Our Staff

Meredith Prior

Coach

Merrimack College ‘10

Coach/Director/Recruiting Coordinator

Head Coach – Austin Prep

Meredith Prior, a native of CT, began playing lacrosse as a freshman. By her sophomore year, she was a starter and leading scorer on the varsity team. She continued her career at Merrimack College where she played attack for the Warriors. In her senior season, her team posted a record number of wins and points which has yet to be broken. 

After college, Prior began her coaching career at North Andover High School. She was hired as the varsity head coach for the 2014 season. In her time in North Andover, the Knights have seen a lot of success. She has coached the team to 3 Undefeated MVC Championships and one and 3 consecutive D1 North Championships. In her third season, the Knights competed in the State Championship game where they fell to Westwood. 

During her first season at the helm, she was named Boston Globe Coach of the year and has since been named Eagle Tribune Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year three times. She has also been a coach at the US Lacrosse National Tournament two times. Prior has coached many D1, D2, and D3 players and works closely with the youth program to grow the sport.    

Recently, Prior completed a year-long training with US Lacrosse to become certified in the Lacrosse Athlete Development Model.  

Prior was hired by Austin Prep, Reading, MA, to be their head varsity coach beginning in 2020. In 2021, Prior led the team to its first ever CCL Cup Championship.  

She began coaching with Storm in 2014 and quickly took on the role of director. Storm has doubled in size since Prior joined the club and continues to grow!

Cat Dioli

Coach

Bates College ‘14 

Assistant Coach- Austin Prep

Recruiting Coordinator

Cat Dioli started playing lacrosse at Pingree School in Hamilton, MA, where she continued her career as a defender at Bates College. Cat was named one of Bates’ most consistent defenders during her time with the Bobcats, earning Second Team IWCLA All-Region Honors her senior year.   

After college, Cat began her coaching career full-time at The College of Wooster in Ohio. She spent two years at Wooster, helping to yield 12 commits for her first recruiting class, and coached 8 All NCAC Selections. After The College of Wooster, Cat moved back to Massachusetts where she spent 1 year at Babson College, helping lead the team to back-to-back Conference Championships, and 1 year at the University of Massachusetts Lowell as the offensive coordinator.  

Following UML, Cat started working at 3 Step Sports, a youth sports organization dedicated to providing young athletes with a premier sports experience and helping to grow the game. While at 3 Step Sports, Cat began working with Storm in 2019, as well as became the Assistant Coach at Austin Prep alongside Meredith Prior in 2021. 

Ally Stager

Coach

University of New Hampshire ‘14

Head Coach – Andover High School

Stager is a Reading, Ma., native. She was named Boston Globe All-Scholastic in 2009, Daily Chronicle Lacrosse Player of the Year in 2009, and was a four-time Middlesex League All-Star. She attended and played lacrosse at the University of New Hampshire. She was named to the America East All-Rookie Team in 2010 and the America East All-Conference Second Team and America East All-Championship Team in 2011. In 2011, she suffered a career-ending injury. However, her favorite lacrosse moment was that she had the ability to learn a lot about coaching during her final years at UNH due to her injury. “It wasn’t my dream college playing experience, but I feel like it really set me up to be a better coach and to truly understand the game at a level to help young players improve theirs.” She is currently the head coach at Andover High School.

Bridget Thibodeau

Coach

Springfield College ‘16
JV Coach – Andover

Bridget is an Andover, MA. native and 2016 graduate of Springfield College, where she served as a starting defender for the Pride. While at Springfield, Thibodeau was a consequential piece to the Springfield College defensive unit that during her senior season allowed just 5.91 goals per contest, good for 4th overall in the country. Thibodeau was a 2014 NEWMAC 2nd team all-conference selection, a 2016 1st team all-conference selection, and a 2016 IWLCA All- Berkshire Regional 2nd team selection. While at Springfield, her favorite lacrosse memory is going to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament during her senior season. Since graduating, Bridget is a 3rd-grade teacher and has also gained experience coaching lacrosse at the youth level in Stoneham. She is also the JV coach at Andover High School.

