MANAHAWKIN, N.J. – The Saint Joseph's field hockey coaching staff has been named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's Mid-Atlantic Regional Coaching Staff of the Year, the organization announced on Friday morning.
 
Head coach Hannah Prince, associate head coach Mark Wadsley, assistant coach Maggie Dickman, and assistant coach Beth Riley were honored after leading the Hawks to the national championship game for the first time in program history.  The squad was also the first Saint Joseph's team in any sport to play for a national title.
 
The Hawks won a program-record 20 games this season en route to their fourth consecutive Atlantic 10 title and seventh in the past eight seasons.  Saint Joseph's recorded three wins over teams ranked in the top five of the NFHCA Coaches Poll at the time of the game, defeating #5 Duke on September 22, #3 Virginia on October 13, and #1 North Carolina on November 22; all three wins came away from home.  In the final poll of the season, the Hawks were ranked third in the nation, the highest ranking in program history and the highest ranking ever achieved by an Atlantic 10 program.
 
It all culminated in the Hawks earning the number four national seed and hosting privileges for the NCAA Tournament for the first time.  The Hawks topped #20 Lafayette and #13 Princeton at Ellen Ryan Field to reach their first-ever Final Four; once there, Saint Joseph's notched a signature win over the top-ranked, top-seeded, and previously unbeaten Tar Heels to punch their ticket to the title game.
 
Other regional winners included the coaching staffs at Connecticut (Mideast Region), Massachusetts (Northeast Region), North Carolina (South Region), and Northwestern (West Region).  This year's Hawk staff is the first from Saint Joseph's to be named the Regional Coaching Staff of the Year; Michelle Finegan previously earned Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year honors in 1995.
 
The national Coaching Staff of the Year will be announced in January.