Lori and Dan Hussong

As head coach and assistant coach, Lori and Dan Hussong have led the Rider University women’s field hockey team to the Northeast Conference playoffs all seven of their years at Rider, and on October 14th, they celebrated their 100th career win.

“The 100th win is a shared accomplishment,” Lori said. “My assistant coaches, especially Dan, have been key to the successes that all of our teams have had in the last eight seasons. Every team and every player has sacrificed to make the program successful, and I am really proud to have worked with all of the players and coaches who have contributed to the victories.”

The Hussongs joined the Rider athletics staff in 2000 and immediately made an impact, leading Rider to the NEC Championship and its first NCAA play-in game. A two-time NEC Coach of the Year, Lori has led six of her Rider teams to either an NEC Championship (2004, 2002, 2000) or an NEC Regular Season Title (2005, 2003, 2001), and in the spring 2007 semester, the players compiled the highest team semester grade point average (3.33) of Rider’s 20 varsity sports, the third time in the last seven semesters that this team achieved this honor. In seven years, all of her seniors have graduated.

After a stellar career at Cinnaminson High School, Lori attended Trenton State College, where the field hockey team was in the building stages. In her sophomore season, the program took off and made three consecutive appearances in the NCAA title game. She was named Penn Monto Division III All-American in 1983 and was selected for the NCAA All-Decade field hockey team for the 1980s. She was a member of the 1981 and 1983 National Championship teams, and earned NCAA All-Tournament team honors in 1982 and 1983.

A health and physical education major, she began her professional career teaching at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School. “I was the coach of the junior varsity field hockey and basketball teams, and the seventh and eighth grade softball team,” she remembers. In her fourth year, she became the varsity field hockey and lacrosse coach, and the assistant basketball coach. The head basketball coach was Dan Hussong.

“As a young coach, I learned so much from Dan,” she said. “He is a great motivator. His teams were always noted for their intensity and hustling style of play. I can honestly say I would not be the coach I am today if I had not had the opportunity to coach under his guidance.”

The two became quite a team. With Dan as the head coach and Lori as the assistant, the WW-P girl’s varsity basketball team compiled a 247-120 record, and he was named the Mercer County Coach of the Year three times, earned Colonial Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors and was named the Coach of the Decade for the 1990s by the Princeton Packet newspaper.

With Lori as the head field hockey coach and Dan as her assistant, they compiled a 192-57-11 record, winning nine Colonial Valley Conference Championships, three Central Jersey Group IV Sectional Championships and one Mercer County Championship.

At Rider, Dan’s main area on the field is goaltending, and off of the field is recruiting. “Dan played a very important role in the development of our goaltending,” said Lori, “and was instrumental in the recruitment and signing of what we feel has been extremely talented freshmen classes.”

One might ask: But what about being together all of the time? Doesn’t that wear on a relationship? “Not at all, we enjoy working together. We’re best friends,” said Hussong. “Coaching is something that we both love to do. We share a passion for excellence and that is the gift that we try to share with our team. Our satisfaction comes in seeing our athletes grow and develop, not only into excellent field hockey players but also into quality, caring people.”

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