Courtesy of UNH Athletic Media Relations
DURHAM,
N.H. - Sarah Albrecht has
been hired as the University of New Hampshire women's lacrosse head coach
effective immediately as announced Tuesday by Deputy Athletic Director Steve
Metcalf, who also served as chairperson of the search committee.
"We are thrilled
to have Sarah join us as the head coach of our lacrosse program," Metcalf said.
"Obviously she has impressive playing credentials, but she also has great
teaching and leadership skills. This is an exciting day for our program and we
are confident that she will lead our team to new heights.
"I especially
want to thank the search committee for all their efforts in the process," he
added.
Albrecht, whose impressive
playing pedigree includes two collegiate national championships at Northwestern
University and six years on the U.S. women's national senior team, has a
broad-based coaching résumé.
"I'm extremely
excited for this opportunity to be a part of the UNH family," Albrecht said. "UNH
is an extremely attractive school given its academics, athletics, location and
the family atmosphere. I'm excited to get started with the current team and
push the student-athletes to be the best they can be on and off the field. I
look forward to rebuild the program to compete for an America East title.
"I want to thank Steve Metcalf, Marty
Scarano and the members of the search committee for giving me this amazing
opportunity," continued Albrecht. "I would like to thank Angela McMahon,
Jaime Seguin and the entire UMass family for the wonderful experience the past
two years."
Albrecht comes to UNH
following her second stint at the University of Massachusetts in which she
served as associate head coach for two years. The Braintree, Mass. native
helped lead UMass to an Atlantic-10 championship and the NCAA tournament in
both the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
She worked specifically with
the defensive unit, which was ranked No. 10 in the nation both years, and the
goalkeepers, who ranked ninth nationally in goals-against-average in 2011 and
12th in GAA this past year. Her other duties as the Minutewomen's
associate head coach included assisting the head coach in all aspects of daily
operations, including recruiting, practice planning, development of lacrosse
fundamentals, administrative duties and video editing of game and scout films.
In three years (2008-10) at
Harvard University, Albrecht helped the Crimson to its best three-year record
since 1994-96. Harvard boasted two Ivy League Rookies of the Year and had the
league's leading scorer two consecutive years under her tutelage of the
offensive unit.
Albrecht began her collegiate
coaching career as a UMass assistant coach and the team went 8-9 in that 2007
season.
Through her coaching career,
Albrecht has demonstrated an affinity for community outreach programs. At both
Harvard and UMass, she fostered a relationship with the "Friends of Jaclyn
Foundation" and the lax programs. Albrecht was also heavily involved in
community projects as a student at Northwestern University, where she
volunteered with Special Olympics, the athletic department's field day for
low-income children and Northwestern Natural Ties, an organization creating and
supporting friendships between people with and without disabilities.
Albrecht spent five seasons at
Northwestern, where she served as a team captain every year, missed the 2003
campaign due to injury and graduated with a degree in Psychology. She concluded
her collegiate career in 2006 with a second consecutive national championship
and recorded three goals as well as four assists in the '06 title game to earn
the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player honor.
Albrecht finished her career
ranked fourth all-time at Northwestern in assists (71), sixth in points (199)
and seventh in goals (128). In both 2005 and 2006, she was an IWLCA All-America
selection, all-tournament pick at the NCAA Championship and All-Conference
First Team honoree.
In four years on the field,
Albrecht led the Wildcats, who gained varsity status in 2002, to a 58-15 record.
In 2006, she received the N Club Scholarship and Lisa Ishikawa Award for her
leadership.
Albrecht remains active as a
player and was one of 24 players on the U.S. women's national senior team that
competed at the North American Challenge Cup this past weekend (July 13-15) in
Oshawa, Canada. In June 2008, she was one of the top scorers at the Prague Cup
and the midfielder was named to the FIL All-World team for her efforts in
helping Team USA win the gold at the 2009 Federation of International Lacrosse
World Cup. Albrecht recorded 14 goals and three assists in seven games. She
scored the game-winning goal in the USA's first victory over Australia and
scored four goals in a win over England.
Albrecht is the ninth head
coach in the 37-year history of the New Hampshire program. She succeeds Michael
Daly ('90), who compiled a 23-27 record in three years. UNH is the third
program at which Albrecht has coached that has won an NCAA women's lacrosse
championship (only 10 schools have won an NCAA title); UMass won it all in
1982, followed by New Hampshire in 1985 and Harvard in 1990.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT SARAH ALBRECHT
Angela McMahon, UMass head coach and teammate at
Northwestern
"It has been a pleasure working with Sarah
the past two years. She is an exceptional coach, mentor, and friend. I have no
doubt that with her work ethic, knowledge, and passion for the sport, she will have
New Hampshire lacrosse competing at a very high level very quickly. I wish her
the best of luck in her new endeavors."
Kelly Amonte-Hiller, Northwestern head coach
"Sarah is a very special person and
a tremendous leader and coaching talent. There is no doubt that Sarah will
create a tremendous environment for the student-athletes at the University of New
Hampshire. It has been my honor to mentor Sarah over the years and I am looking
forward to seeing her excel as a head coach."
Ricky Fried, U.S. National Team head coach since 2009
"Sarah is one of the up and coming young
coaches in the game and will be bring a spark to the UNH program. She is a
great teacher of the game and is a tremendous competitor. She will be able to
relate well to her players and I think they will respond to her quiet
intensity. Sarah has a great passion for the game and for winning and I expect
her to be very successful as a head coach."
Mark Murphy, Green Bay Packers President and Chief
Executive Officer, and former
Northwestern
Director of Athletics
"Sarah Albrecht is a great hire for UNH. I
have tremendous respect for Sarah. She was a gifted athlete, but, more
importantly, is a quality person, and was a coach on the field for
Northwestern's national championship teams. I'm confident that she will build
UNH women's lacrosse into an outstanding program."