Colorado College women's lacrosse head coach Susan "Stuey" Stuart announced she will retire at the end of the 2025 season. The only coach in the program's illustrious history enters her final year with 312 wins, the 12^th most in DIII history.
 
"The past 30 years have been nothing short of amazing," Stuart said. "I ended up in the absolute perfect place for me."
 
Colorado College enters its 31st season with 312 wins, 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, 18 All-Americans and a staple name in NCAA women's lacrosse. In its prosperous history, there has only been one head coach.
 
"Stuey has been the heart and soul of our women's lacrosse program for 30 seasons, guiding our student-athletes to unparalleled success," CC's Vice President and Director of Athletics Lesley Irvine said. "As she enters her final season, we are deeply grateful for her leadership, dedication, and lasting impact on our program and the sport. Stuey's legacy will forever be a part of Colorado College, and we look forward to celebrating her remarkable career throughout the 2025 season and beyond. It has been an honor to work with Stuey. Simply put, she is truly a legend in the sport of women's lacrosse."
 
CC's first women's lacrosse season was in 1995. The Tigers had their first winning season in 1996 with a 9-5 record. They made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999 with a then-program record of 12 wins, finishing the year 12-6-1.
 
Between 2002 and 2007, Stuart and CC made six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2005 national semifinal run. CC hosted the second round, winning against Union (N.Y.) before downing Cortland State in the third round.

Cassie Abel was named the Division III Attacker of the Year by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association, and for the second consecutive season, was named a first-team All-American by the IWLCA, becoming CC's only three-time All-American.
 
The Tigers fell to national runner-up Salisbury in the semifinals 15-11.
 
CC made four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament from 2016 to 2019. In 2019, the Tigers set the program record for most wins in a single season with an 18-2 record, which ended in a second-round appearance in the big dance.
 
In 2019, Stuart was named West Region Coach of the Year by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association for the seventh time after guiding the Tigers to a No. 1 ranking in the West Region.
 
Fast-forward to last season, another historic chapter in Stuey's legacy. On March 16th, against No. 18 University of Chicago, the Tiger head coach reached 300 career wins with a program record of 26 goals.
 
Senior Kendall Havill set the program record for goals in a game (nine) that same day.
 
Havill and fellow senior Devon Ortman became the two most recent All-American nods under Stuey's tenure. The Tigers made the NCAA Tournament yet again, battling to the Sweet 16 with wins over Aurora and UChicago.
 
CC fell to No. 1 and national champion Middlebury, ending the year with a 16-6 record (.727 win percentage), the second-most wins in program history.
 
Originally from Great Falls, Mont., Stuart competed at William Smith as a dual sport athlete, as a goalie, in both lacrosse and soccer before graduating in 1989. She was inducted into the William Smith Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 as one of the top goalies in the program's history. Stuart compiled a 26-6 record as a starter for the Herons.
 
She finished her career with 421 saves, a .629 save percentage and a 7.29 goals-against average. In her first season as a starter, Stuart backstopped William Smith to the 1988 NCAA Championship Game. She still shares the NCAA DIII Tournament record for saves in a game, with 27 in a 13-11 win over Ursinus in the semifinal round.
 
Stuart finished the year with a then-school record of 206 saves, a 7.76 GAA, and a .609 save percentage. Her efforts were rewarded with second-team All-America honors.
 
She was the first William Smith player to earn a spot on the national team, playing for Team USA from 1989-95. She later was the starting goalie for Team Canada in the 1997 and 2001 World Cups and later coached in 2005 and 2009, winning a silver medal in 2009. 
 
Before coming to Colorado Springs, Stuey was an assistant at Roanoke College, Penn State University and James Madison University.
 
Stuey's impact on women's lacrosse was felt beyond the campus boundaries of Colorado College.
 
In 2019, she began a three-year term as a Division III IWLCA Board of Directors representative. The seven-time West Region Coach of the Year also has served on the organization's All-America Committee and the NCAA West Region Committee.
 
Stuart has also worked tirelessly to promote the sport's growth, particularly in the West Region. Her willingness to play fledgling programs from Division III conferences, such as the Northwest Conference and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, as well as those from the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, has helped the sport expand and directly increased opportunities for student-athletes to compete at the collegiate level.
 
"The student-athletes I have had the privilege to coach are all incredibly bright, creative, welcoming, and very hard-working," Stuart said. "My heart is overflowing, and I can't express enough gratitude for all the joy I have had from coaching these amazing women over the years."