University of Mary Washington head women's lacrosse coach Maddie Taghon has accepted the position of head coach at Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Md. A national search for the next Eagles head coach has begun.

Taghon leaves Mary Washington after serving as head coach the Eagles for five seasons, after a two-year stint as an assistant coach. She led the Eagles to national rankings in multiple seasons, including this spring, as the Eagles defeated a pair of nationally-ranked opponents en route to 11 wins.

 "We are grateful for all that Coach Taghon has done in leading our women's lacrosse program for the past seven years, mentoring and coaching a talented group of student-athletes", said UMW Director of Athletics Patrick Catullo. "We will miss her and wish her the best as she takes on her new role at the Holton Arms School."

Under Taghon's leadership, UMW won 39 games, ranking 24^th in the final IWLCA poll in 2021, and gaining votes this season after registering victories over nationally ranked Denison University and Roanoke College.

"Working at Mary Washington for the last seven years has been the best journey of my life and departing is very bittersweet", said Taghon. "I would like to thank Patrick Catullo, Caitlin Moore and the entire athletic department for all of their support over the years. Above all else I would like to thank all the amazing student athletes and families I have been lucky enough to work with during my time here at Wash, words cannot express what each and every one of them means to me. I greatly look forward to being able to support this incredible program in any way I can from a different part of the lacrosse world - I know there is nothing but success coming their way."

Taghon served for two seasons as assistant coach at UMW in 2019 and 2020. In her first season with the Eagles, she helped lead the team to a 16-5 overall record and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to UMW, Taghon worked for three years at Shenandoah University, helping lead the team from a 5-12 record in 2016 to 12-7 in 2018. She also coached the team to two semifinal ODAC tournament appearances and mentored the 2018 ODAC ROY and VA State ROY.

Taghon, a four-year member and three-year starter at Presbyterian (S.C.) College and team captain of the Blue Hose during her senior campaign, also worked for a year at Ampleforth College in England. In this role, she coordinated games, practices and travel itineraries for varsity, junior varsity, U15, U14 and elementary school teams at Ampleforth.