April 10, 2008

Stockton, Calif. - Pacific field hockey head coach Linda MacDonald announced the hiring of Ashley Egland as the Tigers' new assistant coach on Thursday, April 10.

Egland joins Pacific after spending the past two seasons as the second assistant at national powerhouse, Michigan State. With the Spartans, Egland worked primarily with the goalkeeping unit. Egland also aided in daily aspects of the program, including recruiting.

Egland arrived at MSU after spending the 2005 season as an assistant coach at St. Lawrence, while also working towards a master's degree in education administration. With the Saints, Egland specialized in goalie training and was in involved in recruiting, conditioning and practice planning.

Prior to her stint at St. Lawrence, Egland served one season as the head field hockey coach at Wheelock College, a Division III school in Boston, Mass. Her background also includes a year of coaching high school at the varsity and junior varsity levels as well as numerous clinics and summer camps. She earned a bachelor of science in sport management degree from UMass's Isenberg School of Management in May of 2004.

A goaltender at the University of Massachusetts from 2000 through 2003, Egland led the Atlantic 10 with a 0.43 goals against average and a .940 save percentage as a sophomore, owning the 15th best save percentage in the nation. She helped guide UMass to two Atlantic 10 Championships (2000, 2001) and subsequent NCAA Tournament appearances. UMass advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2000 and the Sweet 16 in 2001. In her sophomore and junior seasons, Egland started 32 of 40 games for the Minutewomen. , and she earned academic all-conference honors twice. She also earned A-10 Player of the Week accolades twice in her career.

"We are very excited to bring Ashley into our program. She brings a lot of energy and a real positive attitude that compliments our staff," said MacDonald. "Coming from one of the top field hockey conferences in the country. She is sure to bring a new level of intensity and ideas to our program."

"Ashley's wealth of coaching experience and the playing experience at the national level that Vianney Campos continues to bring as an assistant coach, give our program a breadth of knowledge that will improve every player," concluded MacDonald.