Boston College's Ainslee Lamb and North Carolina's Karen Shelton Named NFHCA Regional Coaches of the Year
Two ACC coaches honored.
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Boston College's Ainslee Lamb

Boston College's Ainslee Lamb

Dec. 8, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Boston College fifth-year head coach Ainslee Lamb and North Carolina 29th-year head coach Karen Shelton were named the Northeast Region and South Region Coach of the Year, respectively, by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA), in an announcement today. Other regional winners include Denise Zelenak of Drexel, Pam Stuper of Yale, and Rolf van de Kerkhof of Michigan State.

Lamb guided Boston College to a 13-7 overall record and the school’s first appearance in the NCAA field hockey championship since 2005, the school’s first as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. This season Boston College ranked 10th nationally in goals per game with a 3.50 average and fourth with 3.20 assists per game. The Eagles began the 2009 season ranked 14th nationally by the NFHCA and advanced to ninth, where they were ranked nine times.

UNC's Karen SheltonShelton, a four-time National Coach of the Year (1994-96, 2007) and eight-time ACC Coach of the Year (1986-89, ‘94, 2000, ’04, ’07), guided North Carolina to a 20-2 overall record and the school’s sixth NCAA field hockey championship, all of which have come under Shelton’s lead. The Tar Heels claimed the national title with a 3-2 win over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Maryland on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

North Carolina boasted one of the best offenses and defenses in the nation this season, as witnessed by its 13 shutouts, including an ACC record nine straight. The Tar Heels ranked second nationally with a 0.68 goals against average and saved 79.5 percent of the shots they faced to rank sixth. Offensively, North Carolina scored 4.00 goals per game and provided 3.32 assists per game, both of which ranked third nationally. The Tar Heels began the season ranked fourth by the NFHCA before moving up to second in the second poll of the season, where it remained for nine consecutive weeks.

The NFHCA Division I National Coach of the Year will be announced at the NFHCA Coaches Recognition Luncheon on Friday, January 8, 2010 in Richmond, Va.