Chris Ilse
Camp Director
Directing camp this summer is Chris Ilse. Coach Ilse is entering his 11th season on the sideline for the Seton Hill Men’s Lacrosse program. Most recently, Coach Ilse was named as an Associate Head Coach in the Spring of 2023. Ilse currently works with the Seton Hill offense and goalies after spending the previous 9 years leading the defense.
In his 10 seasons with the Griffins, Seton Hill has posted a 113-41 record, capturing 3 GMAC titles, advancing to the NCAA tournament 4 times in the past 6 seasons.
Under Coach Ilse both sides of the ball have flourished. In 2023 the Griffin Offense posted a 16.00 Goals per Game average, good for 10th in the country.
Working with the Defense from 2014 - 2022 they had risen to be one of the more consistent and successful defensive units in the GMAC conference and country. Griffins were 12th in the country in scoring defense while winning their third Great Midwest Athletic Conference title and advancing to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament in 2022.
The Griffins were second in Division II in 2020, allowing just over five goals per game before the CoVID pandemic cut short the season. In 2019, the Griffins finished tied for eighth in scoring defense, allowing just 8.14 goals per game.
Coach Ilse had led the defensive unit to several program benchmarks. In 2015 the unit averaged 8 goals against per game which ranked them 6th in Division II, the highest such ranking for a Seton Hill defensive unit at the time. Three defensive players were named to the All Conference team.
In 2017, the Griffins had their second-best season in the programs history with a record of 12-4. They won the inaugural GMAC championship as the #2 seed with a victory over #1 seed Mercyhurst. The defense gave up 7.38 goals per game which is the lowest in program history and ranked 6th in Division II. Four members of the defense were named to the GMAC All-Conference team and one, sophomore LSM Brett Craig, was named a USILA All American.
In 2018 Ilse helped lead the Griffins to their best season in the programs 15 year history with a record of 17-2. The team won their second straight GMAC championship defeating Mercyhurst in a rematch of the 2017 final. The defense ranked 5th in Division II giving up 7.79 goals per game and was the top ranked clearing team in Division II clearing the ball at 90.0%. Sophomore goaltender Max Eisman, Senior Defender Joe Cillo, and Junior LSM Brett Craig were named to the GMAC All Conference team and also named USILA All Americans.
Coach Ilse joined the Seton Hill staff after finishing his playing career for the Griffins. Ilse was a four-year member of the Griffins, a 3 year starter and was named a USILA All-American and ECAC goalie of the year in 2013 and currently ranks first in all-time Seton Hill history in wins (31), Goals against average (8.43) and save percentage (57.3%).
A native of Vestal, NY Ilse graduated from Vestal High School in 2009 where he was a two-year varsity starter and two-time first team all-league selection. He was named a co-captain and high school All-American in 2009 and was selected to participate in the US Lacrosse National Senior Showcase.
He is married to former Seton Hill Women's Lacrosse player Alessandra Nicholas and the couple resides in Pittsburgh.