Colorado Springs, Colo – Fresh off leading the Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team to one of the most superb seasons in program history, head coach Meredith York and her assistants (Tatum Schatt, Felicia Heard, Kila Eadie) were named the Region IV Coaching Staff of the Year by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association on Friday morning, the first such honor in program history.

In Year 10 at the helm of the Ducks, York teamed with former players Heard & Eadie (their fourth and second seasons as assistants, respectively) and Schatt (first year as an assistant), guiding a 2025 Ducks squad that finished the year 18-3 including a perfect 7-0 in conference play en route to a third straight MAC Freedom Tournament Championship. Unranked in the NFHCA Coaches Poll prior to the season, the Ducks entered the Top 25 in the first week and remained ranked the entire season, climbing as high as No. 9 and dropping no lower than No. 12 after the Week 3 poll.

The schools who were awarded the five other regional Staffs of the Year -- Babson, Tufts, Salisbury, Johns Hopkins, Christopher Newport – comprised the Top 5 of the Coaches Poll much of the season, with Babson, Tufts, Johns Hopkins, and CNU all reaching the semifinals of the Division III National Championship Tournament.

Stevens started the season with a bang, starting the year 8-0 while picking up the first two Top 10 wins in program history – a 2-1 win over No. 10 York in their August 29 opener and a 5-1 win over No. 9 Rowan on September 10; both of those wins came on the road. The perfect start to the season came to an end at home on September 28 in a 2-1 loss to No. 2 CNU, though the Ducks became one of just six teams to score on the Captains the entire season and one of just three teams to even hold a lead on the NCAA Semifinalists.

Following a 7-2 win over William Paterson and 3-2 overtime loss to No. 25 Stevenson, the Ducks ran through the MAC Freedom portion of their schedule with little difficulty, scoring 30 goals while conceding only four. After a thrilling 3-2 shootout victory in the MAC Freedom Semifinals over Lebanon Valley, the Ducks dominated Misericordia in the conference championship game, holding the Cougars to a single shot in a 3-0 win.

The team finished the year in the Top 10 nationally in a multitude of statistical metrics:

• Assists per Game: 3.48 (1^st)
• Points per Game: 11.48 (4^th)
• Penalty Corners per Game: 11.14 (5^th)
• Goals per Game: 4.00 (5^th)
• Scoring Margin: 3.0 (5^th)
• Winning Percentage: 0.857 (9^th)

Seven players earned All-MAC Freedom selection with all five named to the All-Conference First Team (Gabi Moroney, Lily Wierzbicki, Sophia Cozza, Molly DiCampli, Lauren Flynn) also earning All-Region First Team merit.

Already the program's all-time leader in wins, York picked up her 100^th win as head coach in early September, and increased her career winning percentage to 0.653, putting her in first in program history as well.
 
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