Jennifer Nolan of Nazareth Area High School is The 2012 Express-Times Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year!! Congrats Jenn on your award and your new baby!!!!

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/06/jennifer_nolan_of_nazareth_are.html FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES Jennifer Nolan was in a situation this spring in which she experienced uncertainty, nervousness and dramatic changes. Oh, and she was pregnant, too. The Nazareth Area High School girls lacrosse coach, with baby on board, led the Blue Eagles through a rocky start and to Lehigh Valley Conference and District 11 championships. For being steadfast in guiding an impressive rebound on the field, while juggling her off-the-field responsibilities with the help of her assistant coach and husband, Regis D'Angelo, Nolan is The Express-Times 2012 Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year. This is the third time Nolan has captured the honor, also earning the award in 2009 and 2010, when Nazareth won its first district title. At the midway point of this season, it didn't appear as if the Blue Eagles would have much to celebrate. Nazareth got off to a 7-7 start, developing a trend of dropping late leads and being defeated by narrow margins. "I said at the beginning of the season that my expectation was to make the state playoffs and a lot of people rolled their eyes," said Nolan, who admitted her team didn't enter the season with a high fitness level. "That was my goal and we reached it, I couldn't be more proud of my team for not giving up -- there were times when they could have given up." The coach pointed to a May 3 contest against Interboro, from District 1, when things began to click. The Blue Eagles outscored their opponent 13-4 in the second half en route to a 17-9 victory, and the momentum built from there. Nazareth qualified for the inaugural LVC tournament as a No. 3 seed and faced Parkland, which defeated the Blue Eagles twice in the regular season by a one-goal margin. Prior to the game, Nolan employed a different coaching maneuver to prepare for the Trojans, inviting her team over for dinner and a game-film study session. "The team has great chemistry, they're friends," said Nolan, who works at Hamon Research Cottrell, an environmental control company in Somerville, N.J. "They make us laugh. (At that point) I didn't have any children, but I always said I had 38 children." ALL-AREA GIRLS LACROSSE: The 2012 Express-Times All-Area Girls Lacrosse Team Lauren Nunes of Phillipsburg High School is The 2012 Express-Times Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year That tactic seemed to work as Nazareth handled Parkland, 9-5, and went on to edge Emmaus for the LVC title. However, as the Blue Eagles hoisted the conference trophy, Nolan was already past due to have her baby, and her role in the district tournament looked cloudy. But the child held off, perhaps because of Nolan's pleas, and the coach was on the sideline as Nazareth avenged two prior losses to Southern Lehigh in the district semifinals and trounced Parkland, 16-5, for the district crown, capping an eight-game win streak. By that point, Nolan had squashed the bets by most of the Nazareth parents in an over-under pool. "A lot of them lost," she said. "Anyone who said I wasn't making it -- I made it." COACH OF THE YEAR: 2012 - Jennifer Nolan, Nazareth 2010 - Jennifer Nolan, Nazareth 2009 - Jennifer Nolan, Nazareth 2008 - Bob Stem Jr., Phillipsburg 2007 - Stacy Ditze, North Hunterdon Finally, Nolan gave birth to Quinn Katherine D'Angelo on May 28. Quinn's arrival forced Nolan to miss a practice, but she was remarkably on the sideline two days later as Nazareth ended its season with a 15-8 record after a loss to Harriton in the PIAA tournament. "The way it all worked out was amazing because she was late," said Nolan, a Hunterdon Central graduate. "I don't know what the reason was, but things happen for a reason. I guess it was so we could get our two gold medals." On the field, the Blue Eagles were bolstered by the team's leaders elevating their play. From Kaity Wiltraut shredding opposing defenses, to Hilary Holecz and Natasha Capecci providing a calming source of possession, to Rachel Strzelecki making crucial saves, Nazareth got the performances it needed down the stretch. "Don't give the coaches all the credit," Nolan said. "The players that were actually on the field, making the plays, running the plays properly and saving the shots -- they deserve the credit." The three-time Coach of the Year said her husband deserves an equal stake in the award for the consistent support and coaching help he provided. "Regis is as much of a head coach as I am," she said. Fifteen wins, no missed games, two gold medals and one baby girl -- not a bad haul for the Nolan-D'Angelo household.