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.

Carole Kinsella returns for her 11th season as the Owls' goalie coach. In addition to her field responsibilities, Kinsella plays a key off-the-field role for the team, meeting with recruits and parents on campus and handling administrative duties for the program.

Under Kinsella's direction, the Owls have had two of the very best goaltenders in the history of the program come through KSC. Vikki Stoessel '09 and Sara Joyce 06' were rocks in net for the Owls during KSC's stretch of five consecutive Little East Conference Championships (2004 - 2008). Joyce and Stoessel both finished with 43 career victories, good enough for 2nd on KSC's all-time record book. Joyce, who finished number one in the NCAA in 2006 in save percentage stopping .895 percent of the shots, also finished 2nd all-time with a 1.20 goals against average in her career.

Kinsella, a native of Scituate, Mass., played at Springfield College, where she started her junior and senior seasons for the then-powerhouse Division I program.

After years of being the opponent, Dresser will finally be on the home side of the field this fall, joining the Keene State field hockey team as an assistant coach. “I’ve been around the program since I was 10 years old, so I honored to be asked by Amy (Watson),” she said. 

Before KSC, Dresser’s played at Keene High, where she was named MVP of the field hockey team and was selected to play in the Twin State senior game. Dresser continued her playing career at New England College. Roaming the field as midfielder and forward, Dressler was a two-time All-Conference player for the Pilgrims and was named the Commonwealth Coast player of the year as a senior. Coached by KSC alum Susan Murray, Dresser captured four consecutive TCCC titles and NCAA tournament berths while she was there.

Dresser, who graduated from NEC with a physical education degree in 2009, spent a season working as a Pilgrim assistant before taking over as the head coach at John Stark Regional High School last year. 

A four year starter under head coach Amy Watson, Kellie Warning starts her first season in 2011 as a student assistant coach. Warning appeared in 91 games for the Owls over her four years as a member of the defense.

As an Owl, Warning made 85 starts and 91 appearences as a defender. in her career she scored one goal (against Worcester State in 2008) and also tallied an assist (against New England College in 2009). Warning also made two defensive saves, including one against William Smith in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2007, her freshman year.

Before coming to Keene State, Warning was a two-time All-League and All-section player at Putnam Valley (N.Y.) High and led her junior team to a state title.

Kellie is finishing her degree in nutrition.