Marc Zolchonock completed his third season as the Wagner men's lacrosse assistant coach in 2022.
In 2023 under Zolchonock, the Seahawks broke a program record in conference victories while playing the program's first neutral site game since March 25, 2017. In the neutral site game, Wagner defeated Queens at Goucher, Wagner also extended its neutral site record to 3-1.
Wagner's man-down defense finished in top-20 in the nation with a 67.6% kill rate. The Seahawks were the least penalized team throughout MAAC play.
Eli Fisher was named the USILA Senior All-Star Game MVP, First Team All-MAAC Short Stick Midfielder while teammate Brendan Higgins was Second Team All-MAAC as a Long Stick Midfielder. Higgins finished his career as a two-time All-Conference honoree while finishing fifth in program history in caused turnovers. Danny Brady finished the 2023 season ninth in the nation in save percentage at 54.8% and fifth in the nation with 14.21 saves per game.
In the classroom, the Seahawks placed 20 athletes on the MAAC All-Academic Team.
Ben Stewart was drafted 23rd overall (second round) of the NLL Draft by the San Diego Seals. Stewart's pick was the highest by a Wagner athtete.
Zolchonock came to Grymes Hill following a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Monmouth University. In the first of his two seasons with the Hawks in 2018, Zolchonock worked on the same staff as current Seahawks head coach Bill McCutcheon.
In 2022 with Zolchonock as defensive coordinator, Wagner ranked first in the Northeast Conference and third nationally in man-down defense with a .759 penalty kill percentage. The Green & White finished with the fewest penalties (32), fewest penalties per game (2.67), fewest penalty minutes (25), and fewest penalty minutes per game (2.08) in the NEC. The Seahawks were tied for least goals allowed in the country with Notre Dame (121) and ranked tied for tenth in goals allowed per game (10.08).
The defense was backed by goalkeeper Danny Brady who led the NEC and was third in the nation in save percentage (.591) and saves per game (14.08).
Zolchonock also oversaw all three of Wagner’s All-Northeast Conference selections in 2022. Danny Brady and long-stick midfielder Brendan Higgins earned Second Team All-NEC while short-stick defensive midfielder Quin Hoke was named to the All-Conference Rookie Team.
In his first season at Monmouth, Zolchonock helped develop four players who went on to earn 2018 All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) First-Team honors (Bryce Wasserman, Dylan Schulte, Garrett Pfeifer and Noah Lode).
Wasserman closed his standout career with program records in goals (99), assists (50) and points (149), en route to becoming the first Monmouth player ever chosen in the annual Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Draft when he was selected by the Denver Outlaws in the seventh round. Wasserman again made history when he became the first Hawk to play in an MLL game, when he suited up for the Ohio Machine on July 21, 2018.
Defensively, the 2018 Hawks were a dominant force, leading the country in clearing percentage (.936), ranking 16th in the NCAA in scoring defense (9.00), behind freshman rookie goalie Noah Lode, who finished 17th in goals-against average (8.93).
In his second season at Monmouth, Zolchonock helped guide another four All-MAAC honorees in first-team selections Rudy Beck and Chris Hervada, second-team choice Gordon Phillips, and Cade Stratton, who earned MAAC All-Rookie Team recognition.
“I am very excited to add Marc Zolchonock to our men's lacrosse staff. I had the pleasure of working with Marc in the past and his passion for lacrosse, energy and work ethic will be a perfect fit for our staff and team,” McCutcheon said. “Marc is a hard-working and devoted coach. I know he’s looking forward to his responsibilities in recruiting and working with our defensive players, aiding in the overall development of our guys in helping us reach our program-wide goals.
“As a New Jersey native, Marc has already started to further expand our recruiting network in the tri-state area and we are excited about the pipelines that he we build,” he added.
Prior to his two years at Monmouth, Zolchonock served a two-year stint as director of lacrosse operations at Rutgers University. In his role with the Scarlet Knights, Zolchonock’s responsibilities included oversight of tournament and camps, coordinating road trips and working with the Rutgers equipment staff.
While a member of the Rutgers staff, the Scarlet Knights made an appearance in the 2016 Big Ten Championship game, recorded the program's first back-to-back 10-win seasons, notched wins over five nationally-ranked opponents, and reached the No. 1 ranking in both major polls in 2017.
Additionally, while at Rutgers, Zolchonock mentored the development process of Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) and National Lacrosse League (NLL) player, Jules Heningburg, a two-time All American and two-time First-Team All-Big Ten selection, who went on to play for the Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club of the PLL, as well as the NLL’s San Diego Seals.
At Rutgers, Zolchonock also aided the development of MLL players Kris Alleyne, RU’s fifth-ranked leader in all-time saves who now plays for the Dallas Rattlers, as well as Michael Rexrode (Denver Outlaws) and Christian Trasolini (Dallas Rattlers).
As a student-athlete, Zolchonock was a four-year letter-winner in lacrosse at Kean University where he excelled as defenseman for the Cougars, splitting time between playing on close defense and as a long stick midfielder.
A former All-State player at New Jersey's Livingston High School, Zolchonock led Kean in caused turnovers his senior year on a defense that was ranked in the Top 10 of Division III lacrosse in goals against average. A winner of Kean’s Student Scholar-Athlete Award in both 2013 and 2014, Zolchonock earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing in 2015 after serving as a student assistant coach.
