Marquette University Men's Lacrosse

In the 2025 season and his first season as head coach, Richard guided Marquette to a 7–7 overall record and a 2–3 mark in BIG EAST Conference play, helping t...

Andrew Smistad enters his first season as offensive coordinator and assistant coach with the Marquette University men’s lacrosse program for the 2025-26 academic year. “I know Coach Smistad will inspire our team to be the best version of themselves off the field while pushing them to new heights on the field,” head coach Jake Richard said at the time of the hire in July 2025. “Surrounding our athletes with men worth emulating is paramount to our mission. Throughout the interview process Coach Smistad showcased a specific vision for our offense. He’s excited to introduce new ideas while creating continuity and building off the momentum from last year.” Smistad was a member of the MU program for three years and served as team captain during the first two seasons of intercollegiate competition (2013-14). He played in nine games during the 2013 campaign for the Golden Eagles as a defensive midfielder and suffered a season-ending injury during the preseason of his final season. Smistad has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division III Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. He helped the Bobcats to a 9-7 record in 2025, while working primarily with the Bates offense. He began his collegiate coaching journey after serving as head coach of the Calgary Shamrocks, a Canadian Junior box lacrosse team in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League's Junior B Tier I league. Joining the program as an assistant coach in 2016, Smistad was promoted to co-head coach in 2018 and ser

Joey Artinian enters his third season as director of operations with the Marquette University men's lacrosse program in 2025-26, and eighth year overall. In his role, he manages the day-to-day operations of the team, as well as travel logistics for the season. He also oversees the student managerial staff and works with the program's budget. He joined the Indianapolis Colts equipment staff as a seasonal intern upon graduation before returning back to Marquette in the fall. Artinian was a team manager all four years of his undergraduate career at MU and graduated in May of 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in history and a sociology minor. As a manager, Artinian assisted the team with practice and game film needs, tracking game scores and player statistics, and worked with the day-to-day needs of the players and program. He worked alongside with his older brother, Peter, for two years, and twin brother, Nick, for all four years. During his time in undergrad, he competed all four years on the Marquette men's club rugby team.

Four-time USILA All-American and PLL first round pick Mason Woodward is in his first season as assistant coach on the Marquette University men's lacrosse sta...

Patrick Gifford currently serves as Assistant Director of Sports Performance at Marquette University. In his role, he works with the men's lacrosse and men's and women's track and field specifically with the sprinters, jumpers, throwers and multi's. Gifford arrived at Marquette after spending the past few years in the private sector as owner of ECT Strength & Performance. During this time, he also worked with the men's soccer program at Wisconsin Lutheran College and assisted at Franklin High School the Croatian Eagles Soccer Club with strength and speed work. Prior to ECT, Gifford served as Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning at Florida International University where he directly oversaw baseball and softball while assisting with football. Gifford also spent four years at Hillsdale College as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach directly overseeing the training for the college's 14 teams. Prior to Hillsdale Gifford had stops at Liberty University, the Miami Marlins, Mississippi State University and Michigan State University. Gifford graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's in Kinesiology in 2009. Gifford and his wife, Katie, have three sons, Evan, Clayton and Tucker.

Patrick Roberts currently serves as an Assistant Athletic Trainer at Marquette University working with men's lacrosse and 2025-26 will be his third season with the university. He also assists with the Marquette spirit squads. Before coming to Marquette, Roberts worked as an Athletic Trainer with MOSH/Ascension: Mount Mary University. While there, he primarily worked with women's basketball, softball, volleyball, soccer, cross country and golf. Prior to his time at Mount Mary University, Roberts worked at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee for a year covering men's and women's swimming and diving teams. From 2019-2020, before working at UW-Milwaukee, Roberts worked at Loyola University of Chicago. During this time, he was covering men's and women's cross country and track and field. In 2019, Roberts graduated from Xavier University with an M.S. in Athletic Training. He spent his time as an undergrad at Ball State University where he completed a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science in 2016. Roberts currently resides in Waterford with his wife, one year old son and 3 dogs.

Will Roberts enters his third season on the Marquette men's lacrosse coaching staff in 2024-25 and his first as defensive coordinator after being elevated fo...