Julie Munson was named head field hockey coach at SNHU on August 23, 2013, entrusted with beginning the program from scratch after the department re-started it following a 30-year hiatus. The school originally sponsored a team from 1977-81. The Munson-led Penmen began play in the fall of 2014.Â
SNHU finished the 2024 season with a 16-4 record, including 12-1 in the Northeast 10 Conference. The Penmen advanced to the NCAA tournament for the second team, falling at Kutztown University 2-1 in double overtime in the national quarterfinals. Coach Munson was honored by her peers as the Northeast 10 Coach of the Year.
The season was a memorable one for the Penmen with Annemartine Christis named the Division II East Regional Player of the Year and the Northeast 10 Player of the Year after leading Division II with 30 goals and 74 points.   She finished her career as SNHU’s all-time leading scorer, tops in both goals (53) and assists (40). Christis was named to the NFHCA All-American team along with junior goalie Emma Peeters (both First Team), and junior Anne Wiersma (Second Team).
Christis was also named an NFHCA All-America (Second Team) in 2023. Others to receive that honor are Cassidy Huckins (2018), Lisa Hagel (2019), Hélène Servais (2019), and Laura van der Doorn (2019).
Christis is the second member of the program to be named NE10 Player of the Year, an award also earned in 2019 by van der Doorn, the other season SNHU made the NCAA tournament. The 17 wins in 2019 are a program record, and SNHU advanced to the NE10 Conference final for the first time, before earning the No. 4 seed in the six-team NCAA Championship.
Two SNHU players have earned Freshman/Rookie of the Year honors under Coach Munson – Minke van de Poll (2023), and Servais (2017).Â
Prior to arriving at SNHU, Munson spent three seasons at Harvard University. With the Crimson, Munson handled recruiting duties and served as acting head coach for the program in the spring of 2012 as Harvard went through a head coaching change.
Before Harvard, Munson spent six seasons on the field hockey staff at James Madison University. With the Dukes, Munson, a former collegiate goalkeeper at the University of New Hampshire, guided the team’s goalies to lead the nation in goals against average (0.75) and shutouts (11) in 2008 while ranking second in save percentage (.820), after ranking second nationally in GAA and shutouts the year prior.
Coach Munson has served as both a coach and selector on the regional and national levels of the USA Field Hockey National Futures program, and has worked closely with collegiate goalies and field players as an assistant coach for High Performance. She has a certification in Mental Performance/ Mindset Coaching through the Mental Performance Academy, and runs clinics that focus on mindset training.
Munson is a USA Field Hockey Level 1 Coach Educator and also possesses her USA Field Hockey Level II Certification, in addition to being a graduate of the NCAA Women’s Coaches Academy (Denver ’08).
Munson played at New Hampshire from 2000-03 and was an assistant captain her senior season. A three-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association National Academic Squad member, she was the UNH field hockey program’s 2002 recipient of the Susan Kilmister Memorial Award for dedication, accomplishment and sportsmanship. She graduated from UNH in 2004 with a degree in psychology.
Munson graduated from Dover (N.H.) High School in 2000 and was a three-time all-state selection in field hockey while also lettering in basketball and softball.
