Gia Cillizza is in her ninth year as head coach of the Cardinal field hockey team. During the past eight years, Cillizza has become CUA field hockey's winningest coach as she continues to build the program into one that is nationally recognized.

During the 2009 season, Cillizza guided CUA to 12 wins, including a 5-1 record in the Landmark Conference, as the Cardinals outscored their opponents 43-24 and surrendered only 1.26 goals per game.  CUA hosted a pair of postseason contests as well, advancing to the semifinals of the ECAC Tournament following a 3-1 win over Kean University.  Five of Cillizza’s student-athletes earned All-Landmark honors, including four on the First-Team, while Liz Grumbein was named to the All-South Atlantic Region Second-Team and Marian Cassilly was chosen to participate in the NFHCA Division III Senior All-Star Game.

Off the field Cillizza’s team continued to achieve at a high level as it earned an overall grade point average of 3.29 during the 2009 fall semester and was recognized with a National Field Hockey Coaches Association academic team award.  In addition, 11 individuals were placed on the national academic squad by earning a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.30 through the first semester, led by co-captain Andrea Baick’s perfect 4.0 GPA. 

Cillizza and her staff were named Landmark Coaching Staff of the Year in 2007 and 2008 and Cillizza was honored as the Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2006. During her tenure, she has coached four of the program’s five All-Americans, 10 All-Region selections, 29 All-Conference selections, two Conference Rookies of the Year, two Conference Defensive Players of the Year and five NFHCA All-Star Game participants.  She has also coached several CUA Athletics Department award winners including Ro Dixon and Erin Swift (Donley Cup); Michele Repass, Jayme Dinsmore and Stephanie Roselle (Outstanding Senior Athlete) and Carley Walko, Kelly Burke and Kathleen Langan (Jone Dowd Role Model) as well as Megan Payne, who received the President’s Medal in 2007.

During Cillizza’s tenure the Cardinals have won three regular season titles (2006-08), played in four conference championship games (2005-08), and advanced to the ECAC post-season tournament five times (runner up in 2008, semifinalist in 2005, 2006, 2009 and quarterfinalist in 2007). They have also taken down several nationally ranked teams including #4 Salisbury on the road in 2006, #15 Juniata in 2007, and #15 William Patterson in 2008, and earned ratings in the top 30 nationally from 2005-09, with its top poll ranking of #13 in 2005.

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 has coached at U.S. Field Hockey's National Futures Championship, served as a site director and coach in the U.S. Field Hockey Futures development program, directed Revolution Field Hockey camp at CUA, and coached camps with the University of Maryland, Nike, Gateway Field Hockey, Cecil County Field Hockey and Archbishop Spalding High School. She has also served on various National Field Hockey Coaches Association and NCAA committees.

From 2006-10 Cillizza served as associate athletic director and senior woman administrator (SWA) at CUA.  In this role she oversaw seven varsity programs, directed departmental events and programs, and oversaw special projects and committees.

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 21-0, and was named first team all-conference her junior and senior years. During high school she participated in the U.S. 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, her husband, Chris, and son live in Falls Church, Va.

Emily Richards is in her second season as an assistant coach at CUA.  Richards played keeper for St. Mary’s College of Maryland for four years before graduating in 2008. She was a three-time All-CAC selection, three-time All-Region selection, and two-time All-American. Serving as a caption her senior year, Richards also accrued two team MVP selections, St. Mary’s College Female Athlete of the Year in 2008, and was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” in the fall of 2005. Prior to college, she played with the Capital Pegasus club, making multiple appearances at both Festival and the National Indoor Tournament. Richards also helped lead Springbrook High School to the 4A State Championship in 2004 and was named team MVP. A native of Silver Spring, Md., Richards now resides in Bethesda and works as an economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Kristy Palchinsky is in her eighth season with the Catholic University field hockey program.  During her time the Cardinals coaching staff has been honored on two occassions as the conference staff of the year.  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. She resides in Bethesda, Md.

Alison Brant is in her first season as the graduate assistant for the Catholic University field hockey program.  She came to CUA during the summer of 2010 after graduating from Dickinson College with a bachelor’s degree in American studies.  Brant played field hockey all four years while at Dickinson, earning First Team Centennial Conference honors in 2008 and she was named a Division III National Senior All-Star in 2009.  In addition she served as captain of the team in 2008 and 2009, was named the MVP in 2008 and served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee from 2007-2010. 

Off the field, Brant was a member of the President’s Commission for Women and she participated in the Snell-Shillingford Coaching Symposium as well as the National Conference for Women Student Leaders.  Brant has coached at a number of camps including Premier Field Hockey Camp, Villa Maria Camp and Early Birds Field Hockey and Lacrosse Camp.