SALEM, Va. – Roanoke College head men's lacrosse coach Bill Pilat announced two new members of his coaching staff Thursday, Chris Piatelli and Conor Cunningham.

Piatelli served as the assistant coach and offensive and recruiting coordinator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the 2024 season. He worked in conjunction with the head coach to develop practice plans, scouting reports, break down film, recruiting trips, set up and coordinate recruit visits, academic support, skill development, travel schedule and budgetary needs. His unit ranked fifth in extra man offense in NCAA Division III (51.2%) and he coached six All-NEWMAC players.
 
Piatelli was the assistant coach and offensive coordinator at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY from Sept. 2021 to June 2023. RPI beat #1 ranked RIT in 2022 and made the program's first NCAA tournament appearance since 2016 in 2022. The Engineers beat #6 ranked SLU, #10 ranked Union and #18 ranked Muhlenberg in 2023. He coached five USILA All Americans in 2023 (the most in a single season in over 15 seasons) and RPI had a 6-1 Liberty League record that year - the best since 2010. He coached nine All-Liberty League Team players and 20 Liberty League All-Academic team members in 2022 & 2023. His offense scored 381 goals and averaged 11.9 goals per game in his two seasons as offensive coordinator.
 
Prior to coming to Roanoke, Piatelli was a volunteer scouting coordinator for the Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). He also served as a coach for the New England Twisters and New England Blazers.  He served as the boys' head lacrosse coach at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Mass., from 2013 to 2021. He has coached at Derby Academy, where he was also a teacher, Noble and Greenhough School and with club teams.

Piatelli was a three-sport standout at The Albany Academy, playing football, hockey and lacrosse. He attended Hamilton College, where he played four years of lacrosse and two years of collegiate hockey before graduating with a degree in political science. He earned a Master's in sport management from Endicott College in 2023.

"We welcome Chris to Roanoke as the new offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator," Pilat said.  "Chris brings a wealth of experience, including coaching stints at MIT and RPI.  At RPI, Chris was able to help recruit and coach some of the best players in Division III and his extra man unit at MIT finished last season in the top five in the nation in production.  His recruiting background in the northeast will be a valuable asset to the Maroons as we continue to recruit the best high school players in the country.

Cunningham played collegiate lacrosse at Arcadia University (Pa.), where he was named to the MAC honor roll in 2017 and received all-conference honors in 2019. He earned a bachelors in biology with a minor in secondary education.

Cunningham returned as an assistant coach for Arcadia from 2022-24. He was involved in practice and game time coaching, while also aiding in the recruitment process, reviewing film, class performance, nutrition and weight training for all players.
 
He was the head coach for BBL Shore Lacrosse from 2019-2021 and an assistant coach at Manasquan High School (NJ) from 2016-2021.
 
"We are excited to bring Conor on staff for the 2025 season," said Pilat. " Conor has great experience as a faceoff coach at Arcadia and he will be working with second-team All ODAC Jake Brader and the other talented Maroon faceoff men.  This will only increase their productivity this season. Conor will also be tasked with helping the Maroon defense this season."