Field hockey: Speirs named new coach at Centenary

Stephen Speirs, who guided Hackettstown to its first Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament title this season, was named the new head coach at Centenary University on Wednesday.

Hackettstown celebrates its first HWS title.

Speirs, 56, will take on the challenge of resurrecting a program from scratch after leading Hackettstown to its most successful season in over a decade in 2018.

The Tigers went 19-3-1 and ended a 14-game losing streak against Warren Hills with a 1-0 win in overtime in the HWS title game -- just the program's fifth win in 50 meetings against the Blue Streaks.

Senior Ashley Zellars scored the winning goal off a breakaway started by senior forward Madison Hoskins, who was named the tournament's MVP, while leading the team in scoring this season with 18 goals and 22 assists.

"I am honored having been selected to help reinstate the field hockey program at Centenary University," Speirs said in a media release issued by the school. "As the head coach, I am committed to providing student athletes every opportunity to reach their greatest potential on and off the playing field."

Centenary Cyclones Mobile - Cyclones to Reintroduce Field Hockey with Speirs as Head Coach...Very proud to be a part of the Centenary University coaching staff and starting the field hockey program 🏑 https://t.co/kyYDU7GxOv

— Stephen B Speirs Jr (@sbspeirs) November 14, 2018

Hackettstown, which finished No. 1 in the Open Mike area rankings, went 114-59-4 overall during Speirs' nine seasons in charge, including a 54-21-1 mark in Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division play, as the Tigers went 8-0 this season and 25-1 overall in winning four consecutive titles from 2015-18.

After three non-winning seasons to start Speirs' tenure, Hackettstown went 12-8 in 2013 and reached its first sectional final in nine years in 2016 -- dropping a 1-0 decision to Voorhees in the North 2, Group 2 title game.

Speirs' teams went 9-9 in postseason games, but came up short in bids for the program's first sectional title -- running into some of the state's best teams, including Group 2 champions Rumson-Fair Haven, and West Essex, along with Voorhees and Madison.

Hackettstown amassed 91 wins over the past six seasons and made three straight sectional finals appearances, falling to eventual Group 2 champion West Essex, 4-0, in this year's North 1, Group 2 title game, while reaching the semifinals in 2014 and '15.

The next coach will have some work to do as Hackettstown loses seven senior starters, including Zellars and Hoskins, as well as midfielder Kayla Cichlar (17 goals) and Jessica Scheper (15 goals), who also were among the team's scoring leaders.