Set to begin her 22nd season as head coach of the Keene State field hockey team, Amy Watson hopes her team can come of age and challenge for the 2011 Little East Conference championship this fall.

Watson and the Owls know a thing or two about LEC titles.  After capturing five straight conference crowns (2004-2008), KSC finished the 2010 season 16-6 and 8-3 in league play after falling to the top-seeded UMass Dartmouth Corsairs in the Little East Conference semifinals.

Looking to start a new string of tournament titles this year, Watson has developed the Owls into a top program in the region. Under her guidance, KSC has qualified for 10 Division III post-season appearances, including six NCAA tournament berths (1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008), a 2003 ECAC championship, and seven Little East Conference titles (1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008).

A 1984 graduate of Springfield College, Watson enters the 2011 season with a highly respectable 284-140-11 career and 107-17 LEC record at Keene State. In addition to KSC's success on the field, Watson, who has been recognized four times as the LEC Coach of the Year, is equally proud of the numerous honors bestowed on her players. During her tenure, 19 Owls have been recipients of All-America honors, including Erin Dallas and Carly Benning, who received the honor in 2009. Dallas, who made a miraculous recovery form a post-op infection, received the ECAC award of Valor as well.

In addition, eleven players have received LEC player-of-the-year honors, with Benning and Dallas earning offensive and defensive accolades respectively. Just as important are the multiple members of the team who have received national academic honors over the years. Last season, the KSC field hockey team placed nine players on the NFHCA All-Academic team.

Watson was named the full-time coach of the Owls in the summer of 2009. Her second duty of the athletic department is to run the student-athlete study halls for the athletic department.