Cleveland State University head men's lacrosse coach Andy German announced the addition of Nick Acquaviva as assistant coach in September 2019.

While the 2020 season was much shorter than anticipated, Acquaviva still helped the Vikings check off another milestone in their development.

Acquaviva helped Cleveland State to a 12-11 win against Air Force in late February, the first victory over a nationally ranked opponent in program history. He helped the Vikings as they rallied from four separate fourth-quarter deficits before winning in overtime.

The game against Air Force was part of a stretch of three consecutive games against nationally ranked opponents, the first such occurrence in program history. The day after the Air Force win, Acquaviva helped CSU hold Denver to a season-low goal total in a competitive 10-6 setback to the Pioneers.

Acquaviva brought six years of NCAA coaching experience to Cleveland, including helping two different programs to national rankings.

Acquaviva served as the volunteer assistant at Colgate in 2019 under first-year head coach Matt Karweck. He coached the goaltenders and the man-down unit and helped the Raiders to a win over No. 10 Syracuse in his first game on staff.

Prior to that, he spent two seasons as an assistant at SUNY Cortland, where he served as the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. He helped the Red Dragons to a 29-9 record in two seasons. Cortland reached the NCAA Quarterfinals with Acquaviva’s assistance in 2017 and won the SUNYAC Tournament the following season to reach the NCAA Tournament again. Acquaviva helped Red Dragon players to seven All-America honors in his time on staff.

Acquaviva also had stints as an assistant coach/defensive coordinator at both Pfeiffer University, where he helped the Falcons to national rankings in both 2015 and 2016, and Lycoming College, where he started his coaching career in 2013.

Acquaviva was a two-time all-conference honoree in the cage for New England College. In his final season, he led the Pilgrims to their first North Atlantic Conference championship in program history and was subsequently named NAC Tournament MVP. In his career, he made 74 starts in goal and finished with 789 saves and a .583 save percentage.

A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Acquaviva earned a Bachelor of Science degree from New England College in 2011.