Abbie Karalis

Coach

Graceann Conte

Coach

Assistant Coach – Austin Prep

Graceann spent two years playing at the University of Findlay, a Division II program in Ohio. A native of Georgetown, Ma., she was a two-time all-Cape Ann League pick, a Boston Globe All-Star, and earned Cape Ann League all-star honors twice. She spent one summer coaching for the New England Twisters, and this will be her second summer with Storm. She also served as the assistant coach for North Andover High School and is now the assistant at Austin Prep. Her favorite lacrosse moment is working with Janie Lax when she was in Ohio.

Emily Sauls

Coach

Plymouth State University ‘19

Emily Sauls, a native of North Andover, MA, is a 2019 graduate of Plymouth State University, where she received her degree in Sports Management. She earned the Wynn Lobel Coaches award her freshman year and was named to the Little East Conference second-team as a defender after her senior year. Emily served as a senior captain for the Panthers. She was part of a Plymouth State team that won the conference championship three years in a row, earning NCAA berths all three of those years. This is her fourth summer with Storm. Her favorite lacrosse moment is winning the LEC Championship and the community at Plymouth State. Emily is currently the director of youth development for Storm and the JV coach at Austin Prep.

Abbie Cronin

Coach

Connecticut College ‘21

Abbie Cronin captained the North Andover lacrosse team in her senior season before moving on to play lacrosse at Conn College. Cronin was a staple of the North Andover defense for three straight seasons leading the team to two D1 North titles and a State Championship berth in 2016. Abbie is currently entering her junior year at Connecticut College. As a sophomore, she recorded 23 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers as a defender. A native of North Andover, she was named two-time all-MVC, U.S. Lacrosse all-academic, and second-team all-easters mass, as well as serving as team co-captain with fellow Storm coach Olivia Pino. After graduating from North Andover, she started her coaching experience with Storm, making this her third summer of coaching. She is majoring in biochemistry with a public health pathway. Her favorite lacrosse moment was from this past season, when she got to play defense against a former high school teammate during a Conn. College and Bates matchup.

Kylie Ward

Seasonal Coach

Merrimack College ‘22

Kylie Ward started her lacrosse career at Bedford High School, where she was a key member of the girl’s lacrosse program. Ward was team captain and MVP her senior year, totaling 68 goals that year. She was also a two-time Dual County League All Star and received the Buccaneer Award, given to one male and female athlete who led their teams and put others in front of themselves. Ward went on to be a member of the Merrimack Women’s Lacrosse program, where she started off as a midfielder but would end her career as a core member of the defensive end for the Warriors. She was named to the D1 Academic Honor Roll. She totaled 41 games played, with 23 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. She was a member of the team when the Warriors won the NE10 conference championship in 2019. She finished with her bachelor’s in biology and went on to graduate school at Boston University’s School of Medical Sciences to study nutrition and metabolism. Ward has been with Storm coaching for 3 years now and is also an assistant coach at Austin Prep. 

Meg Dzialo

Coach

Merrimack College 21’ 

M 23’

Meg Dzialo played D1 lacrosse at Merrimack College for 5 years. She was a midfielder and a draw specialist, along with being a 2 year captain. Meg was named Merrimack Female Athlete of the Year in 2021 and 2022. She was named to NEC All Conference first team in 2022 and NEC All Conference Second team in 2021. She also was  named to the Division I Academic Honor Roll in 2021. She ended her career with 127 goals and 141 draw controls. Her favorite lacrosse moment was winning the NE-10 championship (when Merrimack was previously Division II). Meg studied Elementary Education and got her Masters degree in Moderate Disabilities. She has been coaching lacrosse for about 3 years and has been apart of Storm for a year now. 

