Chris Ryan has been the head coach of the Mercyhurst men's lacrosse team since 2001 after spending two years as an assistant coach for the Lakers. His teams have produced Mercyhurst's first All-American selections, first Academic All-American selections, first ECAC All-Star selections and four Final Four appearances in the last five years. The program has had 19 All-Americans, six Academic All-Americans and numerous other distinctions during Ryan's tenure. The roster has grown to nearly 40 members as Mercyhurst continues to play one of the most competitive schedules in Division II. More importantly, the team QPA has risen to its highest level in years.

The 2007 season saw Mercyhurst rise to new heights. The program was ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time ever on April 9 and held onto the spot for five consecutive weeks through the end of the regular season. Mercyhurst hosted an NCAA Final Four game for the first time, defeating New York Institute of Technology 13-10. The win sent the Lakers to the National Championship game for the first time after three losses in the semifinals. Despite a last-second loss to Le Moyne in front of 22,000 people at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., Ryan was named USILA Coach of the Year. Mercyhurst finished the season with a record of 13-2 overall and dominated the toughest conference in Division II, going 6-0 in the East Coast Conference and winning by an average margin of 6.5 goals per game.

After the season, Joe Thon was named USILA Defensive Player of the Year and became the first Laker drafted into professional lacrosse, being selected by the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse in the fourth round. Eight players were named All-ECC and five were named All-Americans. Thon was also named the ECC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

The 2006 season saw the Lakers once again prove themselves to be one of the top programs in Division II. The Lakers finished the regular season with a 12-2 record and a 4-1 mark in their first year as a member of the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC). Mercyhurst tied for first in the NYCAC (after being picked last in a pre-season coaches' poll) and ended the regular season with a No. 3 ranking in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll. The Lakers had six All-NYCAC picks, including a pair of first-team selections, finished the regular season with a 5-2 mark against top 10 teams and their 12 wins set a school record. The season came to an end with a loss at No. 2 Dowling in the NCAA Division II semifinals, which was the team's third NCAA tournament appearance in the last four years.

Ryan has a seven-season mark of 75-22 and was named USILA Division II Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2007. In 2004 Ryan was chosen to coach the North Division I All-Star team in the Senior All-Star Game. He currently is the Division II USILA representative to the NCAA and is a member of the Central Regional Advisory Committee. Entering the 2007 season, his 62 career wins were the 10th most among active Division II coaches and his .756 winning percentage was third.

Prior to Mercyhurst, Ryan spent a year as a graduate assistant at Alfred University, where he worked with the women's program. He had come to Alfred after a one-year stint at Monroe Community College in 1997.

Ryan played two years at Monroe Community College, where he was a two-time Academic All-America, team captain and was selected to play in the Junior College North-South game. After two years at MCC, Ryan moved to Randolph-Macon College where he was a two-time Second Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference defenseman and team captain in his senior year. Before assuming the head coaching duties after the 2000 season, Ryan served as Mercyhurst's assistant coach, working primarily with the defense and serving as the recruiting coordinator.

A native of Rochester, New York, Ryan is a 1998 graduate of Randolph-Macon College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history. He and his wife Karin reside in Erie with their son Caleb and daughter Brianne, and two labrador retrievers, Oakley and Murphy.

Ryan's Record at Mercyhurst

	Overall			NYCAC/ECC
Year	W	L		W	L
2001	9	3		-	-
2002	8	6		-	-
2003	11	3		-	-
2004	11	2		-	-
2005	11	3		-	-
2006	12	3		4	1
2007	13	2		6	0
Career	75	22		10	1
	.773			.909

Honors & Awards:
NCAA Division II Runner-Up: 2007
NCAA Division II Final Four: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
USILA Division II Coach of the Year: 2003, 2007
USILA No. 1 rankings: 2007 (5 times) 19 All-Americans
9 All-ECC selections
6 All-NYCAC selections
6 Academic All-Americans
1 National Specialist of the Year
1 National Defensive Player of the Year
1 Mercyhurst Male Athlete of the Year
2007 ECC Champion
2006 NYCAC Tri-Champion