University of St. Thomas Lacrosse

Head coach Pete "Moose" Moosbrugger has long been a guiding force for the UST Men's Lacrosse Club.  First, as a student athlete in 1996 and now has the head coach of the two time defending MCLA National Champions.  Originally from Chicago, coach Moosbrugger began coaching in 1998 at Holy Angels High School.  He found his true passion as the head coach at St. Thomas in 2003.

When asked of his coaching philosophy, Moosbrugger stated, "I believe that our student athletes win in the way that they prepare for and live their lives."  Moose has a unique perspective on UST Lacrosse.  He has been involved in the program longer than any other individual. He described the transition the team has gone through over the past 15 years: 

"I have been very fortunate to have been not only a player but also president and head coach of the UST lacrosse club.  It has been a very exciting journey to see this club go from a loosely-run group of early “pioneer” players to National Champions in 2009 and 2010!  Much of the credit goes to a core group of players several years ago who approached me with their vision for the future.  Those players wanted a team that encouraged a strong work ethic focused on continued athletic growth and skill.  Our success is due to all the previous years’ student athletes who found a way to make each successive team better than when they first stepped on the field."

Pete and his wife, Kristy, have two young daughters, Haley and Taylor.  Pete’s full-time job is a territory manager for a national software company. Moose's favorite part about coaching is the players. "I am blessed with two beautiful girls of my own plus forty adopted boys.  The players keep me young and every year brings a new dynamic."

Coach Reilly has been the Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator at UST for the past 6 years.  He is originally from Garden City, NY and played high school lacrosse at perennial Long Island power-house, Chaminade High School.  There he played for Coaches Bobby Pomponio and Jack Moran, who he credits for most of his success and understanding of the game.  He went on to play college lacrosse at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY.  He finished his playing career at UST in 2005 and was voted Team MVP.

Before and during his tenure at St. Thomas, Coach Reilly was the Head Coach at Mahtomedi High School, where he led the Zephyrs to 3 straight State Tournaments.  He is currently an assistant at the Blake School and has helped the Bears to 2 consecutive conference and section championships and a State Championship in 2008.  He is also involved in the Minnesota Elite Lacrosse Program where he has coached the U-17 and U-16 teams.

Jim's coaching style could be defined as aggressive.   "I want us to play a hard, fast, attacking style offense.  We want our offense to be in control and push opponents to make tough decisions in a split second."  Coach Reilly added, " Our success can be directly credited to our player's brain power, coachability and willingness to be better, smarter, more skilled players."

Coach Brian Gross is originally from Omaha, Nebraska.  He arrived in St. Paul in 2001 to study Business Management at the University of St. Thomas.  He was soon introduced to the sport at UST when a friend brought him to practice. Within a couple of weeks, he was hooked on this “new” sport.

As a college senior, Brian was also the head coach at Irondale High School.  After graduating from college he was asked to join UST’s coaching squad.

Brian considers himself fortunate to be able to coach such a hard-working group of players.  "Their ability to develop over the course of the year is very rewarding to see." Brian stated.  "I appreciate the opportunity as a coach to help accomplish some of the goals the St. Thomas team was not able to reach when I was a player."

Brian's unique ability to develop individual skills has been a valuable asset for the team.  He considers his coaching style “hard-nosed and developmental”.  Now in his 6th year at UST, he says there is no doubt that he has had the opportunity to coach some of the best midfielders in the country!

This is assistant coach Colin Achenbach's first year on the UST staff and he is looking forward to the challenge of helping the Tommies win their third consecutive national championship.  Colin brings to the table an impressive lacrosse background with experience at many levels.

Colin garnered the All-American award at attack his sophomore year while attending Pace University.  He then transferred to C.W. Post University where he twice more received All-American honors. In 2002 while playing for his district high school team R.A.V.E (Rosemount, Apple Valley, Eagan, Eastview), he was the first High School All American from Minnesota.  Even more impressive was his “Gym Student of the Year” recognition that same year.  He also has the distinction of being the first Minnesota-born professional lacrosse player signing out of college with the Philadelphia Barrage of the MLL and the New York Titans of the NLL. Achenbach currently is entering his fourth year with the Minnesota Swarm of the NLL.

Colin’s love of lacrosse first started back in 7^th grade in a Dakota box lacrosse league with his younger brother in Apple Valley.  He has been playing and/or coaching the sport ever since, and feels it’s every lacrosse player’s duty to give back to the sport in some way.  Asked to describe his coaching style, he replied “Relentless, Trust, and Discipline”.

Achenbach’s coaching career began in 2007 as a graduate assistant coach for C.W. Post. After returning to Minnesota in 2008, Achenbach continued to coach through Homegrown Lacrosse, a non-profit organization Achenbach co-founded in 2003 that is focused on the growth of the sport, primarily at the youth and high-school levels.  Achenbach spent 2010 as an assistant coach for Eastview High School in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

The Tommies welcome Ian Gallagher to the team as the goalie coach and recruiting coordinator. Originally from Syracuse, N.Y., Gallagher attended Westhill High School, where he earned several honors as a player, including being named to the Section III All-Star team, All-Conference honors, and the 2003 team MVP. Gallagher played his college lacrosse for Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y., where he was named the MAAC Conference Player of the Week in 2007, on his way to leading all of NCAA Division 1 in total saves, with 209.

Gallagher has been an assistant coach at the Blake School since 2008, where he helped lead the team to the 2008 state title. In addition, Gallagher was an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota lacrosse team from 2008-2009. Gallagher also works with Tommie assistant coach Colin Achenbach at Homegrown Lacrosse, where he serves as the Goalie Director at camps and clinics.

“Ian fills a position that we have been without for a few years,” noted Moosbrugger.  “While we have had good goalies the past few years, I look forward to where they can get with Ian’s help. I’m also very excited that Ian has accepted the recruiting coordinator role as well.  For UST to remain competitive for years to come, we needed someone to come on and take the ball and run with recruiting.”