Doug Sage took over as the fifth head coach in the history of the Drew University men's lacrosse program on July 17, 2017. In his first two seasons, he coached four Rangers to All-Landmark Conference recognition. In addition, in 2018, Drew led the Landmark and finished 25th in Division III in fewest turnovers per game (15.07) while ranking third in the conference in man-down defense (.744). He guided his team to a 3-2 start in 2020 before the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ridgewood, N.J. native returned to the Garden State following a five-year tenure as the headman at The University of Scranton, a competing Landmark Conference institution. During that stint, Sage compiled a 47-35 record and five consecutive berths in the Landmark Championship tournament, including a run to the conference championship game in 2015.
Sage is no stranger to The Forest, however. In 2009, he was the top assistant at Drew under veteran head coach Tom Leanos, who, following the 2017 season,
announced his retirement after 30 years at the helm. With Sage on staff, the Rangers posted a 9-8 record and earned spots in both the Landmark and ECAC tournament fields. On the field, he was in charge of the defense, face-offs, man-down defense, man-up offense and the substitution box. Off the field, he monitored student-athletes' academics, planned practices, scouted opponents, prepared travel itineraries, fundraised for a spring break trip and supervised the strength and conditioning program.
Along with his one-year stop at Drew, Sage has served in a similar role since 2006 at Gettysburg College, his alma mater, and Stevens Institute of Technology. Earning his first head coaching job at Scranton, Sage produced 20 All-Conference performers and three honorable mentions on the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-America awards.
Sage's coaching career path started in 2002 as the offensive coordinator at Gettysburg, where he helped lead the Bullets to a 17-2 record and an appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship game. Over the next 15 years, Sage recruited and coached multiple conference Players of the Year and three USILA National Players of the Year.
The Scranton years highlighted Sage's defensive coaching prowess as his Royals led the Landmark in goals-against average in 2013, 2014 and 2016. His defensive mindset comes at an opportune time for a Drew team that graduated three starters and a goalkeeper from the back line.
While Sage's teams excelled on the field, they also remained focused in the classroom. He mentored five USILA Scholar All-Americans since 2013, the only Royals in team history to earn this distinction.
Prior to his second stint at Gettysburg, Sage was the athletics director at Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township, N.J. from 2002-06. He served as the girls lacrosse coach there in 2003 and also coached the boys lacrosse team at nearby St. Joseph's Regional High School in Montvale, N.J. from 2003-06.
Sage starred on the lacrosse field at Gettysburg from 1995-98, playing in the midfield and helping the Bullets reach the NCAA semifinals in both 1995 and 1997. He also played on Centennial Conference championship teams in 1995 and 1998, and served as a team captain in 1998.
He graduated from Gettysburg with a bachelor's degree in environmental science in the spring of 1998. He then earned a master's in business administration from Scranton in 2016.
Prior to his college career, Sage was an all-state lacrosse player at Ridgewood High School. Sage retained strong ties to his hometown from 2000-14 as a coach, director and founder of Next Level Lacrosse and Gamerz Lacrosse, which provided club teams, instructional camps and competitive leagues to the local lacrosse community.
