Sue Behme begins her sixth year as Head Women's Lacrosse Coach and HPE Insctuctor at the United States Coast Guard Academy.
Prior to coming to CGA, Coach Behme spent ten seasons as head women's lacrosse coach at the University of Rochester. This year will mark Behme’s 33rd year as a collegiate head coach and her 21st as a physical education Instructor.
2026 saw the most successful season in Coast Guard women's lacrosse history. The Bears finished 14-3 overall and 9-1 for second in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), both win totals being program bests. The team reached its first ever NEWMAC Championship game, where they fell to top-seeded #24/#15 MIT. On their way to the final, the Bears picked up program-first wins against Babson College and Springfield College.
Senior attacker Abby McAllister was named the first NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Year in program history, freshman attacker Joely Schaumloffel was named Rookie of the Year, and the coaches earned Staff of the Year honors. McAllister was joined on the All-NEWMAC First Team by senior defender Rowan Walsh and sophomore defender Ella Campbell, while Schaumloffel was joined on Second Team by senior defender Lauren Henry.
McAllister went on to be named First Team All-Berkshire Region by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association, marking the first time a Bear has earned First Team All-Region honors. McAllister was also named a Third Team All-American by USA Lacrosse Magazine, the highest recognition in program history, while Henry and Campbell joined her as Honorable Mentions. Lastly, the 2026 season marked the seventh consecutive season for a Coast Guard team being selected as an IWLCA Academic Honor Squad.
In 2025, Campbell made history by being named a USA Lacrosse Magazine All-America Honorable Mention, making her the first cadet-athlete in program history to earn All-America honors. 2024 was a historic season ending with a final record of 13-7 overall and 7-3 in-conference with both winning totals being program records at the time. Coast Guard achieved a highest regional ranking of 6th in NCAA Region II. Additionally they saw high national rankings in multiple stats, including 2nd in clearing percentage, 18th in draw controls, and 20th in scoring defense. Senior defender Mia Becker was recognized as the first IWLCA All-Region player in program history, while junior goalie Maici Mintchwarner was the NCAA Division III statistical leader in save percentage. Behme recorded her 200th career win in the process with a victory against Emerson College.
As a former student-athlete, Behme was an All-American in both soccer and lacrosse at Cortland State. She was a member of the Red Dragons' 1992 National Championship soccer team. She was a two-time All-American in lacrosse and was chosen to compete in the North-South Senior All-Star Game in 1993. Behme graduated from Cortland in 1993 with a degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies, and later earned her Master’s Degree in the same major from SUNY Brockport. Behme was inducted into the Cortland Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
Behme was Head Women's Lacrosse Coach at the University of Rochester prior to coming to New London, the Yellowjackets went 9-8 in 2015 for their first winning season in over a decade. Behme guided the team to the Liberty League playoffs and only their second ever appearance in the conference's postseason tournament. In 2017, the Yellowjackets defense allowed a program-best 7.07 goals per game while earning nation-wide top 50 rankings in scoring defense and save percentage, while the offense was ranked high in fewest turnovers per game. In 2020, Rochester set single-game records for points and assists in a win against Thiel College. The Yellowjackets were an IWLCA Academic Honor Squad for nine consecutive seasons (2011-19, 2021), with 32 student-athlete being named to the IWLCA Honor Roll.
Prior to her stint in western New York, Behme spent over two seasons building the women's lacrosse program at Fresno State University. The Bulldogs earned the IWLCA Team Academic Award in each of their first two seasons (2009, 2010). 11 players earned Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Academic honors in 2009, second only to Stanford University, while three were named to the IWLCA Honor Roll. 2009 saw one player earn Second Team All-MPSF honors, the first All-Conference honors in program history. In both of her seasons at the helm, Fresno State women's lacrosse won the Athletic Director's Community Service Award for donating more than 500 hours of community service yearly. Over 200 youth players attended free clinics put on by the team that year.
Before heading to the West Coast, she compiled a 115-39 record at Nazareth College, including a 52-3 record in the Empire 8 while leading the Golden Flyers to six NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. At Nazareth, Behme coached 32 All-Region players, seven All-Americans, and a Division III Goalkeeper of the Year while being named E8 Coach of the Year five times herself. She led the Golden Flyers to four E8 titles in 2002, 2002, 2005, and 2006, as well as at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2007. In 2006 Behme was named the New York State Coach of the Year and the IWLCA Empire Region Coach of the Year. In 2011, she was inducted to the Nazareth College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Behme started out as an assistant coach for both women's lacrosse and women's soccer at Washington & Lee University during the 1993-94 academic year. Within a year, she become the Head Women's Soccer Coach and Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at the University of the South. She was also the head coach and advisor for the women's lacrosse club program, which was preparing to move to NCAA varsity status.
Upon returning to New York in 1995, Behme coached soccer and lacrosse at SUNY Geneseo. She led the soccer team to a record of 38-32-1 and an ECAC Championship, and started the women’s lacrosse program in 1996. Within three years, the Knights advanced to the SUNYAC Championship Game versus her alma mater Cortland State. Geneseo finished 9-4 and Behme was named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year.
Post collegiately, Behme continued her soccer career, playing for the semi-professional Rochester Ravens in the W League from 1996 to 1998. Two years later, she became a professional mountain bike racer, a career she pursued from 1999 to 2001. Behme raced for Team Ted Wojcik in the professional National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) Chevy National Championship Series, earning a national final ranking of 23rd. Between 2004 and 2005, Behme was the assistant captain for the USA National handball team, capping her career on the national team as a starting wing for the Pan American Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Coach Behme's father and grandfather both served in the U.S. Navy. Currently, she serves in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
