Marty Ward

Marty Ward enters his third season as head coach of the men's lacrosse program at Florida Southern College. Ward holds an 18-12 overall record in his first two seasons as head coach.

Under Ward the Moccasins have posted back-to-back winning seasons and have reached the Deep South Conference Championship both years.

The Mocs finished the 2012 season receiving votes in the final USILA Coaches Poll after posting a 10-6 overall record and 6-2 mark in the DSC. The year was highlighted by a six-game win streak at the end of the season going into the DSC Championship game where they would once again fall to Catawba, 7-6, in the title match. Also in the 2012 season Ward would lead the Mocs to their third ever win against a ranked opponent beating #10 Catawba, 13-10, in the regular season.

During the summer of 2012, Coach Ward served as an Assistant Coach for the Iroquois Nationals U-19 Program that won a bronze medal at the 2012 Federation of International Lacrosse U19 World Championships in Turku, Finland. During the tournament the Iroquois National Team beat the United States team for the first time ever; it was only Team USA’s second loss on the year in 40 matches.

The 2011 co-Deep South Conference Coach of the Year, Ward guided the Moccasins to their first winning season in the program's young history with an 8-7 record, including a 4-2 mark in the DSC. The Moccasins were the top seed in the south division and advanced to the DSC championship game before falling to Catawba 10-8.  Florida Southern would defeat #7 Mars Hill in overtime that season to win the program’s second game against a ranked opponent. The win is the highest ranked opponent the Mocs have beat in the program’s history.

“I am excited for this challenge and will continue to push the program in a positive direction,” said Ward at the time of his appointment.

Ward served as an assistant coach on the 2010 team that went 4-9, including an 11-10 victory over #9 Saint Leo, the eventual DSC champion for the 2010 season. The victory was the Moccasins' first win against a nationally-ranked opponent.

Ward played goalkeeper for four seasons at Division II powerhouse Limestone College, which compiled a 55-9 record during his career. He was an honorable mention All-America selection in 2005 and 2007.

Limestone reached the NCAA semifinals all four years of his career as well as making it to the championship game twice. The Saints would lose in the semifinals to eventual champion Lemoyne twice (2006 and 2007) and would lose both title game appearances in overtime (11-10 to Lemoyne in 2004 and 14-13 to New York Tech in 2005).

A graduate of Corcoran High School in Syracuse, N.Y., Ward was a two-time team captain for Limestone and a three-time all-conference selection. In 2006 he was the MVP of the DSC Tournament.

Also in 2006 he was the starting goalkeeper for the Iroquois Nationals program that finished fourth at the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship and he was rated second in the nation in saves. In 2007 he was named Player of the Year in the Carolinas Virginia Athletic Conference.

Following his playing career at Limestone, Ward stayed on at his alma mater as a student assistant coach for the 2008 season. He received his bachelor’s degree in history in 2008.

In 2009 he served as head lacrosse coach at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, S.C., where he led his team to a region championship.

Ward currently resides in Lakeland with his wife Aricka, who is an assistant coach for the FSC women's lacrosse team.