Montclair, NJ (9/4/09) – Montclair State field hockey head coach Beth Gottung reached a special milestone on Saturday as the eighth-year head coach picked up career win No. 100 as the Red Hawks edged Union College, 2-1 in overtime at Sprague Field.

Gottung, who took over the Montclair State program in 2002, has a career record of 100-38 in her eight seasons and she became the 26th coach in MSU athletic history to achieve the century mark for victories.

Gottung came to Montclair State from Trinity College in Connecticut where she served as an assistant coach for both the field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams. Since taking over the reigns of the program, she has led Montclair to the postseason six out of seven years, including the program’s only two appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

In her first season, Gottung led the Red Hawks to a 12-6 record and a berth in the ECAC Division III Mid-Atlantic Tournament semifinals where her team fell 2-1 in overtime to Rensselaer. That loss set the stage for the 2003 season. The Red Hawks went 15-5 (tying the school record for wins in a season at the time) and reached the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time. MSU won its opening-round game by defeating New England College, 7-1, before falling to eventual runner-up Middlebury College, 3-2. For her efforts, Gottung was named the NJAC Coach of the Year and the South Atlantic Region Coach of the Year by the NFHCA. In 2004, Gottung guided Montclair State to its fifth consecutive post-season tournament as MSU qualified for the ECAC Tournament and finished 12-7.

The 2005 campaign saw Gottung guide Montclair State to the best season its 44 years of field hockey. The Red Hawks went 17-3 and spent the entire season ranked in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Top 25, reaching as high as the number five ranking. For the second time in three seasons the Red Hawks qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament and reached the second round. The success on the field translated into numerous accolades for her players as MSU placed five on the NJAC All-Conference Team, three on the South-Atlantic All-Region squad and two on the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III All-America Team. On October 13, Gottung became the all-time leader in coaching victories as she earned win No. 49 when the Red Hawks edged Susquehanna, 2-1 surpassing Donna Olson for the top mark.

The following year Gottung added to her already successful coaching resume at MSU as she led Montclair to its second consecutive 17-3 season with all three losses coming to by a goal to ranked teams, including a 4-3 overtime defeat to eventual national champion Ursinus College. The Red Hawks would capture the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship and placed five players on the All-NJAC squad, including the conference's Attack and Goalkeeper of the Year. The 2007 season would be what has become the norm for the MSU field hockey program.  The Red Hawks went 15-6 against one of the nation’s top schedules and were ranked in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Top 25 throughout the season capping it off by winning its second straight ECAC Mid-Atlantic title as MSU edged FDU-Florham 2-1 in the championship game.

In her first seven seasons, Gottung has had 26 players named to the All-Conference Team and had seen 13 of her players named All-Region while coaching five of the six All-Americans in MSU history including the lone First Team member. In addition, MSU has sent seven players to the NFHCA Division III Senior All-Star Game.

Gottung graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in history from American International College in Springfield, MA in 2000. She earned her master’s degree in American Studies from Trinity in July 2002.

At AIC, Gottung was a four-year letterwinner and a three-year captain in field hockey, and a three-year letterwinner and one-year captain in lacrosse. She earned Northeast-10 All-Conference honors in field hockey in 1999, and was selected as an Academic All-American following the 1997 and 1999 field hockey seasons and the 1999 lacrosse campaign.

Gottung was awarded an ECAC Merit Medal in 2000 and earned awards at American International for excellence in civics, history and education as an undergraduate.

Gottung also spent three seasons as head coach of the MSU women’s lacrosse team. She compiled a 29-16 mark, taking the Red Hawks to the postseason for the first time in 2004.