The Kent State field hockey team wrapped up its first season with head coach Heather Hefner at the helm in early November. Its season concluded with a 3-2 loss to James Madison in the Mid-American Conference Championship semi-finals.
The Flashes ended with a 7-12 overall record and a 5-3 record in MAC play.
“It was an incredible first season as head coach,” Hefner said. “Not necessarily in our record, but I think in the foundation that we were able to lay and how we finished compared to how we started. I saw the team grow hockey-wise but also in finding our identity as a group and buying into the culture that we laid in front of them.”
Upon being hired in May, Hefner not only began her first season with Kent State, but also her first season in a head coaching position.
Hefner’s collegiate field hockey career began as a defender for Wake Forest University. After graduation, she became a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Delaware’s 2017 season. In 2018, she became an assistant coach at Liberty University where she stayed until coming to Kent State before the start of the season.
In addition to Hefner, Lizzie Hamlett joined the Kent State family as an assistant coach this season. She followed Hefner to Kent State from their previous positions at Liberty University. Hamlett competed on Liberty’s field hockey team from 2018-2022 before joining their coaching staff.
Last season at Liberty, Hefner and Hamlett’s efforts helped the team post a 17-3 overall record and a 7-0 conference record.
“I believe that our strengths complement each other very well, and [Hefner] is very steadfast and consistent,” Hamlett said. “I knew I wanted to be under a head coach who was going to push me and inspire me throughout the journey, and also give me a lot of grace with still learning things.”
Despite having a rocky start early on, the team bounced back during the latter half of the season, winning seven of its last 13 games.
Hefner said the newness of coaching the team and setting a foundation was challenging at first, but every time they stepped on the field they worked to grow as a team.
“We talked a lot about getting 1% better each time that we were out on the field, whether that was in a practice or in a game,” Hefner said. “The thing with 1% gains is, from day to day, you don’t see a lot of difference, but then over time it all adds up. We were steady day in and day out, and then eventually received the reward of that.”
Hefner and Hamlett both agreed that building a relationship with the team was easier than they expected.
“It was exciting just how quickly the team bought into coach Hefner and I, and wanted to build connections with us,” Hamlett said.
Building off of their strengths and continuing to promote growth, Hefner and Hamlett coached the field hockey team to the MAC Championship tournament after winning three of its last four regular season games to claim the fourth seed in the six-team tournament.
The Flashes were successful in their first tournament game against Ball State, winning 1-0 in overtime. They were just shy of the tournament finals before their loss to James Madison.
Regardless of the results, Hefner said the playoffs experience was exciting, which was a sentiment that was mirrored by Hamlett. Hamlett said the surge into the playoffs proved the group’s energy and resilience.
“The first game was intense, but to see them get the win in overtime was awesome,” Hefner said. “The second game had a harder start, but then they came out in the fourth quarter ready to fight, scoring two goals and almost sending us into overtime. We would have loved to go on further in the tournament, but it was still a special experience.”
Although the Flashes did not compete in the MAC Championship final, they out-shot James Madison 7-3, scoring 2 goals, in the last quarter of the semi-final game.
The Flashes also had four field hockey athletes receive All-MAC honors; Sophomore midfielder Eva Usoz was named All-MAC First Team, and senior midfielder Agustina Florio was named All-MAC Second Team. Freshmen goalkeeper Lieve Jansen and forward Delfina Larripa were both named to the All-MAC Freshman Team.
Coming into her first season here, Hefner said she didn’t have any expectations on what success would look like, but wanted to start by building a foundation.
“I wanted to come in and see this team grow over time, and that is how I have measured success in my first season here,” Hefner said. “We did what we wanted to do in our first year, which was lay the foundation, have girls that were acknowledging that and then seeing them grow day in and day out.”
Hamlett continued commending the culture that Hefner started to build and how the team recognized what they were trying to accomplish this season.
“Coach Hefner presented them with what we want the culture to look like, what the vision of the program is and what our purpose of being at Kent is,” Hamlett said. “It was cool seeing them all buy into that and see it pay off every day.”
Throughout her first season at Kent State, Hefner emphasized learning the importance of trusting the process. She said it can be difficult on both ends when a new staff comes in, but the team put trust in herself and Hamlett, which allowed them to achieve what they wanted this season.
“Success doesn’t happen overnight, and that’s for this season, but that’s also over my time in my career,” Hefner said. “It’s going to take time to build what we want to build, so showing up every day, continuing to instill belief in the girls and trusting the process allows us to grow as a group.”
Following their first season with the Flashes, Hefner and Hamlett are excited to build off of what they’ve started this fall.
They plan to work towards making key progress during their off-season that will set them up to thrive next competition season.
“We’re going to have a developmental off-season where we’re going to help the girls grow technically and tactically, in their leadership, their skills and in the culture,” Hefner said. “To be able to enter next fall having grown in those areas over the spring, I’m excited to see what we will look like as a squad coming in because, while we’ll be similar, we’re going to be a whole new team.”
Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
