BOSTON, Mass. – Dan Russo, who has served as an assistant coach of the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team for the past three seasons, has been named the program's new head coach, effective immediately. Director of Athletics Lee Conrad made the announcement. Russo, who is the fifth head coach in program history, replaces Paul Murphy, who resigned at the conclusion of the 2011 campaign after 11 seasons as the Leopards' head coach.

"I am pleased to announce the hiring of Dan Russo as our new head men's lacrosse coach," said Conrad. "Dan has done a tremendous job the past three seasons as an assistant coach and I feel his experience and enthusiasm will have a very positive effect on our team."

A native of Manhasset, N.Y., Russo joined the Leopard staff at the start of the 2008-09 academic year and assisted Murphy in all areas of on and off-field coaching, including recruiting, practice planning, conditioning, and in-game coaching. He helped to coach three All-The Commonwealth Coast Conference selections over the last three seasons and this past season helped direct an offense to its highest scoring average (8.85 goals per game) since the 2005 season.

"I am honored and excited to be named Wentworth's men's lacrosse coach and would like to thank the Wentworth administration for giving me this opportunity," said Russo. "Wentworth embodies excellence both academically and athletically which makes it a great place to be a part of. I look forward to working with these young, hard-working student-athletes who share the same passion for the game as I do."

Russo was a four-year letterwinner at Lasell College, where he played in 50 of a possible 59 games during his career, helping the Lasers to a 31-28 record. His freshman season (2004) saw him achieve career-highs with 14 goals, three assists, and 17 points, and he finished his career with 47 points, coming on 41 goals and six assists. During both his sophomore and junior seasons Lasell posted back-to-back 10-6 records and earned berths in the ECAC Tournament in each of those two seasons. He received a Bachelor's degree from Lasell in sports management in 2007 and is set to receive a Master's of Arts degree in teaching from Northeastern University this coming September.

Outside of coaching at the collegiate level, Russo has been a youth lacrosse coach in Newton, Mass., for the past two years and served as a coach in the New England Select Lacrosse League in 2008 and 2009. He has also been involved with the Ireland Lacrosse Foundation since 2005 and worked for the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse as a ticket sales manager.

Wentworth, which had 14 freshmen on its roster, finished the 2011 season with a 3-10 record.  Three of those losses came by a single goal.  The Leopards lose just five players to graduation and are expected to return four of their top five scorers as well as their top two face-off specialists. Russo's collegiate debut will come on Saturday, March 17, 2012, when his squad faces off at his alma mater.