Kyle Lyons – Head Coach Western New England College
Kyle has 11 years of NCAA Division I field hockey experience, including four as a student-athlete at the University of New Hampshire and seven as an assistant coach at Bryant University and the University of Vermont.
Most recently, Kyle was named Head Coach of the Western New England Golden Bears. Lyons served as the first assistant at Vermont for five seasons and Bryant University for two seasons.
She was a two-time America East All-Conference first team selection and two-time NFHCA Northeast Region honoree, garnering NFHCA All-America accolades as a senior in 2011 as a defender for the Wildcats.
A native of White River Junction, Vermont, Kyle also has prior experience at the club level with Seacoast United and Green Mountain Field Hockey Academy.
Kaitlin Kelly – Head Coach Clark University
During her time as a player, Kelley ranked in the top ten in all goalkeeper categories in Clark history, including second in career saves (710). She was named to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team in 2005 and 2006 as well as the All-Region First Team in 2006 and Second Team in 2005. In her junior season (2005) she backstopped Clark to a 13-7 overall record and berths in a conference semifinal and the ECAC Tournament semifinals. She was awarded with a selection to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) North South Senior All-Star game in 2006. In 2007 she was awarded the M. Hazel Hughes Award, given annually to a senior or graduate female who has made a significant contribution to the intercollegiate athletic program and whose dedication and performance have enriched the tradition of Clark University.
Callie Lekas – Head Coach Wellesley
Callie Lekas ’10 was named Head Field Hockey Coach and PERA Assistant Professor of the Practice in July 2019. Per department records, Lekas is the first alumna student-athlete in program history to return to Wellesley College as a head coach.
A three-time New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) and National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) First Team All-Region selection (2007, 2008, 2009) as a Blue student-athlete, Lekas scored 57 goals and added 22 assists in her collegiate career, while helping the program win 53 games and make trips to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2006 and the NEWMAC title game in both 2007 and 2008.
Lekas returned to Wellesley after spending three seasons as Head Coach at NEWMAC rival Clark University in Worcester, Mass. While at Clark, she also served as the Director of Intramurals, SAAC Liaison, and as a member of the Career Development and Operations Committees. She is also active in the local field hockey community, having coached with the Styx Field Hockey Club, Strikers Stars Field Hockey Club, and with USA Futures Field Hockey.
Prior to her time at Clark, Lekas was an assistant coach for four seasons at Wellesley, helping to guide the Blue to three consecutive NCAA Elite Eight appearances in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and NEWMAC regular season and tournament championships in 2013 and 2014. Wellesley went a perfect 8-0 in NEWMAC play in both 2013 and 2014 and 29-3 in league action during her four seasons as an assistant. The Blue also set the program record for wins in a season, with 19, in 2014. In addition to her work with the Blue, Lekas was instrumental in establishing the partnership between Wellesley and the Wellesley Scoops Field Hockey Club, helping to teach the game to hundreds of girls in Wellesley and surrounding communities.
Lekas graduated from Wellesley with a degree in psychology before earning her master’s in Sports Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2012. While at UMass, Lekas spent one year as an assistant at Amherst College, helping to lead the team to a 15-4 mark and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2011.
Pietie Coetzee – Assistant Coach UMass Amherst
One of them most highly regarded strikers in the world, Coetzee is a three-time Olympian, representing South Africa at the 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens), and 2012 (London) Summer Games. She boasts one of the fasted drag flicks known and has logged 287 goals over 289 international matches, holding the female all-time scoring record.
Her international senior career began in 1995, when Coetzee represented South Africa at the Atlanta Challenge Cup and became the youngest player (16) to represent the nation on such a stage. The two-time South African Hockey Player of the Year (1997, 2002) went on to play in four World Cups. At the 2002 event in Perth, Australia, South Africa finished 13th and Coetzee was the tournament’s leading goal scorer.
Coetzee retired from international competition in 2014 and is a veteran of the coaching realm. In addition to serving in assistant capacity at Indiana (2006), she held a number of roles across South Africa. In addition to serving as head coach at the University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg, Coetzee also served as the director of hockey at St David’s Marist Inanda for the past three years (2016-19).
Coetzee earned her bachelor’s degree in sport psychology from Rand Afrikaans University in 2003.
Sarah Mansfield – Assistant Coach UMass Amherst
Sarah Mansfield completed her fifth season as an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts in 2018. Mansfield, a four-year National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-American, guides the defense and goalkeepers at UMass.
In addition to her duties with the Minutewomen, Mansfield currently works extensively as a coach for USA Field Hockey with the High Performance Training Centers and the U17 and U21 national programs.
Mansfield was a four-year starter in goal for the University of Connecticut Huskies, where she totaled a 75-16 record, 1.12 goals-against average and .770 save percentage over 91 appearances, which included 88 starts. The native of Cornwall, England, received All-America, All-Region and All-Big East honors in each of her four campaigns. She capped her collegiate playing days with a career-high 98 saves against only 29 goals allowed in 1,816 minutes played when she backstopped UConn to the 2013 NCAA National Championship. She only gave up three goals during the four-game NCAA Tournament and shut out Duke during the 2-0 title match victory.
Mansfield is a USA Field Hockey Level II accredited coach. She also devotes her time to guiding club-level competitors.
Alex Kallgren – Assistant Coach Western New England University
Alex Kallgren is in her first season as an assistant coach with the Western New England University field hockey program.
A 2018 graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University, Kallgren was a four-year member of the Warriors’ field hockey team. She was a three-time All-Little East Conference honoree, finishing her career with 38 goals and 20 assists for 96 points.
