Liz French transitioned into VCU Athletics' Human Resources and Student-Athlete Services Department in July of 2021 following six seasons as a member of the Rams' lacrosse coaching staff, where she helped lay the foundation of the program in its early days.Â
French served as an assistant coach for lacrosse from 2016-21 after serving as both a volunteer assistant and graduate assistant. She helped the program launch its inaugural season in 2015-16. In 2018, the lacrosse team finished the year 7-11 overall with a 5-4 Atlantic 10 conference record. The team earned its first Atlantic 10 Championship berth by defeating seven-time defending conference champion UMass in the regular season, halting their NCAA record 61-game conference winning streak.
French helped lead a defensive unit that helped propel the team to it’s first winning record in conference and included the program's first wins over Davidson and UMass. The defense held opponents to single-digit goals four times in 2018, which also featured two overtime wins. The defense also set a season best record of 192 caused turnovers with eight Rams causing at least 10 turnovers.
In 2017, the Rams more than doubled their win total from the program's inaugural season and defeated three conference opponents to finish in a tie for sixth place in the conference after being selected to finish 10th. French mentored goalkeeper Ria Peralta who at points during the 2017 season ranked in the top 10 nationally for save percentage.
A native of Sykesville, Maryland, Liz French attended Shippensburg and received her degree in Accounting in 2014. During her undergraduate studies, she was a member of the Shippensburg women’s lacrosse team, a lacrosse representative for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, and president of Tau Kappa Women’s Athletic Honors Sorority. She received first-team all-conference honors her four years at Shippensburg and was selected to participate in the IWLCA DII North/South Senior All-Star game in 2014.Â
During her career, French posted numbers that rank among SU's all-time statistical leaders in ground balls (158), draw controls (167) and caused turnovers (63). She started all 67 games for the Raiders since 2011, adding 11 goals and five assists during that stretch.
