Missouri State University Director of Athletics Kyle Moats announced Thursday, Feb. 4, the hiring of Catherine Ostoich [pronounced ah-STUH-wich] as the Bears’ head field hockey coach, the ninth in program history.
Ostoich comes to the Bears after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Davidson College. Prior to that, she served as head coach at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pa., and also enjoyed a standout four-year playing career at the University of Richmond.
“Catherine’s energetic, she’s very passionate about the student-athlete and she really wants to improve her athletes not only on the field but off of it,” Moats said. “While she wants to be very involved with their progression, she also wants to really improve the student-athlete experience and be involved in making them better people.”
Ostoich’s two-year run at Davidson was highlighted this past season with the Wildcats improving from three to eight wins and qualifying for the Atlantic 10 Conference semifinals, where Ostoich’s squad lost 2-1 to her alma mater Richmond.
The Wildcats also saw improvements on the defensive side during her tenure, improving from 2.42 goals allowed per game in 2014 to just 1.37 in 2015. Likewise, Davidson cut down opponents’ shots per game from 15.6 to 11.8.
Davidson head coach Ginny Turner was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the 2015 season, with Ostoich playing a prominent role on her staff.
“I’m extremely excited to join the Missouri State community, to step into an accomplished athletic department and to lead a field hockey program which has tremendous potential,” Ostoich said. “I look forward to laying a foundation upon which we can build a successful program that values hard work and leadership, both on the field and in the classroom.
“I am grateful to Kyle Moats, Casey Hunt and the entire Missouri State administration for this opportunity and I look forward to getting started.”
During her time as coach at Lower Merion, she also served as an in-house and travel coach for Filia Field Hockey and Lacrosse, and worked with the Vipers Club Team at the U14, U16 and U19 levels.
At Richmond, Ostoich was a four-year starter and defender for the Spiders. She started in all but one of 85 games she appeared in during her career, and helped the team to Atlantic 10 Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009 and 2011.
As a freshman, she earned Atlantic 10 All-Rookie honors and was a part of a defensive unit that tied for third in school history for most shutouts (8) and ranked 17th in the nation in goals against average (1.62). During the Spiders’ run to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, Ostoich served as a member of a defensive unit that was fourth in the nation in goals against average (1.31) and posted eight shutouts. She was also named a team captain as a senior and was part of a defense that finished fifth in the nation in shutouts per game.
Ostoich served on the student-athlete advisory committee during her Richmond athletic career. She also worked at both the World Camp USA and the Richmond Field Hockey camps. In the spring of her senior year, Ostoich helped develop and implement a girls’ lacrosse program at Lee Davis High School, where she instructed and coached a team of beginning lacrosse athletes.
She completed her degree at Richmond in 2013 with a bachelor’s in business administration and a concentration in marketing.
