Nora Fallon-Oben was hired as the 13th head women’s lacrosse coach in the 55-year history of the program on June 25, 2019. She registered her first head coaching victory on February 29, 2020 as the Hawks defeated Mount Saint Mary 15-2.
In the 2021 season, Fallon-Oben led the Hawks to their third appearance in the Empire 8 playoffs and first since 2004. In addition, she guided ’Wick to its first ever E8 playoff victory, a 19-4 triumph over Russell Sage. Under her guidance, four Hawks would earn All-Conference honors with Claudia Pollaro and GinaMarie Wilson tabbed for the Second Team, and Rachel Hedden and Michaela McKernan named to Third Team. Wilson and Pollaro would also be named to the E8 All-Tournament Team. In addition to the numerous accolades on the field, the 2021 team would also be recognized for work in the classroom, being named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Squad, with several players also being mentioned in the Honor Roll.
In 2022, Fallon-Oben would again lead the Hawks to a first round playoff appearance in the Empire 8 championships and successfully coach six Hawks to All-Conference honors, including Kristen Vaccarelli, a first year who led the team in several offensive categories. The team would again earn IWLCA Honor Squad recognition, and three would again be named to the IWLCA Honor Roll.
The Hawks would once again reach the first round of playoffs, boasting a dominant 10-5 overall record and going 4-3 in the E8 conference, under the guidance of Fallon-Oben in the 2023 season. This year, seven Hawks would make All-Conference teams, the most since the hiring of Fallon-Oben as head coach. Kristen Vaccarelli would once again stand out with an IWLCA Second Team All-Region nod, while she and Emily Madigan would simultaenoulsy be honored on the College Sports Communicators' Academic All-District Squad in the Women's At-Large category. For the third year in a row, the team would earn an IWLCA Honor Squad award.
2024 would see the Hawks in yet another playoff appearance, with Kristen Vaccarelli again being selected to the IWLCA All-Region Second Team. Two members of the women's lacrosse team would also be named to the CSC Academic All-District Team. Seven Hawks would be placed on Academic Honor Roll, while the team would again earn IWLCA Honor Squad recognition.
This past spring, Fallon-Oben led the Hawks to the first round of E8 playoffs, their fifth consecutive appearance. This season concluded for the Hawks with an 8-8 overall record and a 5-4 conference record, after a first round loss to Nazareth. However, Fallon-Oben would still guarantee that the Hawks left their mark, with four squad members earning All-Conference honors and Kristen Vaccarelli shattering an 11-year Empire 8 record for most goals scored. Vaccarelli would also receive IWLCA National Player of the Week honors and a Second Team All-Region nod. Among Fallon-Oben's success stories is Brianna Liebro, who ended her season as third in NCAA Division III for caused turnovers per game. Katrina Marten and Vaccarelli would also become nationally ranked in several offensive categories.
Fallon-Oben previously served as an assistant coach at Hamilton College for four seasons and took on numerous responsibilities under head coach Patty Kloidt. Her on-field responsibilities included helping to plan and execute all aspects of practice, with a focus on the offensive unit, evaluating players and designing workouts tailored to them, and in-game strategic decision-making. She also analyzed game film for team improvement and scouting, led offensive film sessions with student-athletes, created opponent scouting reports, and was deeply involved with the Continentals’ recruiting efforts.
While at Hamilton, Fallon-Oben played a large role in improving the team’s offense, resulting in an increase of 2.44 goals per game from the year before she arrived to her final season, as well as a 94% spike in total assists from 2015 to 2019. The Continentals won 32 games over Fallon-Oben’s four seasons, earning consecutive top-25 national rankings, a hosting bid in the NCAA Tournament, and three trips to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) playoffs. In 2017, Hamilton tied for first place in the uber-competitive NESCAC regular season standings for the first time in program history.
As a student-athlete, Fallon-Oben played four seasons for the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Seahawks, starting for three years at attack and midfield and earning a co-captain position for her senior season in 2010. The program consistently ranked in the top 20 in Division III during this time, thanks in part to Fallon-Oben’s performance, which resulted in First Team Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association All-Chesapeake Region and Second Team All-Capital Athletic Conference selections after the 2010 season.
After graduation, Fallon-Oben coached high school and club lacrosse in the Washington, D.C. area before moving out west to build the program at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada from the ground up. She recruited a full roster, led the team from provisional status in their conference to full membership, and played a large part in the program’s improvement from 1-7 in its first year to 4-6 in year two. While at Sierra Nevada, Fallon-Oben also coached club lacrosse in California and started the North Tahoe High School lacrosse program from scratch, leading the Lakers to a Nevada State Championship berth in their second season. In 2015, she came back east to serve as a volunteer assistant coach at Cornell under long-time head coach Jenny Graap before starting at Hamilton that summer.
Fallon-Oben earned her undergraduate degree from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2010 with a student-designed major in Criminal Justice and Alternative Sentencing. She later earned a master’s degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University Irvine in 2019.
