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Caitlin Defliese Named Interim Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse

The Orange assistant will lead the program while a national search is conducted for a permanent replacement.

On Monday, Syracuse Athletics made the official announcement that legendary coach John Desko was retiring and Gary Gait was leaving the women's team to become the new head coach of the men's lacrosse program. Included in that announcement was Caitlin Defliese being named interim head coach while the school conducts a national search for Gait's replacement. 

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Defliese could be someone Syracuse considers for the permanent job as well and would make sense. She has more than a decade of coaching experience as an assistant at Stony Brook and Syracuse. As the defensive coordinator at Stony Brook, she led one of the best defensive units in the nation. Since arriving at Syracuse in 2016, the Orange has bolstered one of the better defenses in the country as well. 

She is highly regarded in the lacrosse community, knows the schemes run under Gary Gait, and has the respect of current players and recruits alike. Defliese would bring continuity from a number of perspectives. 

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That said, Syracuse is a desired job. It is a name program within the sport and should have several quality candidates that want the position. But Defliese deserves to be considered, and she is the right person to lead the program in the interim. If Syracuse elects to go another direction, she could be someone the new head coach retains. 

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