University of Richmond Athletics
Lucido Completes Spider Field Hockey Staff
08/13/2014 | Field Hockey
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond field hockey head coach Gina Lucido has announced the hiring of two new assistant coaches Stephanie Bernthal and Chelsea Davies.
Bernthal joins the Spider staff after spending the past two seasons as the head coach at Bethany College, while Davies was a four-year starter for Lucido and graduated this past May from Richmond.
“I am so eager to begin this new chapter of Spider hockey with such outstanding women,” commented Lucido. “The collective strength and talent of these two coaches has immediately impacted our culture and inspired me significantly.”
At Bethany, Bernthal led the Bison into its first varsity season since 1989-90 in 2012. Prior to joining the Bison staff, Bernthal was a full time assistant at Christopher Newport for one season and helped the Captains finish 12-6 in 2011. The program was ranked as high as 17th in the country and had five one-goal losses during the year.
In addition to her work at Christopher Newport, Bernthal was the Director of Club Events for the StickPower Field Hockey Club in Newport News, Va., and served as a coach with the United States Field Hockey Association Futures Program. She began her coaching career as the junior varsity head coach at Stow-Monroe Falls High School in Stow, Ohio, in 2009.
Bernthal graduated from Kent State in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology where she was a four-year starter on defense for the Golden Flashes. During her career, she helped Kent State to two MAC regular season championships, a MAC Tournament Championship and NCAA play-in game appearance in 2008. She was a two-time All-MAC selection, including First Team honors in 2008.
Bernthal also earned a Masters of Education from Kent State in 2011.
“I feel so grateful that Stephanie and I connected paths through the hiring process,” said Lucido. “I knew Stephanie's background at Bethany was invaluable to our staff and team. The refining fires of program building have given her tremendous experience and steadfast character. I am confident our shared coaching philosophies will combine into a powerful dynamic, and her strong mentoring abilities will bring out the best in our players. I am so blessed to have her by my side.”
Davies joins the staff after a stellar four-year campaign as the Spiders' top midfielder, leading Richmond to an Atlantic 10 Championship and NCAA appearance in 2011.
The 2010 A-10 Rookie of the Year was a three-time First-Team All-Atlantic 10 honoree and a two-time Second Team NFHCA All-South Region player. The Madison, N.J., native graduated this past May with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, finishing her career with 24 goals, 27 assists and 75 points in 85 games played.
Davies capped off her outstanding career playing in the 2013 Front Rush NFHCA Senior Game.
She was also a member of the USA U-17 National Team and USA Senior High Performance Team prior to enrolling at Richmond.
“Chelsea is the epitome of spider excellence. The difficult transition from playing to coaching your former peers is one few are equipped to handle. Her loyalty and passion for our spider culture impacted our team beyond measure during her career. The gift of having Chelsea on board has been felt from the moment she sat in the coaching chair. It brings me great joy to have such a worthy alum on staff,” closed Lucido.
