Andy Shay, who finished his eighth season at Yale in 2011, has engineered consecutive 10-win seasons, a 20-8 record, two Ivy League Tournament appearances and a regular-season Ivy League Championship the last two springs.

He guided the 2010 Bulldogs to a 10-4 season that included a share of the Ivy League title and a spot in the inaugural league tournament.

The Bulldogs' 2010 season marked the first post-season appearance since 1992 and the first Ivy championship since 1990. Shay's squad was ranked as high as No. 9 at one point during the campaign.

The 2005 Elis climbed as high as No. 14 in the national polls. His first two squads ranked second in the Ivy League in offense, while the 2005 unit was 14th nationally.

Shay (55-53 overall), named Yale head coach on June 25, 2003, helped guide the University of Massachusetts to the 2002 and 2003 NCAA quarterfinals as an assistant coach for four years under Greg Cannella. During his tenure, the Minutemen won two ECAC championships and three New England titles. UMass posted an impressive 37-9 overall record in his last three seasons.

Shay served as the recruiting and defensive coordinator for the Minutemen. In 2002 and 2003 his defensive unit allowed under 10 goals a game and ranked third in nation in scoring margin. The 2001 squad led Division I in man-down defense, allowing opponents only 11 goals in 80 chances (.138).

Prior to joining UMass' staff, Shay was an assistant coach at Delaware, where in 1999 he helped the Blue Hens capture the America East title with a 14-3 record and advance to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in school history.

In June of 1999, Shay was selected to join Delaware head coach Bob Shillinglaw on the coaching staff of Team USA for the inaugural World Cup of Lacrosse. Team USA defeated Team Canada in a best-of-three series at John Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Shay began his coaching career as the head coach at Morrisville (N.Y.) Junior College, and he compiled a 20-17 record in three years. His 1995 team established a school record with a 10-4 mark, qualified for the regional playoffs and was ranked No. 5 in the final national poll.

Shay is a 1994 graduate of LeMoyne College where he was a four-year starting defenseman and served as team captain for two years. He was an All-Empire League selection as a senior when he led the team to a league title. He and his wife, Sheila, and their sons, Logan and Griffin, live in Guilford.

Graham Niemi, promoted to offensive coordinator late in 2010, has been running the Yale offense for the last five seasons. He completed his eighth campaign with the Bulldogs in 2011.

The 2011 squad, which won 10 games for a second straight season, finished 13th in Division I scoring with 10.93 goals per game. His last two offensive units have helped the Blue reach consecutive Ivy League Tournaments.

Niemi, a four-year letterwinner for the Maryland Lacrosse team and a 1997 graduate, played on Terrapin squads that reached the NCAA playoffs every season. His 1995 team fell to Syracuse in the title contest.

Niemi, the 1996 William P. Cole Award winner as Maryland's best midfielder, was a two-year starter who became an undergraduate assistant coach for the 1997 Terrapin team that made it to the NCAA final.

He went on to coach the defense for a National Junior College championship team at Anne Arundel Community College and then serve as graduate assistant at Washington College (24-7, 2 NCAA tournaments). His 1998 team was recently inducted into the Anne Arundel CC Athletics Hall of Fame.

In 2001 he was an assistant for a Loyola (Md.) College squad that reached the NCAA quarterfinals before returning to his alma mater in 2002 as an assistant. Niemi, who has played or coached in nine different NCAA tournaments, was the defensive coordinator for Washington College and coached in the 2002 NCAA tournament.

Niemi's coaching experience has extended beyond the U.S. He served as head coach of the Finnish National Team for the 2008 European Championships.

Ryan Polley, who was promoted to defensive coordinator in the summer of 2010, finished his fifth season at Yale in 2011. He helped the Bulldogs to their second straight 10-win campaign and Ivy League Tournament appearance while leading his defense to new heights.

The 2011 Elis ranked seventh in Division I scoring defense (7.57) and third in caused turnovers (10.2) a year after being ranked among the top 10 nationally in both categories. 

In 2010, four of Polley's defensive players earned All-Ivy recognition, while two were named All-New England. He had three more All-Ivy picks in 2011.

Prior to becoming his alma mater's head coach, Polley stayed in Andover where he was head coach for the first three years of the women's lacrosse program at Andover High School. His 2003 team went undefeated in the regular season, and in his three years Polley compiled a record of 42-11-3.

Polley currently resides in Farmington with his wife Carolyn.