The 2015 campaign will mark the fourth season at Piedmont for Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Pete Manderano, the inaugural head coach of the program which began with competition in the spring of 2012. Named the first leader of the men’s lacrosse program at PC in the summer of 2010, Manderano’s stint at the helm of the Lions comes after seven campaigns as a Georgia high school lacrosse coach where he won a state championship and posted two state runner-up finishes during that span.
In three seasons under Manderano in Demorest, Piedmont has won 17 games with the last two campaigns representing six wins each. In 2015, Manderano will graduate his first senior class, a group which represents the foundation laid as the veterans were the first recruiting class in the history of Piedmont men’s lacrosse.
The 2014 season saw an increase in winning percentage with a 6-8 overall mark including several thrillers for fans both at home and on the road. On February 22, it was the hometown fans who got the thrill as Spencer Ortis broke a 12-12 tie with powerhouse Transylvania University to score the game-winning goal with just a dozen seconds remaining on the clock in the 4th.
| "What they're saying about Coach Manderano..." |
“I have known Pete for ten years or more, as a tremendous high school lacrosse coach, and now building a solid program at Piedmont. Pete has an unparalled deep passion for the game, as well as for his players. He is very strong at ‘in game’ adjustments, recruiting and the coaching lacrosse fundamentals. But what truly separates this coach from other coaches, is the same amazing passion he carries for his team, he carries to work every day in growing and developing personally to be a better coach. There are a lot of good coaches out there, but none that work harder at being a great coach, day in and day out and putting his players in a position to be successful.”
-Mike Muetzel, Auburn University
Men's Lacrosse Club Head Coach
2013 SELC D1 Coach of the Year |
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Later in the season, it would be the Lions faithful who followed the team on the road that saw the program’s first-ever overtime win as Piedmont overtook USA South member Methodist University 12-11 in Fayetteville. This time around, it was Taylor Carter who scored the game winner with 2:40 left in OT against the Monarchs and put Piedmont in a winning bus headed home to Demorest.
2014 was also a time of success for Lions lacrosse in the classroom as an all-time high 17 were honored on the USA South’s Academic All-Conference listing. In three years under Manderano, 31 have taken home USA South Academic All-Conference honors.
In Manderano’s second season, the 2013 team increased the win total from the debut season with a showing of 6-9 during 2013 starting off strong with three straight victories to open up the year capped off with a 6-3 home win over in-state foe Oglethorpe University on February 20th. Off the field, Coach Manderano’s squad demonstrated its commitment to the classroom as well with 14 student-athletes making the USA South Academic All-Conference Team, one of six Piedmont athletic programs to total double-digit honorees.
Beginning his tenure at Piedmont with the 2012 season, Manderano led his first-year team to a respectable 5-7 overall record despite carrying a roster composed primarily of freshmen. With four of their five wins coming in the friendly confines of Walker Athletic Complex, Coach Manderano’s Lions ironically earned the program’s first-ever victory with a 19-10 win at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee on February 25, 2012.
The first-ever win at home for Piedmont came four days later in the program’s home opener vs. Alma College on February 29, 2012 with the Lions roaring to a 24-2 victory over the visitors as Spencer Ortis notched the program’s first goal on the turf in Demorest with 9:44 to go in the 1st quarter. Ortis’ score was the first of 18 straight for PC that afternoon as 11 of Piedmont’s 17 wins over the program’s three seasons came in the friendly confines of Walker Athletic Complex.
Manderano is no stranger to developing a beginning lacrosse program having served as the first boys’ lacrosse coach at Riverwood International Charter School in Sandy Springs, GA. During his two years at Riverwood, he improved the Raiders from a debut season of 2-11 to a 7-9 follow up season in 2005.
He then took the reins of the boys’ lacrosse program at Lassiter High School in Marietta, GA leading the Trojans to the 2006 Georgia High School Association state championship while being named the Coach of the Year by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association. His squads made a playoff appearance in each of his five seasons finishing as a state runner-up in 2007 and 2010 while making a semi-final appearance in 2009.
During his tenure at Lassiter, Manderano mentored three All-Americans while also tutoring multiple All-State players. The four-time Cobb County Coach of the Year also developed four Cobb County Players of the Year throughout his five seasons as the head coach. While guiding the Trojans, Manderano amassed an impressive overall record of 77-23 including a 13-4 playoff record good for a .765 post-season winning percentage.
The New York native spent his high school playing days under longtime Fairport High School coaches Randy Garrett and Mike Torrelli. During his time as a Red Raider, Manderano received three varsity letters while being honored as a All-County selection and leading his team to a section championship in 1996.
Manderano is a 2001 alumnus of Kennesaw State University with a degree in Social Science Education. As a dean’s list honoree at Kennesaw State, Manderano spent nine years working in secondary education in the state of Georgia while leading two different boys lacrosse programs during that time.
Pete married the former Leah Clancy in June, 2002 and currently make their home in Woodstock, GA. The couple welcomed their firstborn in 2007, daughter Kaitlyn Brooke, before welcoming their second child, son William Anthony, in March of 2011.
Coach Manderano Year-by-Year Coaching Records (2012-2015) | Season | Record | Pct. | School Name |
| 2015 | 4-12 | .250 | Piedmont |
| 2014 | 6-8 | .429 | Piedmont |
| 2013 | 6-9 | .400 | Piedmont |
| 2012 | 5-7 | .417 | Piedmont |
| Totals | 21-36 | .368 | 1 School |
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Coach Manderano Coaching Record by School (2012-Present)| School Name | Seasons | Record | Winning Pct. |
| Piedmont College (2012-2015) | 4 | 21-36 | .368 |
