Joe Cillo joined the Bearcat lacrosse staff in August of 2021.
During Cillo's first season in 2022, he helped lead the Bearcats to the PAC Championship game, finishing as the runner-up ... Cillo helped lead the Bearcats to one of the top defensive teams in the country in 2022, and the top defensive team in the Presidents' Athletic Conference ... A number of players earned All-PAC honors under Cillo's direction, including goalie Noah Sperling, who earned All-PAC first team honors, and Benjamin Wohlin, who earned All-PAC second team honors ... Cillo also helped guide Max Schuler and Ethan Cavin to All-PAC Honorable Mention selections ... Under Cillo's direction the Bearcats allowed a conference low, six goal per game, holding their opponents to just 97 total goals, while causing 156 turnovers on the season.
In 2023 the Bearcats once again had one of the top defenses in the entire country under Cillo's direction. He helped lead senior defenseman Brody McMahon to becoming the Bearcats first ever USILA All-American. McMahon set a team-record with 52 caused turnovers, good for an average of 2.89 per game, which ranked 15th in NCAA Division III. McMahon was also named the PAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Most recently, he coached the defense at Lake Erie College from 2018-20 while earning his M.B.A. In his first and only full season there, he coached a first team all-conference defenseman and a send team all-conference goalie.
Â
Prior to his time at Lake Erie, he coached for multiple club programs in the greater Cleveland area, including Xcelerate and Force Knights.
Â
Cillo played defense for Seton Hill University from 2015-18, compiling All-American and Scholar All-American honors, as well as multiple GMAC All-Conference selections. He helped lead Seton Hill to its best season in team history in 2018, which culminated with a trip to the NCAA Division II Final Four.
Â
Joe is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a graduate of Saint Ignatius High School.
Â
