NFHCA RELEASE
CHAMPAIGN, IL - Rowan associate athletic director and former field hockey coach Penny Kempf and former Montclair State field hockey coach Beth Gottung were named to the inaugural class of Honorary Members by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA).
The 13-member class includes former coaches, administrators and supporters who paved the way for the sport and the NFHCA. Kempf, who was inducted into the NFHCA Hall of Fame in 2021, and Gottung are part of the group that consists of NFHCA Hall of Fame members, former coaches, board members, athletic administrators and umpires.
Penny Kempf
Rowan's associate athletic director and senior women's administrator since 2014, Kempf coached the Rowan field hockey team for 17 years from 1998 to 2014. She compiled a 253-81 overall record, for the most wins in school history and led the Profs to the 2002 NCAA Championship, marking the only title in the program to date, as that squad completed the year with a perfect 21-0 record.
A member of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Committee, Kempf is also serving as the tournament director for the 2022 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championships which will be hosted by Rowan on November 18-20.
During her tenure as head coach, the Profs made 12 trips to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the national semifinals three times, which included the appearance in the 2002 championship game. Kempf led the Profs to six NJAC championships, including the program's first in 1998.
Kempf, who led Rowan to 17 consecutive winning seasons, saw 27 of her student-athletes earn All-America honors and 53 gain All-Region recognition, while a total of 77 Profs were named All-Conference performers in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).
The native of Vineland, NJ, swept the coaching awards in 2002 as she was named the NFHCA National Coach of the Year, as well as the Coach of the Year for the South Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and the NJAC. Additionally, Kempf earned the conference's Coach of the Year award in 1998 and 2009.
Kempf is ranked ninth among all-time Division III coaches with a 75.7 winning percentage. She served on the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Committee and is a past chair for the national committee and the South Atlantic Region.
An All-American in field hockey and lacrosse at TCNJ, Kempf will be inducted into the TCNJ Athletics Hall of Fame this October. She was previously inducted into the Rowan Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
Beth Gottung
Gottung's career was of one of the most successful coaching tenures in Montclair State athletic history, turning the Red Hawks field hockey team into one of the top-tier programs in all of Division III. In 13 seasons, Gottung recorded an overall record of 201-62, a .764 winning percentage that includes all five Montclair State's appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament and 10 post-season berths overall. A three-time NJAC Coach of the Year, Gottung also guided MSU to back-to-back New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships in 2012 and 2013 and three ECAC Mid-Atlantic crowns.
Named the 16th head coach of MSU Field Hockey in 2002, Gottung inherited a program that had been a combined 27 games under .500 through its first 41 seasons. Since then, MSU is 112 games over the break-even mark, a remarkable 139-game turnaround.
Gottung had 45 players named to the NJAC All-Conference Team and saw 30 of her players named All-Region while coaching 12 of the 13 All-Americans in MSU history, including First Team selections Megan Ulicny (2003), Megan Bosland (2012), and Stephanie Lewis (2013) in addition to 2014 NFHCA selection Abby Erler. MSU also placed 14 players in the NFHCA Division III Senior All-Star Game under Gottung's watch. The field hockey team has flourished in the classroom and collected several group and individual academic awards during Gottung's tenure, with four players chosen to the prestigious Academic All-America Team.
In 2012, Gottung led Montclair State to one of the best seasons not only in program history but in its athletic history. The Red Hawks became the first female team to play for the national championship as MSU advanced to the title game of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship in Geneva, NY. Finishing the year as the national runner-up, Montclair went 22-2, which included a 20-game winning streak, the fourth-longest in athletic history. For two months, MSU was unbeatable, sweeping its way through its NJAC schedule that featured a 5-1 victory at previously unbeaten, third-ranked, and defending national champion The College of New Jersey, 5-1 in Ewing that snapped the Lions' 24-game winning streak. One month later, the Red Hawks claimed their first conference championship beating Rowan 3-0 in the title contest to earn its second straight NCAA Tournament berth.
Montclair defeated Christopher Newport and Rochester in the NCAA Regional at Salisbury University to earn its ticket to the Final Four at William Smith College. The Red Hawks blanked Mary Washington 4-0 in the national semifinal before falling to Tufts in the championship game. The loss, however, could not diminish a season that saw MSU reset its single-season mark for wins while finishing No. 2 in the final NFHCA rankings. The following season, Montclair State would achieve another first as the Red Hawks were ranked No. 1 by the NFHCA for several weeks during the 2013 campaign, en route to a second straight 20-win season. MSU, which posted a 21-2 mark, also advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship and won its second straight NJAC title. Gottung was named the NFHCA South Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for the second year in a row and the third time overall.