Lauren Hiller

Goalie Coach

UMASS Amherst ‘20

Lauren Hiller, from North Andover, began playing lacrosse in 6th grade and was a four-year starter in net for the North Andover Scarlet Knights. She was a 4 time Eagle Tribune All-Star, earning MVP her senior season, four-time MVC All-Conference, three-time MVC Goalie of the Year, two-time member of the Boston Herald and Boston Globe All-Scholastic Teams, selected to play in Under Armour All-America games in 2014 and 2015, member of the EMGLCA team and ESPN Boston All-State teams her junior and senior season, selected as All American her senior season, and captained her senior season for the Knights during their run to the D1 State Championship. She is entering her senior year at UMass Amherst. She was on the IL Rookie of the Year watch list, made the 2017 and 2018 all-conference teams at UMass, was a 2019 all-tournament team member, a two-time A-10 Rookie of the Week, and a two-time A-10 Defensive Player of the Week. She has been coaching with Storm since the summer of 2016, has coached with Mass Elite, and has experience at college clinics and camps all around the U.S. She is originally from Long Island, but now lives in Massachusetts. Her favorite lacrosse moment is winning the conference championship and playing in the second round of the National Tournament.

Jamie Lee Batista (Whiteway)

Goalie Coach

UMASS Amherst → Merrimack College ‘10

Jamie grew up in the town of Billerica and played goalie for Billerica High School. She was a 2x Boston Globe and 2x Boston Herald All-Scholastic, MVC Player of the Year, 2x Lowell Sun Player of the Year, All American, and played for the Mass Elite Club team and for the Lower New England national team. She attended and played at UMass Amherst from 2005 to 2008, before transferring and playing at Merrimack College from 2008-2010.  

She served as the Assistant Women’s Lacrosse Coach at Endicott College from 2010-2012 while getting her Masters Degree. She has coached countless teams, clinics, and camps, including the Northwestern Lacrosse Camp, the UMass Lacrosse Camp, and Peak Goalie Lacrosse School. She is currently coaching at Austin Prep as their Goalie Coach. She has been with Storm for 8+ years as one of our goalie coaches. She lives in her hometown with her husband, Dustin, and her two kids: Dean and Rose. 

Courtney Dishaw

Goalie Coach

Bio Coming Soon.

Shannon Murphy

Goalie Coach

Colorado Mesa University 2025

Murphy is from Wilmington Massachusetts where she was a two-time captain and received EMGLCA 2nd-team all-star after her senior season. She is currently a sophomore at Colorado Mesa University where she has continued her lacrosse career as a starter for the program and is working towards an exercise science degree. 

Alison Ferullo

Seasonal Coach

Saint Anselm 2024

A graduate of North Andover High School where she was a captain during her senior year. Was a two-time Merrimack Valley Conference (MVC) All-Star… Earned a spot on the 2017 Eagle Tribune All-Star Honorable Mention squad… Named to MVC All-Conference First Team as a sophomore and junior… Earned the Scarlet Knight Award in 2019…Currently plays as a midfielder on the Women’s Lacrosse team at Saint Anselm College. During her freshman season she was named to the NE-10 All-Rookie team. During her junior season was named to the NE10 3rd All-Conference Team. She is majoring in Marketing and minoring in Spanish. Played for The Storm Lacrosse Club for 5 years. Has been coaching with Storm for 4 years.

Taylor Riley

Seasonal Coach

St. Anselm 2026

Taylor played for Storm for 8 years and was a force on our defensive team.  She was a 4 year varsity stater for Nashoba Regional High School and served as captain her senior year.  She earned Worcester Telegram and Gazette All-Star,and was awarded  most versatile player as well as the Outstanding Contributor by her coaches.  Taylor is currently a member of the national ranked division II Saint Anselm College Lacrosse team where she contributes to their strong defensive unit.   Her love of coaching began in high school when she was given the opportunity to coach in the Nashoba youth lacrosse program.