Mike Schambach spent four seasons as the head coach of the Red Hawks until his passing in June 2018 at the age of 38 following a year-long battle with colon cancer.
He is survived by his wife Lindsay and their children Cameron (4) and Chloe born in May.
Schambach completed his fourth season with the Red Hawks in 2018 leading Montclair State to a 9-7 mark against one of the top schedules in Division III. MSU posted victories in its final two contests, a thrilling 11-10 win over Scranton in which Montclair rallied from three-goals down in the fourth period, and a 7-5 triumph against Kean in the season finale on May 4.
Schambach recorded a ledger of 46-27 in his tenure at MSU including three Skyline Conference championships and three trips to the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship. He coached 25 All-Conference players and 10 All-Americans including defender Ryan Young, a Third-Team selection by the USILA in 2016 and 2017 becoming the first player in program history to be named to the organization’s Top 3 teams.
Taking over as the ninth head coach in the history of the program in July 2014, Schambach led MSU to a 13-7 record in 2015 and claimed the teams’ seventh straight Skyline Conference title with an 11-4 victory over Stockton in the championship game. Montclair State advanced to the NCAA Tournament where it faced Middlebury College in the first round.
The following season, Schambach led the Red Hawks to their most successful season. Facing a daunting schedule that included several Top 10 squads, his team reeled off seven straight victories to close out the regular season and added two more in the Skyline Tournament capping it off with a 13-6 win in the title game rematch with the Ospreys. Montclair State captured the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory beating Keene State 10-7 in the first round and gave No. 1 Ithaca all it could handle in the second round before falling 11-8.
Last year, Schambach helped the Red Hawks close out their stint in the Skyline Conference in style with Montclair’s ninth consecutive league crown. Schambach registered a perfect 27-0 record versus Skyline foes including six post-season tournament victories.
Schambach’s team also excelled off the field boasting one of the top team grade-point averages in the department each season. Michael Schreck (2015) and Young (2017) were selected as USILA Scholar All-Americans and men’s lacrosse claimed MSU’s Highest GPA Award the last two years – James Clarke (2017) and Rob Papa (2018). Schambach also played an instrumental role in the recent dedication of the John Greco Team Room in April 2018.
Schambach came to Montclair State following three seasons at DeSales University in Center Valley, PA where he was successful in creating a culture of excellence in the classroom and lacrosse field. In 2014 he led the Bulldogs to the Freedom Conference Championship Game for the first time in school history. In two of his three years at DSU, the Bulldogs participated in the postseason winning its first play-off game when it edged King’s College (PA) in the semifinals. In 2012, Schambach mentored Brennan Gmeiner, who led DeSales to the NCAA statistical champion for Team Face-Off percentage. Additionally, Gmeiner finished with a 70 percent winning percentage the following season that was fifth-best nationally.
Prior to his tenure at DeSales, Schambach served as an assistant coach with FDU-Florham for seven years where he was involved in every aspect of the Devils’ program. In his time at FDU, the Devils qualified for the MAC play-offs each year and had two finals appearances. In 2009, FDU won the MAC Championship advancing to the NCAA Tournament where it fell to sixth-ranked Washington & Lee in overtime. That season Schambach, who served as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, mentored the FDU defense that ranked sixth in the country.
Schambach was a four-year member of the men’s lacrosse team at Rutgers University and a two-year starter. In 2003, he was key contributor to a squad that earned a No. 7 national ranking and appeared in the NCAA Tournament. He graduated from Rutgers in the spring of 2003 earning a Bachelor of Arts in history.
Schambach played scholastically at perennial state contender Bridgewater-Raritan High School for New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Famer, Chuck Apel and led the Panthers to a perfect 19-0 and the No. 1 ranking in New Jersey in 1998. He was later invited that year to the U.S. Lacrosse tryout for the U-19 national team.
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SCHAMBACH THROUGH THE YEARS |
| YEAR |
RECORD |
|
| 2015 |
13-6, 6-0 Skyline |
Skyline Champion / NCAA Division III Tournament |
| 2016 |
13-7, 6-0 Skyline |
Skyline Champion / NCAA Division III Tournament 2nd Round |
| 2017 |
11-8, 9-0 Skyline |
Skyline Champion / NCAA Division III Tournament |
| 2018 |
9-6 |
|
| TOTALS |
46-27, 21-0 Skyline |
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| All-Time Coaching Records |
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