Charlotte Coach Sarah Stagaard Brings On High-Caliber Impact Assistants
Charlotte women’s lacrosse interim head coach Sarah Stagaard announced the additions of Brianna Samuels and Sophi Wrisk to her coaching staff as assistant coaches on Saturday, Aug. 16.
Both Samuels and Wrisk are making the jump to full-time coaching for the first time with their appointments as assistants, with the pair having recently concluded decorated collegiate lacrosse careers.
“Brianna and Sophie both come from really high-caliber programs, so their lacrosse IQ and knowledge of the game are things that I’m really excited to bring into our program at Charlotte and grow our program. I think they’ll really make an impact for our players,” Stagaard said.
Samuels comes to the Queen City following five years at Jacksonville University, where she spent last season as a graduate assistant following a four-year playing career. During her lone year on the staff, the Dolphins posted a 10-6 record, including a 6-0 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference during the regular season.
Before transitioning into coaching, Samuels appeared in 56 games over four seasons for Jacksonville, totaling 73 goals along with 25 assists in her collegiate career. Her play was a key factor in the Dolphins hoisting three straight ASUN titles in her first three seasons, capped off with an overtime winner against Liberty in the championship game in 2023.
Jacksonville earned three NCAA Tournament berths with Samuels in the lineup, advancing to the second round consecutive years in 2021 and 2022 with wins over Vanderbilt and Stanford. Off the field, the Allentown, N.J. native completed a double-major in Psychology and Sociology with a minor in Management and was twice named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll.
“I’m blessed to be a part of the journey with a program that’s so new, to continue growing a legacy here is something I’m really excited about,” Samuels stated. “I’m excited to get going and see what we have to work with, I know there’s a lot of good players coming in and a lot of strong players that have already been here.”
Wrisk joins the staff at Charlotte having capped off a stellar collegiate career by lifting the 2025 Division II national title with the University of Tampa, the second consecutive NCAA championship for her and the program.
Originally committing to Maryland as the No. 16 overall recruit per Inside Lacrosse, Wrisk redshirted during her first season before seeing action for the Terrapins on the way to the Big Ten title in 2022.
Transferring to Tampa before the 2023 season, Wrisk would go on to tally 116 goals and 33 assists as she led the program to unprecedented heights. The Spartans captured the Sunshine State Conference title in all three of her seasons and won the NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse Championship for the first time in program history in 2024, with Wrisk leading the way with a 47-goal campaign that earned her both SSC Most Outstanding Player and NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Despite tearing her ACL midway through the 2025 season, Wrisk returned after just over a month to help guide Tampa to a 21-1 record and a second straight NCAA title triumph with another 40-goal campaign. Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Wrisk completed a degree in Criminology at Tampa.
“I’m excited to make my mark on a program and bring what I learned as a player to this program and build a championship culture on this team,” Wrisk said. “I loved what Charlotte did last year, so I’m excited to help build and shape a new program.”