BOSTON – Northeastern University has named Shelly Morris as its next head field hockey coach, director of athletics Jeff Konya announced on Thursday. Morris, a Northeastern alumna, had served as the program's associate head coach for the past three seasons, and is the fourth head coach in team history.
 
Morris succeeds Northeastern Hall of Fame coach Cheryl Murtagh, who retired after 30 seasons at the helm of the field hockey program.
 
"After conducting a national search for the next leader of our field hockey team, it became apparent that the best fit for the program was right here in our own backyard," Konya said. "Shelly brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role that we know will benefit our program moving forward. We're very excited to have Shelly on board, and we can't think of anyone better suited to pick up the torch from Cheryl Murtagh as the program continues to elevate itself back into a national contender."

Prior to her arrival at Northeastern in 2015, Morris was a head coach for 13 seasons at both Stonehill College and Ohio University. During her time at the helm of the two programs, Morris collected a record of 167-109 and led both to an NCAA tournament appearance.
 
"I want to thank our new athletic director Jeff Koyna, as well as executive senior associate athletic director Regina Sullivan and former athletic director Peter Roby for this tremendous opportunity," Morris said. "Northeastern has made such an impact on my life as an alumna and as a coach, and it has been a dream of mine to take over this program after Cheryl's storied career. I have been fortunate to be a part of so many great successes here, and I look forward to continuing Northeastern's winning tradition."
 
Morris recently finished her third season as the associate head coach at Northeastern, helping the Huskies to an appearance in the 2017 CAA tournament, while five different Huskies garnered conference postseason honors and Jamie Bartucca landed on the NFHCA All-Region First Team.
 
The 2015 and 2016 seasons saw six players named to the All-CAA First and Second teams including Natalie Stewart who became just the second ever Husky to be named to the All-CAA First Team and NFHCA All-Region teams in each of her four seasons at Northeastern (Crystal Poland, 2009-12). 
 
Morris joined Northeastern prior to the 2015 season after a seven-year tenure as the head coach at Stonehill. While with the Skyhawks, Morris boasted a career record of 100-49, leading her team to five NCAA Division II tournaments, including three appearances in the Final Four, and one Northeast-10 conference championship.
  
Morris has helped aid in the development of several former Skyhawks, including more than 20 former players collecting first and second team All-American Accolades. She led the program to six NE-10 Tournament appearances, finishing as the runner-up three times. While at Ohio, Morris led the Bobcats to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and first MAC championship in 20 years.
 
During her time as a student-athlete at Northeastern, Morris was part of a corps that collected 54 wins and reached the NCAA Tournament three times, advancing as far as the second round on two occasions. During the 1992 season, she served as captain of the team and currently ranks fifth all-time in career assists with 37. She received a degree in recreation and sports management from Northeastern in 1994.