Molly O'Brien recently finished her first season as an assistant coach for the Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse program.
In her first season at Coastal Carolina, O'Brien's primary responsibility involved overseeing the offense. Under her guidance, the team had its best season to date on that side of the field, averaging 2.35 more goals per game than a season ago.
Not only did the Chanticleers post season-highs in nearly every offensive category with 211 goals, 72 assists, 283 points and rank in the top half of the conference in goals per game (12.41), shots per game (26.12) and shot percentage (.475), but a number of individuals also put up career offensive numbers throughout the season. Senior attack Jen Cosgrove set the single-season program record with 47 goals and 57 points, while Keri White also set career highs in both goals (39) and points (53). The duo also ranked third and tied for sixth in the Big South, respectively, in goals per game.
Prior to the start of the 2015 season, O'Brien came to Coastal from Duke where she spent the 2013-14 season as a volunteer assistant. O'Brien worked primarily with the Blue Devil offense, coordinating practice drills and individual skills sessions designed to improve offensive abilities and stick skills. O'Brien also played a large role in the team's day-to-day operations, handling video and scouting responsibilities, managing and organizing prospective student-athlete information, assembling itineraries and coordinating camps, and clinics hosted by Duke.
Prior to joining the Blue Devil staff, O'Brien worked in Bristol, Conn., as a content associate and production assistant with ESPN's NASCAR Now. Her responsibilities included writing story lines and producing highlights for upcoming shows, as well as creating content for the ESPN NASCAR twitter account. She also worked as a production assistant at ESPN before joining the NASCAR Now staff.
While working at ESPN, O'Brien gained coaching experience as an assistant for the girl's lacrosse program at Conard High School. There she carried out daily practice plans and assisted with film breakdown while preparing for future opponents.
O'Brien is a 2010 graduate of Connecticut where she was a four-year letterwinner for the Huskies. O'Brien tallied two goals and one assist in 26 games at UConn, while also recording one ground ball and two draw controls for her career. In 2010, O'Brien received the University of Connecticut Outstanding Senior Scholar-Athlete Award and was a member of the Big East All-Academic team. O'Brien graduated from UConn with a degree in communications.
A native of Cary, N.C., O'Brien attended Cardinal Gibbons High School where she set school records for game, season and career goals, assists, and points. She was named All-American by US Lacrosse in 2006.
