Ned Webster enters his tenth year as head coach of the Cal Men's Lacrosse program. Webster grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, playing three years of varsity lacrosse at the Boys’ Latin School before heading to South Bend, Indiana to play for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where he started at attack, earning four titles in the now-defunct Great Western Lacrosse League and four NCAA tournament appearances, before graduating in 1999.
The 2023 Golden Bear season was highlighted by a road victory over eventual MCLA Champion, Concordia, 15-12, as well as a home win over MCLA Semifinalist, Chapman, 9-8, under the lights of Maxwell Family Field. Both victories saw 20-plus save efforts from Third Team All-American and First Team All-WCLL goalie, Zach Blake, who was the backbone of a young and inexperienced roster that was marred by injuries to several key players. Along with Blake, we saw All-American play from Ryan McAvoy, the 2023 Doug Sciutto #4 Jersey recipient, and fellow captain and Offensive MVP, Jack Ronan. With multiple lettermen returning in 2024, led by captains Ethan Pavlet and Cooper Endicott, along with the influx of an outstanding recruiting class, the future of Cal Men's Lacrosse is quite promising.
The 2022 season finished with a solid record of 12-4, but it was ultimately defined by three one-goal losses which were the deciding factor for the Golden Bears being the last team left out of the MCLA tournament field, the program's first omission since 2015. The Bears led the WCLL in goals scored and goal differential and earned a #1 seed heading into the WCLL Tournament. Eleven Bears earned WCLL All-League honors, with all eleven earning MCLA Scholar Athlete honors (by carrying a GPA of 3.2 or higher) and five being recognized as MCLA All-American. The Bears averaged 14.25 goals per game while allowing an average of 8.5.
Due to COVID-19, the 2021 season was cancelled.
The promising roster of the 2020 Golden Bears had their season cut short after starting 7-1 and finishing the season ranked #3 in the MCLA. Despite the inability to "three-peat" as WCLL Champions and earn another shot at an MCLA National Championship, the Bears had much to be proud of. The Bear offense averaged 15.5 goals per game and our injury-plagued defense was getting healthy for a strong finish. We placed 10 players on the All-WCLL teams, all of which were also Academic All-WCLL, while senior captains Nick Beattie and Jake Pistotnik earned WCLL Defensive and Offensive Player of the Year, respectively.
The 2019 Golden Bears enjoyed a successful season ending the regular season undefeated and ranked #1 in the MCLA for 8 consecutive weeks. The Bears earned their second consecutive WCLL title before heading to Salt Lake City for the MCLA National Tournament, their fourth consecutive appearance. In their first three games, the Bears outscored their opponents 51-31 and defeated #4-seed Georgia Tech in a classic overtime thriller, 13-12. The Bears then faced #3-seed South Carolina in the MCLA Championship. After being tied 4-4 at halftime, the Gamecocks controlled the faceoff game in the second half and turned away several shot opportunities by their MVP goalie to win the championship 13-8. An historic 17-1 season for the Bears resulted in a final ranking of #2 in the MCLA.
In 2018, the Golden Bears won the WCLL Championship for the first time since 2000, a sign of good things to come. The Bears earned an automatic bid to the MCLA Tournament in Salt Lake City where they were matched up in the first round with the #6-seed Colorado Buffaloes and came out on top, 15-11. Despite a quarterfinal loss, the Bears finished the year ranked No. 10 in the final MCLA poll.
In 2017, the Golden Bears saw a #1 ranking in April and their second consecutive at-large bid to the MCLA National Tournament where they battled their way to the Final Four before falling to eventual champion Grand Canyon, 13-10. With a record of 16-3, the Bears finished the season averaging a robust 14 goals per game while allowing just 6.7. In the final MCLA Coaches Poll, the Bears were ranked No. 3, their best season since 2000. Webster and staff were named the WCLL and MCLA Coach of the Year.
In 2016, the Golden Bears ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak and returned to the MCLA Tournament for the first time since 2012, finishing the year ranked #13 in the final poll.
Prior to Cal, Webster spent nine seasons as head coach at Dominican University, transforming a winless club team into a nationally ranked NCAA DII program, leading his teams to back-to-back Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (WILA) Championships in 2013 and 2014, the same two seasons he was named WILA Coach of the Year.
Webster also led his team to two NCAA DII Statistical Titles for Man-Up Offense in 2012 and 2013 and three times finished in the top 5 for scoring offense.
Webster spent two years as an assistant coach for the San Francisco Dragons, the Bay Area’s former professional Major League Lacrosse franchise, coaching the offense and working with the goalies.
Webster comes from a lacrosse family: father Mickey is a US Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee and won two National Championships with Johns Hopkins, while his brothers, Jim and John, played lacrosse at University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina, respectively.
Coach Webster lives in Marin with his lovely wife Megan and two daughters, Ella (7) and Milly (2).
