AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts head men's lacrosse coach Greg Cannella announced today the promotion of Andy Shay to top assistant coach for the Minutemen. Shay spent last season as the second assistant in the Minuteman program.

"I'm extremely excited about the opportunity to continue to be a part of the lacrosse program here at the University of Massachusetts," said Shay. "Lacrosse has a long, storied history at UMass, and I'm proud to be able to contribute to that tradition."

Prior to his tenure at UMass, Shay served as the top assistant at Delaware from 1996-99. He was instrumental in leading Delaware to its best ever season in 1999, as the Blue Hens went 14-3, won the America East title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in school history.

Shay served on the coaching staff of Team USA for the inaugural World Cup of Lacrosse in June of 1999. Team USA defeated Team Canada in a best-of-three series. Shay began his coaching career in 1993 at Morrisville (N.Y.) Junior College where he led the team to a three-year record of 20-17. Shay graduated in 1992 from LeMoyne College with a degree in psychology. While at LeMoyne, he was a four-year starting defenseman and served as team captain for two seasons.

"Andy is an integral part of our coaching staff," said Cannella of Shay. "He has a solid background in lacrosse, first as a player at LeMoyne then as a head coach at Morrisville and as an assistant at Delaware and here at UMass. He knows me real well, and he knows what type of a program we want to run."