Lesley Irvine

The Stanford field hockey program continues to reach new levels of success while further establishing its reputation as one of the fast-rising programs in the nation under the direction of head coach Lesley Irvine.

Now in her eighth season at the helm, Irvine has guided Stanford to three straight NorPacTournament championships while her recent efforts on the recruiting trail have paid dividends in the form of All-America talent.

Most recently in 2009, Irvine directed to Stanford to its best season in program history, establishing a school record with 17 victories. In addition to capturing the NorPac's regular season and tournament titles after racing out to an unprecedented 8-0 start, Stanford remained a fixture in the national poll for more than two months and climbed to a school-record No. 12 ranking.

Stanford's 3-2 overtime win over Boston University was its second NCAA Play-In game victory in three seasons and resulted in the school's ninth NCAA Tournament appearance. Stanford's record-setting season was due in large part to a high-powered offense, as the Cardinal established single-season school records in goals (87), assists (60), points (234) and shots (410).

Irvine earned her second NorPac Coach of the Year honor in three seasons, Xanthe Travlos was tabbed as the program's first All-American since 1998 and Stanford was honored with a league-best nine all-conference selections.

Stanford's 2008 season included its second straight appearance in an NCAA play-in game to follow up another NorPac Tournament title. Irvine's squad won seven of its last nine games and was crowned NorPac Tournament champions with a 2-1 victory over California.

The 2007 campaign turned out to be a breakthrough season for Stanford under Irvine's tutelage, as the Cardinal (13-8) recorded its first winning season since 2001 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. Stanford also asserted itself as the premier team in the NorPac conference, capturing its first tournament championship since 2000 with a 3-1 win over California. Meanwhile, Irvine was honored as the NorPac Coach of the Year after the Cardinal earned a share of the regular-season conference title and cracked the national rankings for the first time since 2001.

Stanford's success over the last three seasons can be traced back to an influx of talented, young players, notably England imports Xanthe Travlos, Camille Gandhi and Becky Dru. Honored as Stanford's first All-American since 1998 and 13th overall, Travlos is a three-time NFHCA All-West Region pick, earning first team honors as a freshman and junior while garnering second team accolades as a sophomore. Gandhi, who was named to the All-NorPac First Team for a third straight season following up a Player of the Year campaign in 2008 and a Rookie of the Year season in 2007, is a two-time NFHCA All-West Region choice. Dru is well on her way to attaining the same level of success, earning NorPac Rookie of the Year honors while closing out an impressive first year with 13 goals, seven assists, 33 points and 67 shots.

Both Gandhi and Travlos have also been active in representing their countries in international competition. A dual national citizen, Gandhi was selected to the U.S. Under-21 National Team and also led the U.S. past Chile with the game-winning overtime goal at the 2008 Junior Pan American Games. Travlos represented England's Under-21 team at the 2008 EuroHockey Junior Nations Championships.

Further evidence of Irvine's recruiting success is Stanford's stranglehold on the NorPac Rookie of the Year award. Dru captured the honor in 2009, becoming the seventh consecutive Cardinal player to win the award.

Irvine, 69-73 in seven seasons on The Farm, officially took over the reins of the Cardinal in December 2002 after serving the previous two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the team.

Irvine has been selected by her peers to serve as head coach in the NFHCA Division I North/South Senior All-Star Game on two different occasions (2004, 2009).

During her head coaching tenure at Stanford, Irvine has mentored three Under-21 National Team participants, seven Regional All-Americans, seven NorPac Rookie of the Year honorees, 37 all-conference team choices, 23 all-conference tournament selections and 80 NFHCA Academic All-Americans.

Stanford teams have excelled in the classroom under Irvine's leadership, winning the 2003 NFHCA Division I National Academic Team Award, placing second in 2004 and taking fifth in 2005. The national academic accolades have become a yearly tradition, with at least 10 players being honored by the NFHCA for the last eight consecutive seasons.

Irvine has also become active in the collegiate field hockey community outside the coaching arena. During the summer of 2009, she was named as a member of the NCAA West Region All-America committee. From 2004-08, she served a four-year term on the NCAA Division I National Field Hockey Committee and took over as the NCAA West Regional Committee Chair. She also served as the NorPac's NFHCA representative in 2006 and was a member of the NFHCA North/South All-Star Game Selection Committee for the West Region in 2001 and 2002.

In addition, Irvine was the USA Field Hockey Futures program Regional Coaching Director from 2003-06. This role made her responsible for the implementation of the national program curriculum within the West Region, as well as coach education and evaluation. Irvine served as a head coach in the program from 2001-03 before being promoted to her current position. She has also spearheaded the Stanford Field Hockey Camps since 2002.

Irvine came to Stanford from Iowa, where she spent the 2000 season as a volunteer assistant coach.

Irvine's first collegiate coaching job at Iowa followed one season as a player for the Hawkeyes in her first year as a graduate student during the fall of 1999. In her only season of collegiate field hockey, Irvine led Iowa to a Final Four appearance and Big Ten championship by pacing the team with 47 points (17 goals, 13 assists). She was named to the Final Four and Big Ten All-Tournament squads, while also earning Second Team Regional All-American and regular season All-Big Ten honors.

A 1999 Academic All-American, Irvine received her master's degree in health, leisure and sports studies from Iowa in 2001.

The England native played three years of field hockey for Loughborough University in her home country, graduating from the school in 1998 with a degree in physical education, sports science and recreational management. While at Loughborough, Irvine won a total of five national field hockey championships (three outdoor, two indoor) and was named to the British Universities All-Star squad. She was also selected to England Under-18 and Under-21 National Teams during her playing career overseas.