NIAGARA, UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara lacrosse team has named a new head coach for the 2011-2012 season with the announcement that Amber Hill will take over coaching duties.

"I would like to thank Athletic Director Ed McLaughlin for the opportunity to coach at the Division I level at such a prestigious university,” Hill said. “I believe that this step in my career and joining the Purple Eagles will ultimately lead to a very successful relationship.”

As a player, Hill played three seasons at Syracuse from 2005-2008. In 2007, she was named the Most Outstanding Player on the Syracuse team that won the Big East Championship. She was a captain for the Haudenosaunee Nation at the FIL/IFWLA Under-19 World Cup in 2007. She also captained the Haudenosaunee Nation in the 2009 FIL World Cup and also continues to captain the Haudenosaunee Nation at the senior level for the upcoming World Cup in 2013 in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.

Hill has four years of coaching experience, including one season as an assistant general manager. Her most recent success came this past year when she was an assistant coach on the Nichols Varsity team that won the 2011 Midwest Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association Conference Champions.

“I look forward to rebuilding and raising the expectations for Niagara lacrosse and I know that I have the ability and the caliber mindset to bring Niagara to the next level,” Hill said.

Hill graduated from Syracuse University in 2009 with a degree in Political Science and Native Studies.