WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Interim Director of Athletics Jon Mays announced the hiring of Margaret Maclean as the head coach of the New Haven Field Hockey Program, just the second coach in the six-year history of the program. Maclean makes the venture to West Haven with head coaching experience, leading the program at Allegheny College (DIII) for the last two seasons.

"Margaret's experience in building young programs to be successful on and off the field makes her the exact person we need leading our field hockey program," said Mays. "I look forward to officially welcoming Margaret to the Charger Nation Family and witnessing her success leading our field hockey student athletes on the field, in the classroom and in the community."

"I am extremely honored to be named the next head field hockey coach at the University of New Haven," said Maclean. "I want to thank Director of Athletics Dr. Jon Mays and Senior Associate Director of Athletics Sara Richwine for this incredible opportunity. I can't wait to get to work with a department that is so welcoming and has the same values as I do. I am excited to be back in the NE10 and build upon the foundation and momentum the field hockey team has had. Go Chargers!"

Maclean was elevated as the full-time head coach of the Gators in October 2021 after previously serving as the Interim head coach since July of 2021. She originally joined the staff at Allegheny in July of 2018 as an assistant to her collegiate head coach, Valerie Lohr, who was credited with launching the program, which began varsity competition in 2019.

In her two seasons leading the Gators, Maclean's teams improved their record by five-plus victories per season as she closed out her stint with a 21-15 overall record, including 13-6 mark in 2022, the second most wins among all teams in the North Coast Athletic Conference while finishing with a 4-4 mark in league games. The 13 wins for the Gators was 11 more than the season prior to her taking over, while she led Allegheny to its first ever postseason appearance following the 2022 campaign.

An additional first for the Gators and Maclean following the 2022 season included her and her assistant, Leah Romanowski, being named the NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year, one of two major conference awards following the season. Goalkeeper Hallie Reiger earned Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the First Team All-Conference, one of four players to earn All-Conference accolades.

Overall, eight Gators under Maclean's tutelage earned NCAC All-Conference honors, including the programs first ever major award when Bella Cowen was named the league's Newcomer of the Year after helping Alleghany to an 8-9 record, improving the win total by six games from the season prior. Overall, Cowen was one of four Gators honored by the NCAC following Maclean's first season leading the program, while she was also recognized with All-Region honors.

During her four total years at Allegheny, the Gators had 10 players earn NCAC All-Conference honors and over 20 student-athletes recognized on the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Academic Squad, plus two teams being recognized with NFHCA Division III National Academic Team Awards.

Maclean became involved in coaching prior to her collegiate playing career, as she has coached the Howard Stampede Field Hockey Club in suburban Baltimore beginning in 2013. During the 2018 spring season, she received her first taste in college coaching while serving as an intern on the Pace field hockey staff, her alma mater, assisting with a number of administrative and on-field duties, while also becoming acclimated to the coaching end of the recruitment process.

A defender, Maclean was named All-America in 2017 after leading a Setters defensive unit that led NCAA Division II in goals against average (0.88). As a senior, Maclean served as team captain and led her squad in both minutes played and defensive saves (8) as she led Pace to a 15-4 record in just the third season in program history. Throughout her collegiate career she was twice named a Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Week and went on to earn a spot in the 2017 NCAA Division II Senior All-Star Game.

She began her career at Millersville University, playing seven games for the 2014 squad that won the NCAA Division II National Championship. After transferring to Pace to start the 2015 season, the first in Setter history, she went on to score a double-overtime game-winning goal against No. 5 LIU Post, the reigning national runner-up.

In addition to her athletic accomplishments, Maclean also earned a number of academic accolades throughout her career, as she was twice named to the NE10's Commissioner's Honor Roll (2016, 2017), as well as earning selections to the ECAC Academic Honor Roll in 2017, and the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll in 2016.

A native of Ellicott City, Md., Maclean is a 2018 graduate of Pace with a degree in communications and minor in sports marketing.