Dwayne J. Coles was a premier short-stick defensive midfielder who was an integral part of four men’s lacrosse teams that never lost a conference regular-season match.
Coles played on the final two teams to compete in the Pilgrim League and first two teams to compete in the Little East Conference. He appeared in 62 matches between 1999 and 2002 and helped the Warriors to an overall record of 56-11, 12-0 in the Pilgrim League regular season with two ECAC tournament berths, and 12-0 in the Little East with their first two NCAA tournament selections. In conference post-season play, Eastern won three titles, compiling a 7-1 record.
Coles will become the ninth player in program history to gain Alumni Hall of Fame induction, having played under Hall of Fame coach Rick McCarthy and as a teammate for at least one season of six of the other seven Hall of Fame inductees.
Although Coles was an accomplished
offensive lacrosse player at Brien McMahon High School (as well as an All-State football running back and defensive back), the charge to Coles throughout his career at Eastern was simple: Shut down the opponent’s most prolific scorer. Once he accepted the assignment – tentatively, at first -- there were few equals at the national level. Steven Butler, Coles’ brother, remembers a conversation after Coles was assigned by McCarthy to the defensive side early in his career. “Dwayne said to my brother [Brandon] and I that ‘I’m on the verge of quitting. I don’t want to be a defender, but if I’m going to be a defender, I’m going to be the best defender that Eastern Connecticut State has ever seen.’” Promise fulfilled.
As a senior, the 5-foot-7, 160 pound Norwalk native was voted to the prestigious USILA North-South Senior All-Star game and to the New England East-West Senior All-Star game, to the ECAC All-New England second team and as the Little East Defensive Player-of-the-Year and first-team All-LEC midfielder. While his credentials merited All-America consideration as a senior, the specific position of
short-stick defensive midfie
ld was still several years away from being recognized by the USILA.
“Most people know that Dwayne was an outstanding player and a huge part of the growth of our program, but what they don’t know is that he was a true pioneer in the game of lacrosse, one of the first outstanding middies,” praised McCarthy, who coached Coles throughout his career at Eastern. When approached by one of Coles’ previous coaches about moving Coles to offense, McCarthy replied, “Why would I do that? He’s the best defensive middie in the country.”
With Coles – a freshman on the fourth team in program history -- Eastern’s defense was ranked among the national Top 10 in scoring defense in three of his four seasons, with the 2000 team topping Division III by averaging 4.78 goals allowed per game.
In Coles’ career, the Warriors lost only two regular-season matches against New England opponents, with an overall 18-game regular-season winning streak (stopped only by 1998 national champion Washington College, MD by a 13-11 score) netting them a No. 12 national ranking in 2001.
In McCarthy’s memory, two of Coles’ many defensive efforts stand out. The first came in an 18-12 win over Wesleyan University in 2001, when Cardinal All-America and career scoring leader John Landay managed only one, late meaningless goal after Coles drew the assignment following Landay’s four-goal first quarter explosion. The second memory came when McCarthy coached Coles’ North team in the 2002 North-South Game at Johns Hopkins University. The North led by a goal but turned the ball over in the final seconds, giving the South an opportunity to tie the game. During a timeout prior to the South’s final possession, McCarthy assigned Coles to stop the South’s top offensive player – All-America Jon Fellows from Western Maryland College – from scoring. He did just that, securing the North’s 17-16 victory.
While it took a backseat to his extraordinary defensive work, Coles also contributed as one of the team’s secondary – yet successful -- faceoff specialist during his first two years. On 231 faceoff attempts, he accumulated the third-best career winning percentage (62.3) in program history, while also picking up 95 career ground balls.
Coles graduated from Eastern with a B.A. Degree in Psychology and is employed at as a Billet Yard Coordinator at Nucor Steel Connecticut. He resides in Wallingford.
