Meet Head Coach Melissa Rogers
Head Coach Melissa Rogers
After only five years as head coach of the Pride, Melissa Rogers ’02, G ‘04, a native of Southwick, Mass., has continued the SC tradition of winning on the field hockey turf, posting an impressive 94-24 record, good for a winning percentage of .796.
Earning NEWMAC Coach of the Year honors in 2008, Rogers led the Pride to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth-straight season as Springfield captured the NEWMAC Championship. The Pride advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling at Tufts. Under Rogers watch, the Pride had the first player in conference history to win back-to-back NEWMAC Field Hockey Player of the Year honors since 1991.
In 2007, Rogers led Springfield to a 21-4 overall record, and its fourth straight New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference tournament title, and eventually a spot in the Elite Eight before falling to Salisbury, 2-1.
In 2006, Melissa's squad finished 17-6. That included its third straight NEWMAC tournament title and NCAA Division III post-season tournament appearance.
A year before, the 2005 squad finished the year with a mighty impressive 21-3 record. Before bowing out by falling in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Tournament, SC had won 10 straight at season's end. That included a NEWMAC Tournament championship.
In her debut as head coach, Rogers led the Pride to a 19-4 record for which she was tabbed with both NEWMAC Coach of the Year and New England East Region Coach of the Year honors. Sweeping the NEWMAC regular-season and post-season titles, SC earned its fourth berth into the NCAA Tournament at the time.
Before taking the helm, Rogers served under long-time head coach Dottie Zenaty for two seasons while pursuing a master's degree in athletic administration. Prior to her tenure as a coach, Rogers enjoyed one of the most productive careers in SC field hockey history. She remains SC's second all-time leading scorer with 128 points (59 goals, 10 assists). As a senior team captain in 2001, Rogers was an NFHCA/STX First-Team All-American after leading all of Division III in goals (28), while finishing second in points (62). She was also the NEWMAC Player of the Year and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Co-Player of the Year in 2001.
Rogers' playing career coincided with an incredibly successful era in the program's history. A four-year letter winner from 1998 to 2001, she sparked the Pride to an 80-22 record (an average of 20 wins per season), two trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament, and a pair of NEWMAC championships in 1999 and 2000. Rogers helped the Pride to the Division III national semifinals as a sophomore in 1999. In her junior season, she helped propel SC to the 2000 national championship match, where the Pride dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to William Smith.
Rogers was awarded a bachelor's degree in sport management in May of 2002. She also currently serves as an instructor in the physical education department.
Kate McLaren begins her fourth year as an assistant coach for the Pride. A native of Wilbraham, Mass., McLauren was a four-year starter for Wells College, where she earned AWCC Conference Player of the Year honors as a senior captain.
Merrie Beth Maynard, a 2006 graduate of the University of Vermont, enters her second year as an assistant coach at Springfield College. She played four years at Vermont.
Rogers' All-Time Coaching Record
| Season | Wins | Losses | Ties | School |
| 2004 | 19 | 4 | 0 | Springfield |
| 2005 | 21 | 3 | 0 | Springfield |
| 2006 | 17 | 6 | 0 | Springfield |
| 2007 | 21 | 4 | 0 | Springfield |
| 2008 | 16 | 7 | 0 | Springfield |
| 5 seasons | 94 | 24 | 0 | .796 winning percentage |
Tournament Appearances
| Season | Tournament |
| 2004 | NEWMAC Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2005 | NEWMAC Champions, NCAA Tournament 'Elite Eight' |
| 2006 | NEWMAC Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2007 | NEWMAC Champions, NCAA Tournament 'Elite Eight' |
| 2008 | NEWMAC Champions, NCAA Tournament 'Sweet Sixteen' |
Team Links
- 2008 Schedule
- 2008 Roster
- 2008 Statistics
- 2008 JV Schedule
- Photo Gallery
- 2008 Recruiting Brochure (.pdf)
- NEWMACsports.com
- Team Archives
Head Coach Melissa Rogers
After only five years as head coach of the Pride, Melissa Rogers, has continued the SC tradition of winning on the field hockey turf, posting an impressive 94-24 record, good for a winning percentage of .796 at the helm of her alma mater. Read more.