Clare Short

Clare Short is in her 4th season as the head women's lacrosse coach at Queens University. Short (Gaeng) returned to the Royals ahead of the 2017 season after spending two seasons as the head women’s lacrosse coach at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

In her third season as head coach, Short led the Royals to their best season in program history. The Royals posted a record setting 19 wins during the year going on a program best 16-game winning streak. They finished the year with a 19-3 record after advancing to the NCAA DII Women’s Lacrosse Championship Semifinals for the first time in program history. The Royals also won their fifth South Atlantic Conference regular season title and their sixth straight SAC Championship title before advancing to the NCAA Championships for the third time in four seasons. At the close of the regular season, Coach Short was honored as the 2019 SAC Coach of the Year for this first time in her career, and four athletes were named all-Americans at the end of the postseason which is the most in program history. Additionally, Queens notched notable wins over a then third-ranked Tampa team and a then seventh-ranked Rollins team en route to the national semifinals. Queens completed the season with the second ranked scoring offense in the nation as nine players recorded 25-plus points on the season. The Royals also finished the season ranked No. 5 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll after beginning the 2019 season not ranked at all.

2018
This past season, Queens secured its fifth-straight South Atlantic Conference Championship title. Six Royals were recognized on the South Atlantic Conference All-Conference team while three earned IWLCA South All-Region team honors. Additionally, three Royals earned AstroTurf SAC Player of the Week honors with Cammy Case being named defensive player of the week three times. She also earned IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week recognition and was voted SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

2017
Short led the Royals to their second-straight NCAA Championship appearance in her first year with the program advancing to the second round after securing the programs fourth consecutive SAC Regular Season and Championship titles. Eight players received all-conference team honors while four advanced to the all-region team. Both Kelly Dowd and Hanna Scott were named IWLCA All-Americans. Academically, Becca Chen earned the SAC Elite 18 Award.

Coaching Prior to Queens Return
After spending a year as the assistant coach with the Royals in 2014 and helping coach Queens to its first SAC Regular Season and Championship titles, Short served as the head women’s lacrosse coach at Lenoir-Rhyne for two seasons. In that time, she led the Bears to second place finishes in the SAC during the regular season and in the SAC Championship for two consecutive seasons.

In 2016, Lenoir-Rhyne finished the regular season with a 7-1 league record. That season Short coached the SAC’s Player of the Year, Lauren Donovan. Additionally, Donovan was the Bears’ all-time leading scorer and first ever IWLCA NCAA Division II All-American.

In 2015, the Bears gave the Royals a run in the SAC Championship game once again before falling 16-8 to the Queens. Lenoir-Rhyne finished the year at 11-7, while going 7-1 in the SAC once again. Short also saw another one of her players, Ines Flueck recognized on the IWLCA NCAA Division II All-American team.

Prior to coaching at Queens, Short spent one season as an assistant coach at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., in 2013, helping lead the squad to an 8-0 start, which set a new program record. Additionally, the Yellow Jackets reached the semifinal round of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament.

Background

A player herself, Short was a starter on the Lock Haven University Bald Eagles women’s lacrosse team from 2009-2012. The three-time all-conference team member helped lead her team to a berth in the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championship. In 2010 Lock Haven reached the semifinal round of the championships, and they advanced to the quarterfinals in 2011. Additionally, the all-region honoree was named Team Captain and Defensive MVP during her senior season. The Eagles were also three-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Champions from 2010-12.

Short, a native of Frederick, Md., holds a bachelor’s degree from Lock Haven in sports administration. She currently resides in Charlotte with her husband, D.J., and their daughter, Callahan.