Seven-time national champion David Metzbower was named associate head coach and offensive coordinator of Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse in the summer of 2026. Metzbower joined the Stags following three seasons in the same role at the University of Denver and has also engineered the offenses at Princeton, Loyola, and North Carolina.
Metzbower's three-year tenure at Denver included a trip to Championship Weekend in 2024. It was the first Final Four trip for the Pioneers since 2017 and the 13th for Metzbower in his 37-year career. He came to Denver from the University of North Carolina, where he served as offensive coordinator for nine seasons and was also the associate head coach of the Tar Heels for his last seven campaigns. He was named the USILA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2016 after helping guide UNC to the National Championship for the first time in 25 years. Metzbower was also on the sidelines in Chapel Hill for the Heels' 2017 ACC Tournament crown.
Prior to his time at UNC, Metzbower was the offensive coordinator at Loyola Maryland for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The Greyhounds went 26-7 during that span, reached the NCAA Tournament in both campaigns, and won the Patriot League regular season and tournament titles in 2014. His stint in Baltimore marked a return to the collegiate ranks following time as an assistant coach at the Haverford School and two years as head coach at Malvern Prep.
Metzbower became a household name during a 20-year tenure at Princeton as the offensive mind alongside Head Coach Bill Tierney. In that span from 1990-2009, the Tigers won six national titles in 10 total trips to Championship Weekend and claimed 14 Ivy League titles.
As Princeton's offensive coordinator, Metzbower coached 22 All-Ivy attackmen including Lt. Col. J.L. Turnbull Award recipients Kevin Lowe (1994) and John Hess (1997) – presented to the nation's most outstanding attackman – and two-time winner of the Lt. j.g. Donald MacLaughlin Jr. Award Josh Sims (1998, 2000) as Division I's top midfielder.
At the time of his departure from Princeton, Metzbower had mentored the Tigers' top-five career goal scorers.
The 2009 IMLCA Assistant Coach of the Year, Metzbower also directed the Princeton goalkeepers. Scott Bacigalupo (1992-1994), Trevor Tierney (2001) and Alex Hewitt (2006) all earned national laurels as winners of the Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Outstanding Goalie Award under his leadership. Bacigalupo was also recognized as the Lt. Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player of the Year in 1994.
A 1986 graduate of the University of Delaware, Metzbower was a standout attackman for the Blue Hens. He also began his coaching career at Delaware under the tutelage of legendary Head Coach Bob Shillinglaw from 1987-89.
