It’s no coincidence that the most successful era in more than 50 years of Colorado College men’s lacrosse has occurred during Sean Woods’ tenure as head coach.
A master motivator with an attention to detail, Woods has built upon the program’s status as the most dominant in the West Region to one that is making waves at the national level.
During his 10 seasons, the Tigers posted a combined record of 109-42, good for a .722 winning percentage, and won 10 or more games eight times.
CC earned six consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship from 2013-18, including 2016 year when it played host to the program’s first-ever postseason home game and rallied to defeat Whittier College, 11-10, in overtime.
In 2021, the Tigers made their eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the national quarterfinals for the first time in program history after defeating Transylvania University, 20-12, and Centre College, 19-6, in the first and second rounds, respectively.
At the same time, Colorado College has controlled possession of the Locker-Stabler Cup, a traveling trophy awarded to the winner of the CC-Whittier regular-season showdown, by winning six of the seven cup games during Woods' tenure.
In four seasons competing in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Woods guided the Tigers to a 20--0 league mark and tournament championships in 2013, 2014, 2019 and 2021.
He was named the SCAC Coach of the Year by his conference peers in 2013, 2019 and 2021.
Woods, who serves on several NCAA and Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) committees, previously spent five years as the head coach at Mars Hill College in North Carolina, posting an overall ledger of 51-24.
His teams won three Deep South Conference championships (2009, 2010 and 2011), and he was named conference Coach of the Year three times (2007, 2009 and 2010).
In 2011, Mars Hill finished with an 11-4 record and was ranked ninth nationally in the LaxPower Division II polls. The Lions also were ranked third among NCAA Division II schools in scoring offense and fourth in margin of victory. A year earlier, in 2010, they went 10-4 under Woods and were ranked ninth nationally as well as in the top 10 offensively and defensively.
Woods started his coaching career at Brown University, where he was an offensive assistant and goalie coach during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. He helped lead the Bears to a second-place Ivy League finish in 2002.
In 2004 Woods joined the staff at Division III power Washington College in Chestertown, Md., where he served as offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. During his tenure at Washington, the team posted a 41-13 record and made appearances in the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2004 and quarterfinals in 2006.
Woods graduated from Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology. He was a four-year letter winner and won Hartwick’s Coaches Award his senior year. He is a native of Newport, R.I.
Woods and his wife, Candice, reside in Colorado Springs.
