Paul Cantabene (born March 26, 1970, in Rochester, New York) is a retired professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

player and

face-off A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse. During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the ...

specialist. He is the namesake for the

Premier Lacrosse League The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is a professional field lacrosse league in the United States. The league comprises eight teams. Its inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major- ...

's Paul Cantabene Faceoff Athlete of the Year Award, being described as one of the most intense and hardest working players and having revolutionized the faceoff position.

Playing career

Cantabene attended

Irondequoit High School Irondequoit High School (IHS) is a co-educational public school in Rochester, New York in the suburb of Irondequoit, New York. It was founded in 1924 as a part of the current West Irondequoit Central School District. History Irondequoit Distric ...

then

Loyola College in Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the Un ...

, where he was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

lacrosse player.

Professional career

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, he made his professional lacrosse debut in the

Major Indoor Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

with the

Baltimore Thunder The Baltimore Thunder were an American professional box lacrosse team and a member of the National Lacrosse League from 1987 until 1999. They were based in Baltimore, Maryland, and won the first then-Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League championship in ...

. He followed the franchise on its relocation to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and back to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. He then played out the rest of his indoor lacrosse career, until

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, with the

Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) The Philadelphia Wings were a member of ...

. Cantabene joined the

Baltimore Bayhawks The Chesapeake Bayhawks were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Annapolis, Maryland. They played in the greater Baltimore metro area beginning with the MLL's inaugural 2001 season, as the Baltimore Bayhaw ...

in the inaugural season of the

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001 Major League Lacrosse season, 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This w ...

. He remained with the team though

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, helping the Bayhawks capture the

Steinfeld Cup The Steinfeld Trophy was a trophy given annually to the winners of the Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001 Major League Lacrosse s ...

in both 2002 and 2005. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, he was given the

Major League Lacrosse Iron Lizard of the Year Award Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a professional men's field lacrosse league consisting of nine teams in the United States. Since the league's first season in 2001, the MLL gave several annual awards to players and coaches. Most Valuable Player ...

the player who "most embodied the traits of toughness, tenacity and determination regardless of pain or injury during season." In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, he was traded to the

Philadelphia Barrage The Philadelphia Barrage were a professional field lacrosse team that are based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and member of Major League Lacrosse. They were the Bridgeport Barrage from 2001 to 2003 at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, C ...

where he captured his third

victory. He retired from the

after the season.

Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame

On June 18, 2022, Cantabene was inducted into the Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame as one of the eleven members of the inaugural class of inductees.

Statistics

NLL

MLL

Coaching

A long-time assistant coach at the Division I level, Cantabene spent nine combined seasons at Maryland, Towson and Johns Hopkins before settling down at Stevenson University. Currently, Cantabene is an Associate Athletic Director and Head Lacrosse Coach at Stevenson University, formerly

Villa Julie College Stevenson University is a private university in Baltimore County, Maryland with two campuses, one in Stevenson and one in Owings Mills. The university enrolls approximately 3,615 undergraduate and graduate students. Formerly known as Villa Jul ...

High school

Cantabene began his coaching career in Owings Mills at The McDonogh School where he spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator in 1994 and 1995, highlighted by a victory over Gilman, the No. 1-ranked team in the MIAA in 1995.

Johns Hopkins University

Cantabene served as the midfield coach at Johns Hopkins where he helped the Blue Jays to a 41–15 record and three consecutive berths in the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, including a semifinal appearance in 1998. He worked with six All-Americans in three seasons, including three-time honorees A.J. Haugen and Brian Carcaterra.

Towson University

Cantabene was part of the Tigers' revival, which saw them reach the 2001 NCAA semifinals before losing to eventual national champion Princeton. Towson finished with a 14–4 record and the highest scoring offense in the nation. While at Towson, Cantabene coached five All-Americans, including Spencer Ford who was a 1999 honorable mention selection after leading the nation in assists per game and ranking second in points per game. Kevin Sturm also led the nation in goals per game.

University of Maryland

During his two seasons at College Park in 2003 and 2004, he served as an assistant under Dave Cottle for whom he played for at Loyola. In 2003, Cantabene helped the Terps' offense to one of their most successful seasons en route to a 12–4 record and an appearance in the NCAA semifinals. Maryland ranked ninth in Division I in scoring offense and three of Cantabene's players, Mike Mollot, Ryan Moran and Joe Walters were named All-Americans. Walters was also the 2003 ACC Rookie of the Year.

FIL World U.S. men's lacrosse team

In 2010, Catabene was one of four assistant coaches for the U.S. men's lacrosse team that captured the 2010 world title with a 12–10 victory over rival Canada in the FIL World Championship gold medal game.

Stevenson University

Cantabene is Stevenson's winningest coach in both wins and percentage, picking up his 100th career win on March 3, 2012, becoming the second-fastest in Division III to reach the career mark. In their last nine seasons, the Mustangs have appeared in eight conference championship games, winning twice 2010 & 2013, made five appearances in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Playoffs, including four semifinals appearances and one championship game! Over those six seasons, Stevenson has had a 60–9 home record, as well as 20 All-CAC and 32 All-America selections. In 2011 and 2012 the team boasted a program record nine All-Americans. Stevenson has also ranked in the top 20 nationally the last seven consecutive seasons, finishing at No. 1 in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, Cantabene was named College Coach of the Year by the Maryland State Lacrosse Coaches Association after leading the Mustangs to a 17–2 record, its first-ever NCAA appearance and a No. 1 ranking in the final USILA Division III poll. They also won a school-record 14 consecutive games and went 7–2 against teams in the top 20 with wins over Gettysburg, Lynchburg, Salisbury, Denison and Cabrini. Year Overall Pct. Conference Pct. Finish Notes 2005 9-6 .600 4-2 .667 2nd 2006 10-8 .556 6-1 .857 2nd ECAC Metro/South champions 2007 11-5 .688 7-1 .875 2nd 2008 13-4 .765 6-1 .857 2nd 2009 17-2 .895 7-0 1.000 1st NCAA semifinals 2010 19-2 .905 6-1 .857 2nd CAC champions; NCAA semifinals 2011 18-3 .857 8-0 1.000 1st NCAA quarterfinals 2012 18-5 .783 7-1 .875 2nd NCAA semifinals 2013 22-2 .913 8-0 1.000 1st CC champions; NCAA champions 2014 19-3 .900 8-0 1.000 1st CC champions; NCAA quarterfinals 2015 16-5 .762 8-0 1.000 1st CC champions; NCAA second round 2016 15-5 .750 8.0 1.000 1st CC champions; NCAA first round 2017 14-6 .700 8-0 1.000 1st CC champions, NCAA third round 2018 12-7 .640 8-0 1.000 1st CC champions: NCAA second round 2019 13-8 .650 8-0 1.000 1st CC champions: NCAA third round Totals 226-69 .766 107-7 .938 11 NCAA Tournaments 9 CC champions

References

External links

Maryland Men's Lacrosse ProfileStevenson University Men's Lacrosse Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantabene, Paul Living people 1970 births American lacrosse players Major League Lacrosse players Philadelphia Wings players Stevenson University Major League Lacrosse major award winners Loyola Greyhounds men's lacrosse players Sportspeople from Rochester, New York Lacrosse players from New York (state)