Kieffer Named Interim Head Coach of Field Hockey Program
UTICA, NY- Utica College Athletic Director Dave Fontaine announced the appointment of
Nikki Kieffer (Rome, NY/Lysander Lightning) as Interim Head Coach of the UC field hockey program, taking over for Sarah Elleman, who accepted a position at Stockton University in her home state of New Jersey.
"We are very excited to promote Nikki to interim head coach of our field hockey program," said Fontaine. "She had a very successful career here as a player and is familiar with UC. She encompasses all of the values of our department and gained valuable coaching experience while serving as assistant coach this past season. We want to thank Sarah for everything she has done for the College. She was one of the most successful coaches in UC history and took the program to new heights."
Kieffer was a two-sport athlete during all four years at Utica as she competed for both the UC field hockey and women's ice hockey teams, serving as captain for the women's hockey program. After graduating in May of 2015, she spent this past season serving as an assistant coach under Elleman's tutelage. Kieffer was a member of one of the most successful classes in UC field hockey history as she helped lead the Pioneers to three straight Empire 8 Conference Championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances. As a student-athlete she helped the Pioneers' to a 61-22 overall record and 24 Empire 8 victories. UC hosted three consecutive NCAA First Round games and advanced to the "Sweet 16" twice. She totaled four goals and 13 assists while also guiding the Utica defense that allowed just 1.66 goals against per game during her entire career.
"This is a tremendous opportunity," said Kieffer. "There's obviously a lot of pride involved, playing for four years and now coaching the team I played for. That's a big part of where my confidence in coaching comes from… Its the program that raised me and it's always great to be able to give back to a program that taught me so much. As exciting as it is to take over, its bitter sweet to see [Sarah] go. She does such a good job with teaching players to be leaders. I almost feel like she was helping shape me into a coach from the moment I started playing for her. I look forward to building off her success with this program and taking it even further."
The Pioneers wrapped up the 2015 season with a 7-11 record and narrowly missed out on the Empire 8 Conference Tournament with a 4-4 mark in league play. UC will bid farewell to six seniors including All-Region selection
Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport) and All-Conference goalie
Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy).