No one saw this coming.
Three days after the North Allegheny girls lacrosse team fell to Upper St. Clair, 18-1, to conclude a 5-13 season, the Tigers suffered another, more unexpected loss.
Coach Courtney Killian told her players May 11 she is stepping down after four seasons to spend more time with her family.
“This is a very hard decision for me,” Killian said. “It’s time to hang up the whistle. I have been coaching for 20 years. The next chapter is to grow the sport. I want to do the behind-the-scenes work.”
The Tigers, who went 26-45 under Killian, missed the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs this season for the first time since 2018. They finished 1-7 in Section 2-3A and, at one point, endured their longest losing streak (six) in 11 years. The youthful roster featured only three seniors, 55-goal scorer Reagan Riordan, a Grove City recruit who scored 150 goals for her career, attack Sara Donaldson and goalie Fiola Ragan.
The players were shocked and saddened at the news from Killian, who has three children, ages 13, 11 and 10.
“I was surprised, but I’m very understanding of her choice and she made it clear that she’s going to do everything she can to make sure we will be in good hands going into next year,” said defender Emery Anderson, one of 12 juniors on the 18-player roster. “It’s sad to start over going into senior year, but the senior class is going to work together to help the team get ready for a new coach.”
Killian began coaching in 2005 after graduating from Ohio University, where she played Division I lacrosse. A Fox Chapel graduate, she coached Shady Side Academy, the Pitt women’s club team and youth club teams at Pine-Richland and Pittsburgh Youth Lacrosse before arriving at North Allegheny prior to the 2023 season.
“It’s been amazing,” Killian said. “The parents have been supportive. Mr. (Bob) Bozzuto (the NA athletic director) has been amazing to work for. I just love the program. I love the school. It’s really a special place to coach.”
Low participation numbers continued to hinder the program. The varsity roster this season was the leanest in Killian’s tenure.
“I was extremely shocked when I came to NA,” Killian said. “Everyone thinks of NA as this powerhouse, and you are going to get all of these athletes. Everyone assumes that girls lacrosse is as strong in numbers as all of the other sports at NA. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. There is a very small group of girls playing lacrosse.”
The new coach will inherit a deep, talented class of rising seniors, including attacks Sarah Harlan (42 goals, 18 assists) and Gracie Lynch (30 goals, 16 assists) and Grove City-bound Anderson.
“I am so bummed that I’m not going to be with that class,” Killian said. “I have been looking forward to them being seniors since they came in as freshmen. They are a very dynamic group. They are all very talented, and they all play well together. They are great leaders, and they are going to really help grow next year.”
The current juniors will be joined by an influx of freshmen and sophomores from a JV team that lost only a handful of games this season.
Wins weren’t as plentiful on varsity. The 2026 season was highlighted by lopsided victories over Sewickley Academy, Allderdice and Latrobe, and a memorable 16-9 win over section foe Seneca Valley on Senior Night.
“It definitely was a season of learning and growth,” Anderson said. “It was a fun season. … I think we can definitely grow as a team, especially with our freshmen class being big as well. Combining that with the juniors, I think that hopefully the season can go a little better with effort.”
While Killian never posted a winning season at North Allegheny, she departs with optimism about the program’s future. She is putting her efforts into building opportunities in girls lacrosse at all age levels in the area.
“As tough as it was to have losses like that and not make playoffs, I think every single girl grew in some way, and that’s what really matters,” Killian said. “Just because we didn’t reach every goal we set, that doesn’t make this season a failure. We had a lot of fun. The team came together. The culture is growing. We took a lot of positives out of this, and I think they are going to come back even stronger next year, for sure.”