Julie Munson was named head field hockey coach at Southern New Hampshire University on August 23, 2013, and was entrusted with rebuilding the program following a 30-year hiatus. The Munson-led Penmen returned to competition in the fall of 2014 and have since developed into a consistent contender in the Northeast 10 and on the national stage.
SNHU finished the 2025 season 12-7 overall and 8-4 in the Northeast 10, advancing to the conference championship quarterfinals. Five Penmen earned All-Conference honors, led by First Team selections Minke van de Poll, Jade Hendriks and Zoe Demers. Freshman Kim Dull was named to the Third Team and joined goalkeeper Agustina Miranda Waigand on the All-Rookie Team.
Demers led SNHU with 11 goals and 24 points, while van de Poll finished her junior season with 30 career goals and 67 points. Hendriks helped anchor a defense that allowed just 1.89 goals per game while contributing four goals and six assists. Van de Poll and Hendriks went on to earn NFHCA All-East Region First Team honors, with Demers selected to the Second Team. Hendriks was also named an NFHCA Second Team All-American, becoming the eighth student-athlete in program history to earn NFHCA All-America recognition.
The 2025 campaign followed one of the finest seasons in program history. Munson guided SNHU to a 16-4 record and a 12-1 mark in the Northeast 10 in 2024, earning Northeast 10 Coach of the Year honors. The Penmen secured the program's second NCAA Championship berth before falling to Kutztown University, 2-1, in double overtime in the national quarterfinals.
The 2024 squad was led by Annemartine Christis, who was named both the Northeast 10 Player of the Year and NFHCA Division II East Region Player of the Year after leading Division II with 30 goals and 74 points. Christis completed her career as SNHU's all-time leading scorer. She and goalkeeper Emma Peeters earned NFHCA First Team All-America honors, while Anne Wiersma was selected to the Second Team.
Munson first guided the Penmen to the national stage in 2019, when SNHU set a program record with 17 victories, advanced to the Northeast 10 championship game for the first time and earned the program's first NCAA Championship berth.
Laura van der Doorn headlined that breakthrough season, earning Northeast 10 Player of the Year, NFHCA East Region Player of the Year and NFHCA First Team All-America honors. She was also selected as the Northeast 10 Woman of the Year. Van der Doorn, who played for the Penmen from 2016-19, finished her career with 89 points on 36 goals and 17 assists and was inducted into the SNHU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2025, becoming the first member of the field hockey program to receive the honor.
Prior to arriving at SNHU, Munson spent three seasons at Harvard University, where she handled recruiting duties and served as acting head coach during the spring of 2012 as the Crimson went through a head coaching change.
Before Harvard, Munson spent six seasons on the field hockey staff at James Madison University. Working primarily with the Dukes' goalkeepers, Munson helped the unit lead the nation in goals-against average (0.75) and shutouts (11) in 2008 while ranking second nationally in save percentage (.820).
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 with collegiate goalkeepers and field players as an assistant coach for High Performance. She holds a certification in Mental Performance/Mindset Coaching through the Mental Performance Academy and has conducted clinics focused on mindset training.
Munson is a USA Field Hockey Level I Coach Educator and also holds her USA Field Hockey Level II certification. She is a graduate of the NCAA Women's Coaches Academy.
A goalkeeper at the University of New Hampshire from 2000-03, Munson served as an assistant captain during her senior season. She was a three-time NFHCA National Academic Squad selection and received UNH field hockey's Susan Kilmister Memorial Award for dedication, accomplishment and sportsmanship in 2002. She graduated from UNH in 2004 with a degree in psychology.
Munson graduated from Dover (N.H.) High School in 2000, where she was a three-time all-state selection in field hockey and also lettered in basketball and softball.
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