Lakewood, N.J. - The Georgian Court University Department of Athletics announced today that Samantha Hosford has been named the fifth head coach in the 15-year history of the GCU women's lacrosse program.

A native of neighboring Jackson, N.J., Hosford takes the reigns from former head coach, Amy Rizzo, who resigned in August after six years at the helm.

Hosford comes to Georgian Court from Division III Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa. where she served as head coach for four seasons (2018-21). After a two-year postseason drought, Hosford led the Knights back to the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth playoffs in her first season on the sidelines. Promoting academic success away from the field, Hosford's teams earned selection to the IWLCA Honor Roll in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

"I am very excited to have the opportunity to lead the Georgian Court women's lacrosse program and, as a New Jersey native, I cannot envision a better place for me to begin the next chapter of my coaching career," stated Hosford. "I am looking forward to building on the success of this program at the conference, regional, and national levels with the support of a department like Georgian Court's, which is so invested and committed to its athletic programs. I want to thank Interim Director of Athletics, Nicole Degenhardt, Associate Director of Athletics, Chris McKibben, and the rest of the search committee for its confidence in me to lead this program moving forward."

Prior to her time at Arcadia, Hosford served as an assistant coach at Western Connecticut State University where she was responsible for the oversight of all academics for her student-athletes. She also was active in all aspects of recruiting for the program.

Very familiar with NCAA Division II, Hosford completed a one-year graduate assistantship at her alma mater, East Stroudsburg University, where she was previously a four-year letter winning defender for the Warriors. In addition to her time on the lacrosse team, Hosford also spent four seasons on the field hockey squad, which won the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship.
 
Hosford earned her bachelor's degree from East Stroudsburg in May 2016, and her master's degree in sports management from ESU in December 2017. She played her scholastic lacrosse locally as a student-athlete at Jackson Memorial High School, earning first team All-Ocean County and third team All-Shore Conference as a senior midfielder and team captain.

The Lions, winners of the last four Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) crowns, closed the 2021 campaign riding an overall eight-game winning streak while owning a 42-game winning streak vs. CACC foes (including postseason). GCU kicks off the 2022 slate Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022 at home vs. Molloy College.