Old Ties Land Ward at Florida Southern

from press release

Marty Ward, a two-time All-America selection at Limestone College, has been named assistant lacrosse coach at Florida Southern College. He will be the top assistant to head coach Rory Whipple, who directed FSC's first season of lacrosse competition last year.

Ward was a goalkeeper for four seasons at Division II power Limestone, which compiled a 55-9 record during his career. He was an honorable mention All-America selection in 2005 and 2007.

Limestone reached the NCAA semifinals all four years of his career. Twice the Saints lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Lemoyne (2006 and 2007) and twice they lost in overtime in the title game (11-10 to Lemoyne in 2004 and 14-13 to New York Tech in 2005).

A graduate of Corcoran High School in Syracuse, N.Y., Ward was a two-time team captain for Limestone and a three-time all-conference selection. In 2006 he was the MVP of the Deep South Conference Tournament. Also in 2006 he was the starting goalkeeper for the Iroquois Nationals program that finished fourth at the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship and he was rated second in the nation in saves. In 2007 he was named Player of the Year in the Carolinas Virginia Athletic Conference.

"I've known Marty since he played in the 2006 World Championship," Whipple said. "I also watched him play when he was at Limestone. He's a person of strong character and will bring a lot of energy and outstanding knowledge of goal tending and defensive concepts to our program. He's going to do an excellent job as our defensive coordinator."

Following his playing career at Limestone, Ward stayed on at his alma mater as a student assistant coach for the 2008 season. He received his bachelor's degree in history in 2008.

Last year he served as head lacrosse coach at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, S.C., where he led his team to a region championship.

In addition to Ward, Whipple will have his son, Max, on his coaching staff. The younger Whipple was a key member of the Moccasins' inaugural squad last season, leading the team in ground balls with 63 and winning 60% of his faceoffs.