Meet our staff:
Megan Valzonis
Belmont Abbey
Assistant Coach
Megan Valzonis has volunteered over the last two seasons with Belmont Abbey. She has been officially hired on staff as the new assistant coach.
Megan, a native of California, graduated from Cal Berkley where she played for three seasons before COVID shut down her senior season.
She moved to Charlotte to pursue the USA national team. Megan represented team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Megan and her husband Stuart will be welcoming a Baby Boy in July!
Amanda Herlocker Registered Dietitian
Eat better to play better.
Amanda joins our staff as a registered dietitian to help you form healthy habits as you compete at the highest level.
Amanda is a Registered Dietitian who earned her Bachelors and masters Degree/Dietetic Internship in Nutrition Science from East Carolina University. Amanda’s passion for purple and gold is only out shined by her love of family, sports, and food. After 10 years in her dietetics career, Amanda opened The Queen City Dietitian LLC. Amanda’s company has grown to include contracting dietetics work with MDD Nutrition, the largest out-patient nutrition network in Charlotte, leading corporate nutrition for The Charlotte Hornets, and personalized sports meal planning.
Guest Coaches
Carley Shannon Kessler
Hood College Head Coach
Carley Kessler is entering her fifth season as head coach for Hood College. Hood is located in Frederick, Maryland and is a Division III program.
The 2023 campaign was highlighted with program record nine-game winning streak and two all-conference selections. The win total (9) and percentage (.500) were the program's best in over two decades.
Her 12 wins in her first two seasons surpassed the Blazers' total from the previous six seasons combined as she undertakes the rebuilding of the program. It also marked the first time Hood won at least six times in back-to-back seasons since 2000-01.
In 2019, Shannon finished her second season as a volunteer coach for the Cardinals. During her time as a volunteer with her alma mater, Shannon earned a Master of Science degree in exercise physiology.
Shannon graduated from Ball State in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science and a minor in coaching. Shannon earned Academic All-Mid-American Conference honors and received All-MAC Second Team accolades in her Senior season.
Throughout her career, Shannon performed strong on and off the field. In 2016, Shannon earned National Scholar of Distinction from the NFHCA and earned Academic All-MAC honors.
Tarryn Morris
Queens University Associate Head Coach
Tarryn is the Associate Head Coach at Queens University in Charlotte, NC. Queen University become a DI program in 2022.
Before the 2020 season, Tarryn worked Syracuse's field hockey program as the director of operations.
As the director of operations at Syracuse, Morris was responsible for managing and maintaining the field hockey program budget. She was also in charge of all aspects of travel and assisted in alumni relations while also serving as a student-athlete and coach liaison.
Morris competed as a forward/midfielder for the LIU Post Pioneers completing her senior season with 22 points on 10 goals and two assists. She also earned a spot on the NE10 All-Conference Team and made an appearance in the NFHCA Senior Game. Morris finished her collegiate field hockey career with 34 points on 15 goals and four assists after playing in 68 games. She also competed on the Pioneer swimming team.
Morris obtained a bachelor's degree in art therapy from Long Island University in 2019. She also holds a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling from Syracuse and is a USA Field Hockey Certified Level II Coach.
GINA STEPHEN
Head Coach Bridgewater College
DIII college in Bridgewater, Virginia and competes in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). Gina has been at the helm of Bridgewater since 2021 and has helped lead the program to conference tournament appearances since the beginning of the conference. During her leadership, there have been seven All-ODAC honorees. Stephen looks forward to the continued success in the classroom and on the field for her student-athletes.
Teresita Ambrogi-Torres
Assistant Coach Randolph Macon
DIII college, in Ashland, Virginia and competes in the ODAC conference. Teresita has been the assistant coach since 2022, and before that was a player at Randolph Macon. Teresita was the most decorated player in program history and was a five-time All-ODAC selection. Teresita and Jess Weiss (head coach) have made remarkable improvement in win percentage, goals scored, and goals-against-average since Weiss took over the program in 2016. Under Weiss' leadership, the program has seen its first All-Region selection in more than five years, 12 All-Conference selections, 14 NFHCA Academic Squad members, and 26 ODAC All-Academic selections. This staff looks to continue reaching new heights for the program next season.
Amanda Janney MIsselhorn
Penn State Harrisburg
Former Division I head coach Amanda Janney Misselhorn, the recipient of the 2024 USA Field Hockey Humanitarian Award, is set to begin her second season as Penn State Harrisburg field hockey's head coach in 2025.
The only head coach in program history, Misselhorn led Penn State Harrisburg field hockey into NCAA competition during the program's inaugural season in 2024. Under her leadership, the Lions put together an historic fall that saw them win nine games during their debut campaign before making a run to the semifinal round of the United East Championship Tournament. Under her guidance, six players earned United East All-Conference honors.
Following her first campaign at Penn State Harrisburg, Misselhorn was honored as the recipient of the USA Field Hockey Humanitarian Award presented annually to an individual who has transcended the game of field hockey and achieved something inspirational to us all. This individual has used field hockey to better themselves, his/her community and beyond. Under Misselhorn's tutelage, Maggie Kutz became the first student-athlete with Down Syndrome to play NCAA field hockey. Kutz, a member of Penn State Harrisburg's career studies program, started her first game in 2024, helped break down barriers throughout her career and served as a reminder that field hockey is about so much more than wins and losses.
A 14-year veteran at the NCAA Division I level, Misselhorn served as head coach at Indiana University for four years after spending a decade as head coach at Temple University.
Before securing her first head coaching position in the college ranks, Misselhorn contributed as the top assistant at the University of Pennsylvania for two seasons, including a 2004 campaign that saw the Quakers win an Ivy League Championship and garner a top-20 national ranking. She began her college coaching career as an assistant at James Madison University in 2002 and contributed to a squad that made an NCAA Tournament appearance after being ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation that fall.
Prior to her career in coaching, Misselhorn was a four-year player at Wake Forest University. While there, she tallied 21 goals and 17 assists. She also competed as a member of the USA Indoor National Team and helped the squad win gold at the 2010 Women's National Indoor Championship.
Misselhorn graduated e from Wake Forest in 1999, studied Higher Education Management at UPenn, and earned her Health and Physical Education teaching certification from Eastern University in May 2024.
