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Sugar Hill's Coffin having a sweet senior season
KEENE, N.H. 11/8/11- Elizabeth Coffin will be one of six Owl seniors who will take the field on Wednesday for Keene State College’s first-round NCAA tournament field hockey game against Endicott College.
A member of the 2008 Keene State team, the last one to earn a berth to the national tournament, Coffin said she and her senior teammates were on a mission this season to get back to the tournament. True in life as well as in sports – absence makes the heart grow fonder. "As a freshman, I don't know if I really understood how important it was to go to the NCAAs," said Coffin. "I figured we went every year. It’s really sweet to get back.”
A native of Sugar Hill, NH, Coffin is having a sweet senior season for the Owls. The top scorer on the team with 22 goals, nine assists and 53 points, Coffin not only scores, but makes her goals count – netting eight game-winners so far this season.
Her scoring prowess was on display last weekend, helping Keene State capture the Little East Conference championship and automatic NCAA berth. In the Owls’ three tournament games, she tallied six goals, including the game-winner in a 2-1 semifinal win over Westfield State and the 2-0 victory against Plymouth State in the championship game. The senior forward began the tournament by finding the back of the net four times in the Owls’ 7-0 quarterfinal victory over Southern Maine.
Displaying a quiet, yet confident persona off the field, Coffin changes her demeanor on the turf – speaking loudly and carrying a big stick. “I can always hear her calling for the ball from the sidelines,” said KSC Coach Amy Watson. “Once Elizabeth gets the ball, she knows what to do with it.”
Coffin remembers the booming voice of her middle school coach Pat Jensen, who got her interested in the sport. “Coach Jensen knew so much about field hockey and made practices exciting,” said Coffin. “She had this voice that projected across the field.”
Instead of going to Profile High School in nearby Bethlehem, Coffin decided to attend St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont, where she made the varsity field hockey team as a freshman and played three seasons. She also played a year on the school’s lacrosse team and competed in the pole vault, setting a school record and finishing third in the state.
Still having friends at Profile, Coffin decided to transfer back to her hometown school for her senior season. It turned out to be a good move for Coffin, who was named the Class M&S player of the year and led her Patriot team to the final four of the state tournament.
After weighing her college options, Coffin felt she could flourish at Keene State on the field and in the classroom as an exercise science major. The fact that the school had a fast turf field didn’t hurt. “I couldn’t wait to get on the turf and start running around,” she said.
It didn’t take Coffin long to get on the field, jumping into the starting line-up a game into her freshman season. “We bounced Elizabeth around a little bit, but she really came into her own the last two years,” said KSC Coach Amy Watson.
Initially intimidated playing with older teammates, Coffin became more confident as the seasons progressed. “Playing on such a good team, I was scared of making a mistake,” she said. “These days, I’m a much more confident player.”
Now the only mistake being made is by opposing defenders who forget to cover Coffin in front of the net. Last year, she scored 21 goals (burying a school-record five against Worcester State) on the way to earning All-Region and All-Conference honors. Coffin did herself one better this season, entering Wednesday’s game with 22 goals and being named the LEC’s offensive player of the year.
Sometimes Coffin surprises herself. “I got a goal against Westfield in the semifinals and I don’t remember the ball hitting my stick,” she said. “There was two inches between the goalie's pad and the post and somehow it went in. I couldn’t believe it.”
Coffin also can’t believe how far she’s come in the game. She is currently ranked fourth in goals (55) and points (128) on Keene State’s all-time list. “My goal was never to score so much,” she said. “I just wanted to be able to look back on my career knowing that I gave everything I had, so I wouldn’t have any regrets.”
