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Acacia Walker enters her second season at UMass as associate head coach and offensive coordinator after joining the Minutewomen in August 2008. Prior to coaching at UMass, Walker helped coach Northwestern to three straight national championships. She rejoins her old teammate and coaching partner, head coach Alexis Venechanos. "Acacia has one of the most creative and innovative minds in lacrosse and I am very eager for her to mold our attack into one of the best in the country. Alongside her coaching experience, she is one of the top players in the world and that knowledge of the game from both perspectives is an asset for our program. She is a great person as well and that benefits our student-athletes on and off the field." Before coming to UMass, Walker was most recently a major factor in the building of three of Northwestern's five consecutive National Championship titles (2006, 2007, 2008). At Northwestern, Walker was responsible for team travel coordination, scouting, recruiting and served as Camp Director for the Amonte Sports Lacrosse Camps among her various coaching duties. Before Head Coach Alexis Venechanos took on the position at UMass in August 2006, she and Walker worked together on the coaching staff at Northwestern. Venechanos and Walker were also teammates during the 2002 and 2003 seasons at the University of Maryland where they won a pair of ACC Titles and had an NCAA Semifinal appearance (2003). As a senior, Walker was a 2005 First Team IWLCA/US Lacrosse All-American and a two-time All-ACC honoree. She helped the Terps to NCAA appearances all four years, including an 18-4 mark and a trip to the NCAA semifinals in 2003. Individually, she finished her senior season with a career-high 33 goals and ranks tied for eighth on Maryland's all-time career assists list (77). She ended her career with 106 goals, 77 assists and 183 points. Walker is currently a member of the U.S. National Elite Team and has extensive international playing experience. This past June she competed for the U.S. World Cup team in Praque and was a member of the World Champion U.S. Under-19 National Team in Perth, Australia in 1999. Walker graduated from Maryland in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in American studies. |
 
 
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