Northeastern field hockey head coach Cheryl Murtagh announced on April 22, 2014 that Olivia Netzler-Gray has been named associate head coach. Netzler comes to Huntington Avenue from Robert Morris, where she served as the head coach of the Colonials for seven seasons.
Netzler-Gray became the second head coach in Robert Morris field hockey history in 2007, and was faced with the task of building a program in only its fourth season of existence. In 2013, she led the Colonials to an 11-8 record and their first playoff appearance in team history. After topping Rider in the MAAC Tournament semifinals, 1-0, Robert Morris fell to Quinnipiac in the conference title game, 1-0.
Netzler-Gray guided a record four student-athletes to All-MAAC selections in 2013, while Jamie Hartley was named to the NFHCA All-Mideast Region Second Team, the first such honor for a Colonial. In addition, 13 field hockey student-athletes earned All-MAAC Academic Team honors, tied for the most in the league.
Prior to her appointment at RMU, Netzler-Gray served as the associate director of the Field Hockey Club of Kentucky in Louisville, Ky., from 2001 to 2006. During the 2005-06 school year, Netzler-Gray was the assistant athletic director at St. Francis High School, also in Louisville. As assistant athletic director she served as the head field hockey and track and field coach while assisting the athletic department in general operations.
A native of Sydney, Australia, Netzler-Gray earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sport administration from the University of Louisville in 2004. She was a three-year letterwinner at forward for the Cardinals as well as a two-time regional NFHCA All-American (2001, 2003).
Netzler-Gray ranks third in career points for the Cardinals (80), as well as fourth in career goals (32) and tied for seventh in career assists (16). Netzler-Gray is also sixth in single-season points for the Cardinals with 39, a mark she reached in 2001.
Between 2001 and 2003 with Netzler-Gray as a member of the squad, Louisville posted an overall record of 42-23, including a record of 20-10 in the Mid-American Conference. The 2001 squad finished with an overall record of 16-5, establishing a school record for victories while earning its first national ranking in school history, climbing as high as No. 6 in the country.
