PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State University alumna Molly Saunders '13 will be the newest head coach of the PSU field hockey program, Director of Athletics Kim Bownes announced on Tuesday.
 
Saunders, who played for the Panthers from 2009-10, replaces longtime coach Bonnie Lord, who announced her retirement after 23 years at the helm prior to the season. Saunders spent three seasons as an assistant at the University of New England from 2016-19, helping the Nor'easters to the second round of the NCAA Tournament twice, while making three straight appearances in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championship game, including conference titles in 2016 and 2017. During her time in Biddeford, UNE sported a 50-19 overall record, including a 33-3 mark in conference play.
 
"I'm thrilled to have Molly as our next field hockey coach," said Bownes. "She brings a wealth of experience, is familiar with Plymouth State, and has been part of our rich field hockey tradition. She has big shoes to fill, but I am confident that she will fit right in and do all that is best for our student-athletes."
 
Saunders helped UNE to a 5-0 win over UMaine Farmington in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, but the Nor'easters were nipped, 2-0, in the second round by #3 Tufts. The Jumbos would go on to appear in the national championship game.
 
The 2017 squad also earned a win in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, topping St. Joseph's of Maine by a 2-1 score, but UNE was bested by then-#2 Middlebury in the second round. Middlebury went on to win the national championship.
 
UNE made another appearance in the CCC championship game in 2018, coming up just short in a 1-0 loss to Endicott to end the Nor'easters' run of four-straight conference titles.
 
More recently, Saunders has spent the last three seasons as the head coach at Yarmouth (Maine) High School, helping build up a program that had gone 4-10 prior to her arrival. She had immediate success as the program improved to 5-5 in her first season, before posting back-to-back eight-win seasons each of the last two years. The 2021 team finished 8-4-2 and advanced to the Class B regional semifinal, while last fall's squad went 8-6 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
 
"I am honored to be returning to my alma mater at Plymouth State as the new head field hockey coach," said Saunders. "With my former head coach, Bonnie Lord, retiring after 23 years, I understand the legacy she has built and the blood, sweat and tears that was put into this program. I have a great range of experience working in this sport and I am ready to hit the ground running with this team picking up right where it left off last season. We will use every day to make ourselves better on and off the field."
 
In addition to her time on the sidelines, Saunders has spent the last six years working with club field hockey and summer programs. From 2017-2020 she served as co-director of MAINE STYX Field Hockey Club based in Portland. In addition to her administrative role, Saunders coached the program's U16 Elite team.
 
Starting in November of 2020, Saunders founded the Hit the Turf Field Hockey League, a weekly winter program for high school players interested in competing at the next level. The small group summer sessions were designed to help prepare collegiate athletes for their fall seasons.
 
As a player, Saunders was part of Plymouth State's 2009 team that finished the year with a 12-9 record. The eighth-seeded Panthers posted back-to-back upsets in the ECAC New England Tournament, knocking off top-seeded Keene State and fourth-seeded WPI, before falling in the title game to second-seeded UNE in overtime, 3-2.
 
Saunders appeared in 16 games for the team in 2010, helping the Panthers to a 14-7 record. As the third seed for the Little East Conference (LEC) Tournament, PSU topped Southern Maine, 2-1, in the opening round, but was nipped in the semifinals by Bridgewater State, 2-1 in overtime. Plymouth State earned the #3 seed for the ECAC New England Tournament, though, and returned the favor with a 2-1 win over the Bears in the championship game to capture the program's third ECAC title.
 
Saunders begins with the program immediately and will run the non-traditional season this spring.
 
The Panthers went 11-6 last fall, which included a 9-3 mark in LEC play. PSU finished in a three-way tie for third in the league but was awarded the fifth seed for the LEC Tournament following the application of the conference's tie-breaking procedure. Plymouth State's season ended in the first round of the tournament at fourth-seeded Keene State. Junior Taylor Healy (Campton, N.H.) established a new program record with 60 points on the year behind 26 goals – the third most in a season in school history.