Field Hockey
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- suc211@lehigh.edu
- Phone:
- 610-758-4459
Susan Ciufo enters her second season as assistant coach following a standout playing career at Drexel. In her first year at Lehigh, Ciufo helped lead the Mountain Hawks to their best Patriot League record since 2007 and their second Patriot League Tournament appearance in the last three seasons.
A local product, Ciufo set the career goals record (69) at Bangor High School while also setting single-season goal (37) and assist (26) marks. Ciufo led the Colonial League in scoring as both a junior and senior, being named Player of the Year by both The Express Times and The Morning Call. Ciufo went on to become a four-time CAA Scholar-Athlete honoree at Drexel where she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Elementary Education.
“Susan understands the balance of academics and athletics here,” said Blue. “She’s an educator - an education major - so I think that only helps.”
Ciufo has various other coaching experience as a USA Elite National Coach and USA Futures Coach, working with youngsters aged 13-19. There, she’s implemented lessons to bring out the best of their abilities while creating and implementing various curriculums. She also has teaching experience in the classroom as a student teacher at Meredith Elementary School.
On the field, Ciufo helped transform the Drexel program into a conference power, winning the CAA Regular Season Championship in both 2009 and 2010. She led the ‘09 team, which not only advanced to the NCAA Tournament, but also upset UConn in the first round. That year, she scored 21 goals (second highest in school history) while tying for second in the CAA with 51 points. Ciufo then continued that success as a senior, posting 32 points via 13 goals and six assists. As a junior, she was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” for owning the nation’s longest scoring streak at 22 games with at least one point.
The Bangor, Pa. native enjoyed success from day one at Drexel as she started 21 games as a freshman, scoring five goals to earn a spot on the CAA All-Rookie Team. She followed that up as a sophomore by netting 47 points to garner Third Team All-America distinction. Ciufo started every game at Drexel in her career, while being named both First Team All-Conference and Regional All-America three times.
Ciufo has been active with U.S. Field Hockey. She’s currently on the U.S. Indoor National Team while she also competed in the outdoor National Championships in June. Ciufo led Team PA to the championship game, scoring five goals (among the most in the tournament). That included two against North, including the game-winner in overtime, to send PA to the championship game.
