PRINCETON, N.J. – Caroline Nelson-Nichols, head coach of the Columbia field hockey program, will step down to become the head coach of the United States National Field Hockey Team, USA Field Hockey announced today.
 
A former U.S. National Team member and two-time Olympian, Nelson-Nichols compiled 41 victories with the Lions, including the first two wins over ranked opponents with upsets of No. 22 Boston University and No. 24 Maine in 2019.
 
Under her direction, Columbia has had 16 All-Ivy League and nine NFHCA All-Region selections, including three in 2018 to tie a program record. Nelson-Nichols coached three of the finest scorers in Columbia history in Maeve Doherty '18CC, Christina Freibott '16CC and Katie Ruesterholz '17CC. The latter two set the school's career point records in back-to-back seasons.
 
Nelson-Nichols will see several familiar faces as several former and current Ivy League standouts are now competing on the national stage.
 
Princeton’s Kathleen Sharkey is a veteran captain of TEAM USA and recently served as TEAM USA flag bearer at the Pan American Games. 2016 Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year Cat Caro has earned 15 caps as a midfielder.
 
Penn’s Alexa Hoover, a four-time All-Ivy recipient, and Princeton’s Sophia Tornetta, a three-time All-Ivy recipient, are both members of the 2019 US Women’s National Development Team.  Columbia’s Kelsey Farkas and Allison Smith and Princeton’s MaryKate Neff and Julianna Tornetta were at the U.S. Team Selection Camps, which took place earlier this month.