Field Hockey Head Coach Lori Hussong announces retirement

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Rider University Field Hockey Head Coach Lori Hussong has announced her retirement following a successful 23-year career with the Broncs. Hussong and her long-time assistant Dan Hussong retire with a 294-151 (.661) overall record, including a 130-36 (.783) conference mark. Her .661 winning percentage is currently 11th among active Division I coaches and her 294 wins rank 12th among all active Division I coaches.
 
"Coaching at Rider has been an amazing journey and I am thankful to have been part of such a special place," says Hussong. "I'd like to thank former Athletic Director Curt Blake for the opportunity to be part of the Rider family and to especially thank current Athletic Director Don Harnum and Senior Associate Director Karin Torchia for their tremendous support of our team throughout the years. I've been lucky to work with some of the best coaching staff over the years, but none more special than this year's team of Kiet Maloney, Gina Smith and my top assistant, Dan Hussong, who has put in countless hours working to bring in top talent to our program. Special thanks to my family for the many sacrifices made and support given while we were out pursuing our passion.”

The six-time Northeast Conference Coach of the Year and one-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, has led 13 Rider teams to either an Northeastern Conference (NEC) Championship, a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season title or an NEC regular season title. All 23 teams have qualified for the conference playoffs (MAAC/NEC) with 13 reaching the conference title game.

"Most importantly, thank you to the many players, past and present, for choosing Rider and giving me the chance to be your coach," Hussong says. "You will always be family to me. It's been an honor to coach players who are not only tremendous student-athletes, but more importantly, even better people. Your contributions to our program and your continued support have given Rider University field hockey so much to be proud of and I am forever grateful." 

Hussong and the rest of the Rider staff were selected as Mid-Atlantic Coaching Staff of the Year by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) following the 2020-21 season. Eight times the teams that Hussong coached reached NCAA play, with six NCAA play-in appearances and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
"Lori represents everything I value in a Rider head coach," says Harnum. "Her teams played extremely hard and with tremendous pride, the program was well organized, her players did well academically and represented the program, the department and the University in a positive manner both on and off the field. She made it easy to root for her team. A lot of programs overuse the words ‘family’ and ‘family atmosphere,’ but Lori and Dan truly did create a family atmosphere within the Rider field hockey program, and with alumni. As much as I don't want to see her go, I am thrilled to see her go out with a championship and I truly appreciate and value her accomplishments and our working relationship."
 
Under Hussong, Rider student-athletes have earned 120 All-Conference honors, including 66 First Team selections. Hussong coached a Defensive Player of the Year, five Offensive Players of the Year, six Goalies of the Year, nine Rookies of the Year and seven Players of the Year at the conference level. She has coached eight players to 17 NFHCA All-Region honors, including Virginia Egusquiza ’12, ’15 in 2011 and Sandra Penas ’14, ’16 in 2012, who both earned NFHCA All-American honors.
 
Hussong's teams also performed in the classroom, earning 191 conference All-Academic honors. 

A search for Hussong's replacement will begin immediately.