June 21, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's lacrosse head coach Missy Doherty has announced the addition of Brooke Matthews to her staff as an assistant coach. Coming to Happy Valley after one season at Mount St. Mary's, Matthews starred as a player at Northwestern.
"Brooke is one of the best young coaches in the country," said Doherty. "She is coming from the premier program of this decade, and brings a wealth of knowledge about what it takes to compete with top teams in the country. She will be a huge asset to our offense, and we are so excited she decided to come to Happy Valley."
At Mount St. Mary's, serving under former Nittany Lion player and assistant coach BJ Johnson (Lucey), Matthews helped The Mount win eight games and reach the Northeast Conference Championship game in 2012.
A four-year starting midfielder for Northwestern (2008-11), Matthews was a part of 85 wins, three national championships (2008-09, 2011), and four American Lacrosse Conference titles. She finished her career with 106 points (88 goals, 18 assists), including a career-high 32 (25 goals, 7 assists) in her senior season of 2011, 74 ground balls, 34 draw controls, and 18 caused turnovers. Appearing in four consecutive NCAA Championship contests, Matthews totaled 14 goals in 16 NCAA postseason games.
Also an excellent student, Matthews, who holds a degree in communication studies, was a three-time ALC Academic Honor Roll and Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a two-time recipient of the Big Ten Distinguished Honors Scholar Award.
A native of Baltimore, Md., Matthews gained experience as a coach with the Wildcat Elite Club, TLC Lacrosse, and at the Amonte Sports Lacrosse Camps.
In Penn State's second year under the direction of Doherty, the Nittany Lions posted the program's most wins since 2005 (12), including three versus top 10 opponents and a nation-high eight on the road, and the No. 11 ranking in the final IWLCA poll. Fielding a young team which, at times, featured as many as seven underclassmen starters, Penn State earned its first berth to the NCAA Championship in seven years and won its first NCAA postseason game since 1999. The Nittany Lions will welcome back nine starters, including two All-Americans, and 86 percent of its offensive output for the 2013 season. The roster will also be bolstered by a second consecutive top 10 recruiting class.