Middlebury has announced the hiring of Lisa McNamara as an assistant field hockey coach. McNamara joins the Panthers after serving in a similar role for the Patriot Field Hockey Club.
"We are honored to welcome Lisa to our staff and into our Middlebury field hockey family," said Borgen Family Head Coach of Field Hockey Katharine DeLorenzo. "Lisa comes with a breadth of experience, including five years as a high-impact performer in the Providence College lineup and as a team and campus leader for the Friars. She brings a wealth of knowledge to her new role here at Middlebury that stems from her primary job as a back-line defender, her specialist roles in attacking and defending set pieces and her in-depth work in analytics at Providence and beyond. We are so fortunate that Lisa has chosen to join us at Middlebury."
"I am honored and excited to join the Middlebury College Athletic Department," said McNamara. "It's a privilege to be part of a program with such a strong tradition of excellence. I look forward to working alongside Coach DeLorenzo and Coach Mountford and supporting the growth and development of our student-athletes both on and off the field. It's also incredibly special to be doing so in my home state!"
During her time with the Patriot Field Hockey Club, McNamara coached four different age levels in tournaments across the East Coast. In her role, she helped create supportive planning and practice plans while emphasizing foundational skills and teamwork.
Prior to the Patriot Field Hockey Club, McNamara spent a season as the assistant varsity girls lacrosse coach at Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington, Vermont. She also gave private field hockey coaching lessons.
McNamara graduated from Providence in 2023 with a bachelor of arts in global studies. She earned her Master of Business Administration from Providence in 2024. McNamara helped lead the Friars to 37 victories over her career. The midfielder appeared in 77 contests with 56 starts, tallying 10 goals and 16 assists. She was selected to compete in the 2022 Senior Nexus Championship, a step of the Olympic Development Pathway program. McNamara was a four-time NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad and Big East All-Academic Team honoree. She was the recipient of the Providence College Athletic Department's Jane Thompson Award, presented to the male or female senior student-athlete who personifies all that is good about being a student-athlete and exhibits selflessness, dedication, loyalty, courage and perseverance. McNamara served as the Vice President of Communications for the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was selected for the NCAA's Emerging Leaders Seminar in February 2024.
