Kate Pfeifer joined the Northeastern coaching staff in 2007, and enters her fourth season as associate head coach. She was promoted in 2010 after three seasons as assistant coach.
Pfeifer oversees the defense, including individual defensive skills and team defensive tactics. She is involved in video analysis and breakdown of defensive concepts. In addition to these on-field roles, she also serves as the program's recruiting coordinator.
Prior to joining the Huskies, Pfeifer was an assistant at Babson College for the 2006 campaign. In 2005, she was the head coach at Francis Parker West High School in Chicago, Illinois and coached with the Windy City field hockey club. Pfeifer has also worked extensively with FUTURES, the U.S. Field Hockey Association’s developmental program, and the University of Michigan field hockey program.
A recipient of the Donald R. Shepherd scholarship for women’s field hockey, Pfeifer enjoyed a stellar career at Michigan, where she accumulated 76 career starts in 82 games and was a critical part of arguably the strongest defensive unit in the country. As a Wolverine, Pfeifer won four Big Ten championships, made four NCAA appearances with two trips to the Final Four (2001, 2003), and won the NCAA National Championship in 2001. The 2001 National Championship was the first for any women's team in the storied history of the University of Michigan athletics program. Â
Pfeifer received Michigan’s Brian Fishman Award for exceptional work ethic, passion and pursuit of excellence. She was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer, and during her senior season of 2004, won the conference’s Sportsmanship Award and was selected to compete in the NCAA Division I North-South Senior All-Star game. Serving as team captain, she led the Wolverines to a Big Ten regular season title, a Big Ten Tournament title and a trip to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to her duties at Northeastern, Pfeifer recently served as the administrator and assistant coach for the 2010 Junior High Performance New England team that competed in the national championship in Virginia Beach, VA. In 2011, she served as head coach of the 2M site for USFHA's FUTURES program.
Pfeifer graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Michigan and received her Master of Business Administration degree from Northeastern in 2010. She holds a Level II coaching accreditation from USA Field Hockey. Â
In 2010, she married Northeastern associate head men's soccer coach, Adam Pfeifer, who joined the program in 2006. They currently reside in Dorchester.
Last updated: August 5, 2013
