National Team Experience
• 2006 U.S. Men's National Team

Honors
• Three NCAA Championships as head coach (2000, '02, '04)
• Six NCAA Championships as assistant coach (1983, 1988-1990, '93, '95)
• NCAA Committee Member (1999-2003)
• North/South Senior All-Star Game Coach (2000)
• Central New York Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1997)

John Desko - Head Coach at Syracuse

Year	Record	Pct.	Postseason
1999	12-5	.706	NCAA Finalists
2000	15-1	.938	NCAA Champions
2001	13-3	.813	NCAA Finalists
2002	15-2	.882	NCAA Champions
2003	10-6	.625	NCAA Final Four
2004	15-2	.882	NCAA Champions
2005	7-6	.538	NCAA First Round
2006	10-5	.667	NCAA Final Four
Total	97-30	.764	3 NCAA Championships

At Syracuse: John enters his ninth season as head coach at his alma mater but his 32nd with the program (four years as a player, 19 years as an assistant coach, eight years as head coach)...Three NCAA National Championships (2000, '02, '04)...Five NCAA title-game appearances...A 5-2 record in the NCAA semifinals...Six-straight trips to the NCAA Final Four from 1999-2004...A postseason record of 19-5...He owns the best winning percentage of any active NCAA Division I coach entering the 2006 season (.777)...Holds the best winning percentage in the NCAA Championship of any coach in the history of college lacrosse (.792)...Since he took the helm 32 Orangemen have earned All-American honors...Continued Syracuse's "streak" of consecutive NCAA Final Fours from 1983-2004 (22 years)...Has recruited and coached some of the best lacrosse players in the history of the game: Gary and Paul Gait; Casey, Ryan and Michael Powell...2006: Desko and the Orangemen returned to the NCAA Final Four where they lost to eventual national champion Virginia, 17-10, in the semifinals. Syracuse ended the season with a 10-5 record...2005: The famed Syracuse "streak" ends as Massachusetts defeated Syracuse 16-15 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament...2004: Defeated Navy 14-13 to win the NCAA Championship before a then record crowd of at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore...2003: Advanced to the Final Four before losing to Johns Hopkins University in the NCAA semifinals...2002: The Orangemen defeat Princeton, again, to win the NCAA Championship...2001: Princeton defeats Syracuse 10-9 in overtime of the NCAA semifinals...2000: John won his first NCAA Championship as a head coach as 'Cuse defeated Princeton 13-7...1999: John's first year on the job as head coach saw Syracuse lose four regular-season games before rallying to make it to the NCAA title game as the No. 8 seed.

Other Coaching Experience
Syracuse University - Assistant Coach (1980-1998)

Playing Experience
A four-year letterwinner at Syracuse University in men's lacrosse...Named team captain his junior and senior year...Earned All-American honors his senior season...John played his first two seasons at midfield before switching to defense for the final two...Led Syracuse to it's first NCAA playoff berth in 1979...Finished his career with a 35-18 record.

To make a gift in honor of John Desko or the U.S. Men's National Team please click the button below

Go Back to Roster Page