Massive crowd attends former Siena lacross coach Liam Gleason’s funeral after shocking death

A beloved figure in the New York state lacrosse community was mourned by family members, players and scores of other loved ones in an emotional ceremony Saturday.

Siena lacrosse coach Liam Gleason, 41, died earlier this week after suffering a head injury from a fall at his home.

Days later, he was honored at a funeral at the school’s Loudonville campus.

During the funeral, his Siena players placed flowers on the altar while donning shirts that read “Liam Strong” on the front with the Siena and Albany — the latter being Gleason’s alma mater — mascots and a license plate that said “518 Family,” to honor his long connection to the Capital Region.

Gleason, a Long Island native who starred at Shoreham-Wading River High School, played collegiately at Albany and was a defensive coordinator and associate head coach with the Great Danes before later becoming Siena head coach in 2018.

His young daughter, Kennedy, gave a reading and also stated her own goals in the sport, drawing a smile from her mom and Gleason’s wife, Jaclyn, and loud applause from those in attendance at the UHY Center.

“I just want to say, I love my dad so much, and one of my goals this year is to be one of the best lacrosse players and get a scholarship for lacrosse,” Kennedy said.

Scott Maar, Albany’s longtime head coach and mentor of Gleason, brought a lacrosse stick up to the podium — representing Gleason’s nickname, “The Tree” — before speaking fondly of someone he became close with through the years.

He was proud to see what Gleason had accomplished in his own right as a coach, which included a MAAC championship in 2025.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be in Liam’s life, and I’m grateful for this honor to be the messenger for what we’re all feeling today and our love for Liam and what he’s meant to all of us for all these years,” Maar said. “For all the love he gave us for 41 years, it’s coming back in spades today with all of you here to celebrate his life. This is overwhelming, and it’s been overwhelming all week to receive the text messages, the phone calls, the outpouring of love from our lacrosse community.”

“It really shows the love Liam gave to all of us.”

Maar added that he hopes that when Siena and Albany play against each other in March, it will offer everyone some form of healing in the community.

“Liam touched so many of us and the game is the reason he was able to touch so many of us,” he said.