Field Hockey Coaches

Gia Cillizza

Associate Director of Athletics & Head Field Hockey Coach cillizza@cua.edu 202-319-4744

Gia Cillizza enters her sixth year as head coach of the Cardinal field hockey team. Over the past five years, Cillizza has continued to lay the foundation for a nationally recognized program.

The 2006 season typified the team's quick growth under Cillizza. The team posted a 13-8 overall record and won the regular season Capital Athletic Conference title for the first time in program history. The team was ranked among the top 20 teams nationally and earned a berth to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Mid-Atlantic Field Hockey tournament where they advanced to the semifinals.

Post-season accolades followed. Cillizza was named CAC Coach of the Year, the first time a CUA field hockey coach has received the honor. For only the fourth time since the program's inception in 1969 and the third time since Cillizza took the helm, a player was named to the national All-American team. In addition, an all-time high of seven CUA field hockey players made the All-CAC first or second teams, one was named rookie of the year, and three players received first and second team all-south region distinction. Cillizza also became CUA's winningest field hockey coach at the midpoint of the season.

Inspired by an emphasis on excellence on and off the field, eight of the team's student-athletes received National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III National Academic Squad honors last season by earning a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.30 through the first semester of the 2006-2007 academic year.

Cillizza began her career as head coach in 2002 after serving for three years as an assistant at CUA. In 2004 after a two-year stint as a part-time head coach, Cillizza left her career in publishing as assistant production editor, reporter and marketing manager for National Journal Group (now Atlantic Media) to follow her passion, full-time coaching. She is a coach with USA Field Hockey's Futures Olympic Development Program and has coached camps with the University of Maryland; Nike; Cecil County Field Hockey; Archbishop Spalding High School; and Gateway Field Hockey in St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, and Kansas City. She has also served on various National Field Hockey Coaches Association and NCAA committees and directed her first camp in conjunction with Revolution Field Hockey in the summer of 2007.

Cillizza serves as associate athletic director at CUA, overseeing several varsity programs, communications, marketing and part of the fundraising endeavors for the department. She is also working on a master's degree in psychology at CUA.

Cillizza is a 1998 graduate of Division I Miami University in Ohio where she was a four-year letter winner and twice earned a trip to the Mid-American Conference championships. She was elected co-captain of her team both junior and senior year and was a three-year starter at midfield and defense. She earned a bachelor's degree in English literature and journalism and was a reporter and editor for the university's newspaper.

A St. Louis, Mo., native, Cillizza was co-captain of the Visitation Academy 1993 Midwest Championship team, which finished an unblemished 22-0, and was named first team all-conference her junior and senior years. During high school she participated in the Futures program and played on all-star teams at the National Field Hockey Festival. Her background includes high school and club softball and soccer as well as musical theater and dance.

Cillizza and her husband, Chris, live in Alexandria, Va.

 

Kristy Palchinsky

Assistant Coach

In her fifth year with the program, Kristy Palchinsky will continue her work with the goalkeepers and defense but will also play a central role in scouting for the program. Palchinsky played four years at the University of Maryland, College Park, a Division I field hockey powerhouse. During her time there, Maryland captured the ACC championship three times and won the national championship in 2000. A defensive player, Palchinsky was named junior female MVP at the Big Apple International Indoor Tournament and made the NFHCA academic squad and ACC honor roll. She also coaches in the Futures program and at University of Maryland and Revolution/CUA summer camps. Palchinsky earned a B.A. in communications in 2002 and is a district sales manager for Automated Data Processing.

 

Sondra Pires

Assistant Coach

Pires begins her second season with  the CUA field hockey staff after a successful playing career for the Cardinals. Her responsibilities include managing the team's strength and conditioning as well as playing a key role in the program's recruiting. Pires graduated from CUA in 2004 with a master's degree in architecture. During her five-year career (she was a medical redshirt as a fourth year), Pires received numerous accolades on and off the field including CUA co-rookie of the year, three time All-CAC selection, two-time All-South region pick and five-time CAC academic team honoree. A native of Dartmouth, Mass., Pires played with the Cape Ann Coalition club and has coached camps and clinics in her home state. She is now a designer with OPX, an architecture and design firm based in Washington, D.C.

 

Lucy Durbin

Assistant Coach

First year assistant coach Lucy Durbin, who will aid Cillizza in all aspects of the program with a special emphasis on recruiting, split her collegiate playing career between Villanova University - where she spent her first two years -- and Saint Louis University. A forward and midfielder, Durbin was Villanova's second leading scorer in 1996 with 13 goals and six assists. During her final campaign at SLU, she set a NORPAC tournament record with five goals and one assist in a single game. A team captain as a fifth year after taking a medical red shirt, Durbin capped her career with selection to the NORPAC first team and All Tournament team. Durbin graduated from SLU with a B.A. in education and a teaching certification in high school mathematics. A four-sport athlete at Villa Duchesne High School in St. Louis, Durbin participated in the Futures program and competed at the National Futures Tournament. In 2006, she served as assistant field hockey coach at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. Prior to ASU, she taught and coached for six years at the high school level. She returns to the D.C. area now to continue her career as a high school math teacher at St. Andrew's Episcopal School. Durbin resides in Arlington, Va.