Men's Lacrosse
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- surman_cl@mercer.edu
- Phone:
- (478) 301-4615
Chad Surman is entering his sixth season with the Bears for the 2020-21 academic year. He was named interim head coach on August 6, 2020, and the interim tag was removed on October 27, 2020. He previously served as associate head coach.
The 2020 season showed favor to the Bears as Mercer went 6-1 through seven games, which was the best start in program history. Mercer's only loss came to No. 8 North Carolina in the second game of the season. The Bears won five consecutive contests before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but despite the shortened season, the Bears set several milestones. Mercer was two wins away from tying the program record for victories (8) and individually, Sean Goldsmith led the nation in goals per game (4.86) and ranked fourth nationally while leading the SoCon in assists per game (6.00).Â
In 2019, Mercer went 1-12 overall with the team's lone victory coming on March 23 at VMI. The Bears topped the Keydets, 18-6. The record was misleading as Mercer suffered eight defeats by a mere four goals or less. Ashton Wood ended his first collegiate campaign ranked seventh nationally in face-off winning percentage (.644) and 16th in ground balls per game (7.69). Mercer was also featured in the top-25 in the team statistical categories three times, finishing the season 14th in face-off winning percentage (.595), 20th in saves per game (13.00) and 25th in ground balls per game (32.77).Â
Mercer was 4-10 in Surman's third season with the team (2018) with their best play coming on the road as the Bears earned three of its four victories away from Macon, Ga. Mercer won two Southern Conference contests as Matt Hughes led a prolific goal scoring offense with a .564 shot percentage as a freshman, the second best mark in the country. Pascal Coombs was a defensive force as a junior, causing 2.21 turnovers per contest to rank him sixth among all Division I players.Â
In Surman's second season (2017), the Bears were 5-8 with a pair of wins in Southern Conference play. Mercer picked up two victories inside the friendly confines of Five Star Stadium and went 3-3 (.500) away from its home field. Offensively, the Bears found themselves ranked ninth in caused turnovers per game (8.85) and 11th in man-up offense (0.441).Â
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The Bears complied a 5-8 record in 2016 with four wins coming at home. Mercer was 4-2 (.666) inside Five Star Stadium and won its lone road contest at Jacksonville, 12-5. The Bears defeated a trio of Southern Conference opponents en route to a 3-4 mark in league action. In goal, Mike Nugent was credited with all five wins and made 153 saves. He finished the season ranked 13th among all NCAA Division I players with a an average of 11.54 saves per game
Surman came to Mercer after spending the 2015 season at Lehigh. At Lehigh, Surman worked on the offensive side of the ball and was responsible for individual offensive skill development and film breakdown. He also coached the scout team defense, the man-down units and ran the substitution box. In the office, Surman assisted in all areas of day-to-day operations and take over as staff film exchange coordinator and point person for community relations.
Before serving as an assistant at Lehigh, Surman was a graduate assistant coach at Division III Salisbury University starting in May of 2012.
While at Salisbury, Surman assisted the head coach in all areas, including recruiting, training, film breakdown and more. Surman helped coached the defense in 2013 and 2014 after graduating from Salisbury with a history degree in May 2012.
The Sea Gulls' defense ranked fifth nationally in 2013 (allowing just six goals per game) and 14th in 2014 (allowing 6.6 goals per game) as Salisbury advanced to the National Semifinals and Finals, respectively. A local product out of Center Valley, Pennsylvania, Surman has also served as head coach of the Lehigh Valley Skyhawks youth team.
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As a player, Surman won the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Division II National Championships at Salisbury, helping lead a defense which ranked second nationally both years. The 2012 season featured a 30-game winning streak. Surman began his collegiate career at Division II Le Moyne, advancing to the NCAA Division II National Championship as the defense allowed just 3.9 goals per game. He also won an NJCAA National Title with Onondaga Community College.
