Courtney Shute

Courtney Shute enters her fifth season as the head coach of the Tufts University Women's Lacrosse program.

The Tufts University Women's Lacrosse program has returned to the national stage under fourth-year head coach Courtney Farrell. After narrowly missing an NCAA Tournament berth in 2014, the Jumbos advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 in 2015 and were a nationally-ranked team throughout 2016.

Farrell's 2015 team earned the program's first NCAA berth since 2011 and won a second-round game at Messiah 14-7. In the very competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), Tufts advanced to the conference championship semi-final also for the first time since 2011. They lost to two-time defending national finalist and 2012 NCAA champion Trinity College 8-7 in overtime.

During Farrell's first year at the helm in 2014, she directed Tufts to a 10-6 mark overall and a 6-4 record in the NESCAC. That improved upon the team's 7-8 overall record and 3-7 mark in the league during the season prior to her arrival.

With a roster featuring 13 new recruits brought to Tufts by Coach Farrell last year, the future for Tufts team is bright.

In 2015, Farrell coached two Tufts players who were voted to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-America First team - as many as any team in the county - with Emily Wright and Caroline Ross. Last year's Tufts squad also featured two All-Americans as Ross again made the first team and Brigid Bowser was on the second team.

The Jumbos were also one of the top academic teams in the nation last season. The IWLCA recognized Tufts as an Academic Honor Squad for 2016. Ross received the University's Rudolph J. Fobert Award for athletic and academic achievement. The team is also actively involved in community service. In June 2016 Coach Farrell took the team on a service trip to Jamaica organized by the Lacrosse Volunteer Corps, a sports charity program of Fields of Growth International in the USA.

Farrell had been part of the Cortland staff under head coach Kathy Taylor since fall 2010. She was promoted from assistant to Associate Head Coach in fall 2012. During her tenure, the Red Dragons played in three consecutive NCAA final fours from 2011-2013. They compiled an outstanding 62-6 overall record during Farrell's three seasons for a .912 winning percentage.

The all-time leading scorer in Cornell University history, Farell played for the Big Red from 2005-08. She led the team in scoring for each of her four seasons and finished with 213 career points on 122 goals and 91 assists. She was an IWLCA All-American, a four-time All-Ivy pick, and three times an All-Region honoree.

Farrell is a 2008 graduate of Cornell, where she earned a bachelor's degree in applied economics and management. She immediately went into coaching, serving as an assistant at Division I American University for the 2009 season. She was then an assistant for the 2010 Ivy League runners-up at Dartmouth College.

A member of the United States Development Team from 2006-08, Farrell founded and directs teamthirteen, a women's lacrosse specialty company which focuses on the development of fundamental skills and teamwork in girls and young women. She also spends summers working the top college recruiting showcases and instructional camps.

Farrell became the sixth head coach of Jumbo Women's Lacrosse since the program was founded in 1975. Originally from Fayetteville, New York, she is a 2004 graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius High School.

In December Farrell married Sarah Shute, the associate head field hockey coach at Boston University. They reside in Waltham.