Phil Dodson

Phil Dodson was named the head men's lacrosse coach at Lake Forest College in July of 2020. The 2021-22 season will be his 11th as a coach at the collegiate level and fourth at the helm of an NCAA program.

Dodson came to Lake Forest after four years as the first head men's lacrosse coach at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After a year of recruiting, he led the Cougars to a 7-8 record in their first season and a 9-7 mark in year two. The 2019 team also became Chatham's first spring sport to reach the semifinals of the conference tournament. Despite the 2020 season being cut short after just seven games by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chatham players earned a total of 15 all-conference honors during his two full seasons.

Dodson has also been a head coach at the club level since 2015.

No stranger to collegiate lacrosse in the Midwest, Dodson spent the 2013 season as the defensive coordinator at Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.) before filling the same role at Aurora University (Aurora, Ill.) for the next three years. Those teams combined for an overall record of 62-19 and a Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC) mark of 31-1 with three league titles and NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.

A native of Wilmette, Illinois, Dodson had a stellar playing career at New Trier High School before becoming a four-year starter and two-year captain at the University of Illinois. The defender also earned Scholar-Athlete honors and a pair of All-American awards from the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association. He later served as the team's head coach for three years and made a pair of trips to the national tournament.