Jane Koeniges enters her second season as the head lacrosse coach at East Stroudsburg University in 2012 and her sixth season at ESU overall after serving as an assistant lacrosse and field hockey coach for four seasons.
Koeniges helped the Warriors to a 10-9 record and an appearance in the PSAC semifinals in her first season in 2011 and was named the PSAC Coach of the Year. ESU capped its season with a 16-8 win over Gannon in the PSAC quarterfinals for the program's first postseason win since 1986.
Molly O'Hara was named to the Synapse Sports All-America team and Michelle Mangiaruga was also an All-Region selection. Both players finished the season with 73 points, O'Hara on 55 goals and 18 assists and Mangiaruga on 46 goals and 27 assists. They rank second and third, respectively, in school history in career goals and points. Defender Xeni Barakos was also named All-PSAC.
Koeniges replaced Lynne Elphick, who was head coach for five seasons and stepped down following the 2010 season. Elphick and Koeniges helped the Warriors to PSAC playoff appearances and a school record-tying 11 wins in both 2008 and 2010.
ESU had a 29-24 record over the Elphick's final three seasons (2008-10) after the program turned the corner from seven straight years with a record below .500. The 2010 team went 11-7 and scored a school-record 232 goals, led by 56 goals from O'Hara, who was named the PSAC East Athlete of the Year.
Koeniges worked with veteran field hockey head coach Sandy Miller for the past four seasons and helped the Warriors to a number of accolades. ESU played in the NCAA Playoffs in 2009 and 2010, and tied the school record with 17 wins and played in the PSAC championship game in 2010.
Koeniges came to ESU after spending 10 years at the Division I level as an assistant field hockey and lacrosse coach at Lafayette College under head coach Ann Gold.
Prior to joining Lafayette’s staff, Koeniges served as the assistant varsity field hockey coach as Somers (Conn.) High School, as well as the assistant varsity softball coach at Belvidere (N.J.) High School. She also had the opportunity to aid in the coaching of the New Jersey/Pennsylvania Elite Performance Training Center, which is intended to identify and train national team-caliber players from the local region.
A 1995 graduate of Springfield College with a degree in Physical Education, Koeniges also has an associate’s degree from Mitchell College in New London, Conn. She also has graduate credits towards degrees in Sport Management at ESU and Sports Coaching at the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, Alabama. She resides in Hope, N.J.
