Lauren Gunning Joins USC Lacrosse Staff as Assistant Coach
LOS ANGELES – USC lacrosse has hired Lauren Gunning as an assistant coach for the Women of Troy head coach Lindsey Munday announced on Friday, July 9.
"We are thrilled to welcome Lauren to the Trojan Lacrosse Family," said Munday. "She brings a great deal of experience and lacrosse knowledge to our program and has been a major factor of success in her previous positions both on and off the field with her players. I'm confident she will thrive at USC and I'm so excited that she is a Trojan."
Gunning comes to USC following seven seasons (2015-21) as an assistant coach for Connecticut where she also played lacrosse as a student-athlete from 2008-11. She returned to her alma mater in the summer of 2014--and was elevated to associate head coach in 2021--after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Cincinnati (2012-14).
Gunning directed UConn's offense and helped the Huskies win 59 games during her time as an assistant coach. In both the 2016 and 2021 seasons, Connecticut reached a program-record 12 wins. In 2021, Gunning helped UConn earn a berth into the NCAA tournament for only the second time in program history and for the first time since 2013.
In 2015, her first season at UConn, Gunning helped lead the Huskies to the Big East Tournament final for the first time and a fourth straight double-digit wins season. She was honored with the Huskies staff as part of the Big East Coaching Staff of the Year. That season, four UConn players were named to the All-Big East first team while the Huskies finished in the national top 20 in caused turnovers, assists, and ground balls per game.
Prior to coaching at her alma mater, Gunning spent three years at Cincinnati (2012-14). There, she worked primarily with the Bearcats' offensive unit and had a hand in the development of Cincinnati's goalkeepers. Gunning was also part of the UC recruiting and scouting efforts and helped the Bearcats match a program record with seven wins in 2013.
As a player, Gunning tallied 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) for the Huskies and was named to the Big East All-Academic Team in each of her four seasons at Connecticut. She served as a team captain in her senior season and produced a career-high seven goals to help the Huskies to a 9-7 overall record. A native of Hunt Valley, Md., Gunning graduated from UConn with a bachelor's degree in sports management and completed her time at Connecticut with a 3.6 cumulative grade-point average and Dean's list honors.
In 2021, the USC lacrosse team went 9-7 overall with a 6-3 record in the Pac-12 to finish the regular season in second place in the league standings. USC faced Colorado and fell by a single goal in the conference tournament semifinal. Ninth-year head coach Lindsey Munday earned her 110th career victory during the season. Kelsey Huff was named the Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year and Madison Waters was chosen as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
For more information on the USC women's lacrosse team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @USCTrojansLax.