Lafayette’s Andrew Griffiths will leave quite the legacy in Easton, PA. In six seasons, Griffiths’ Leopards leapt from a 9-11 (43 RPI) program in his first year to a 2012-2013 record of 17-3 (10 RPI), a remarkable enough resume to merit the Patriot League’s first ever at-large selection to the NCAA tournament. Griffiths’ success at Lafayette caught the attention of nine-time NCAA Field Hockey national champion Old Dominion, where Griffiths will serve as head coach in 2013.
Griffiths certainly isn’t the only young coach deserving recognition for outstanding success at non-traditional field hockey programs. Below are a few more whose 2012-2013 seasons suggest they’re well on their way to building a resume like Griffiths’.
Stacey Bean, St. Francis (PA) (5 Years) – (2012 Record: 12-6; RPI: 54)
Bean’s St. Francis squad won a share of the Northeast Conference for the first time in school history and set school records with 12 wins and 6 conference wins.
Tracey Fuchs, Northwestern (4 Years) – (2012 Record: 16-4; RPI 16)
The Wildcats had the school’s best season since 1989 and Fuchs was named the Dita/NFCHA West Region Coach of the Year.
Colleen Quinn Fink, Penn (3 Years) – (2012 Record: 9-8; RPI 45)
Fink’s 2012 team recorded the school’s first winning season since 2006 and best record since 2008.
Carla Tagliente, UMass (2 Years) – (2012 Record: 15-9; RPI 13)
Tagliente earned NFHCA Northeast Region and A-10 Coach of the Year honors for transforming a 7-win Minutewomen program into 15-win A-10 champions.
Inako Puzo, Miami (OH) (2 Years) – (2012 Record: 12-10; RPI 38)
The RedHawks won their first MAC Tournament Championship to qualify for an NCAA play-in game.
Shannon Karl, VCU (1 Year) – (2012 Record: 13-6; RPI 28)
In just her first season, Karl led the Rams to 13 wins, an eight-win improvement from VCU’s previous campaign, and the school’s second-best win total ever.
The chart below displays improvement in RPI (represented by the y-values) and win totals (bubble size proportion) since each coach’s first season.
