint Vincent in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He and his wife, Carly (Duffy), a 2012 SVC student-athlete graduate, reside in Pittsburgh’s North Hills.
