Kean University

Leslie LaFronz has been the head coach of the Kean University field hockey program for 14 years entering the 2023 season. She has won 187 games at Kean (215 overall) and qualified for the postseason in 12 of the last 14 seasons during her time in Union.

Coach LaFronz Highlights

NCAA Tournament Appearances – 2017, 2019, Fall 2021

ECAC Tournament Appearances – 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022

NJAC Tournament Appearances – 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, 2022

ECAC Division III Field Hockey Championship - 2022

NJAC Regular Season Championship - 2017

Reached NJAC Championship Game -  2017, Fall 2021

Winningest Coach in Program History

Earned 200th Career Victory Against TCNJ on Nov. 3rd, 2021

ECAC Division III Coach of the Year – 2017, 2019, Fall 2021

NJAC Coach of the Year – 2016, 2017

Synapse Sports Division III Coach of the Year - 2019

25 All-Americans

51 All-NJAC Selections

40 All-Region Selections

Three Regional Player of the Year Selections

Seven Division III Senior Game Selections

Three NJAC Player of the Year Selections

Five NJAC Midfielder of the Year Selections

Four NJAC Goaltender of the Year Selections

One NJAC Defensive Player of the Year Selection

One NJAC Rookie of the Year Selection 

The 2022 squad captured the first Championship for Coach LaFronz with a 3-1 victory over Alvernia in the ECAC Championship. Kean had five All-NJAC selections, including Peyton Mann being named the NJAC Offensive Player of the Year and Jenna Flemings being named the NJAC Goaltender of the Year. Mann was the lone All-American on the squad, earning a first team selection from the NFHCA. Flemings also was named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year for the Cougars who finished the season ranked at #14 nationally.  Morgan Stump was named the MVP of the ECAC Tournament. 

The 2021 campaign proved to be another banner season for the Kean University field hockey team. The #6 Cougars put together a 19 win season with seven shutouts and six victories over nationally ranked opponents. Kean, who ranked as high as #3, made their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2017. LaFronz earned Coach of the Year Honors from the ECAC, as Kean had five All-NJAC selections, including Offensive Player of the Year (Jordan Thompson) and Goaltender of the Year (Jenna Flemings). Thompson, Flemings, Lia DiPiazza, and Mia Hernandez were all named NFHCA All-Americans. In addition, LaFronz earned her 200th career coaching victory against TCNJ on Nov. 3rd. 

The Spring 2021 campaign saw the Cougars go undefeated and earn the top seed in the NJAC Tournament. Kean had six All-NJAC selections, including Ja'Carra Jackson being named NJAC Player of the Year, Lia DiPiazza being tabbed NJAC Midfielder of the Year and Belly Reynoso being named NJAC Goaltender of the Year. 

The 2019 campaign proved to be another banner season. The No. 9 Cougars put together a 19-win season with 11 shutouts, three victories over nationally ranked opponents (Rowan, Montclair State and Endicott) and a second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three seasons. LaFronz earned Coach of the Year honors from the ECAC and Synapse Sports, as Kean had five All-NJAC selections, including the Rookie of the Year (Belly Reynoso) and two NFHCA All-Americans in Jenna Patrone and Melissa Way. In addition, Way was named the ECAC Division III Offensive Player of the Year. 

2018 saw Coach LaFronz add another nine wins to her resume after playing a nationally ranked schedule that included Tufts, TCNJ, Rowan, and Montclair State. In addition, Jenna Patrone became the seventh All-American in program history and the sixth under Coach LaFronz. 

2017 proved to be a banner season for Kean field hockey. The Cougars were ranked as high as No. 8 nationally with a program record 21 wins that included their first NJAC Regular Season Title and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars tallied a program record 15 game winning streak with 12 shutouts and four victories over nationally ranked opponents. LaFronz earned Coach of the Year honors from the NJAC and ECAC with five All-NJAC selections and two NFHCA All-Americans. 



The program posted arguably its best season in history in 2016 with a school-best 18-4 record. The team was ranked as high as No. 16 nationally.  LaFronz was named the NJAC Coach of the Year and the team set another program record by winning 14-straight games at the start of the season. Each of Kean's losses came against teams ranked in the Top-20.  The Cougars advanced to the ECAC Championship final.

LaFronz guided the Cougars to 14 wins in 2015, the fourth-most ever by a Kean squad. Senior Marissa Robinson was an All-American on the field and an academic All-American as well. She is the third All-American in Kean program history. Krista LaMaina smashed the team’s scoring record and the Cougars won both the Connie Harnum Classic and Wilson College Invitational in 2015.

The program enjoyed one of the most accomplished years in its history in 2013. The Cougars won 15 games with a .750 winning percentage; both tied for the second-best marks in the history of the program. Kean also tied a school-record with eight shutouts and for a long stretch of the season the Cougars were the No. 1 statistical defense in the NCAA. Kean hosted all three rounds of the ECAC Tournament.

The Cougars consistently rank among the best in the country in numerous NCAA statistical categories year in and year out.

LaFronz was tabbed as the head coach of the Kean field hockey program in the fall of 2009. She came to Kean with over 20 years of coaching experience at the high school, club and collegiate levels.  She most recently served as the head coach of both the field hockey and women's lacrosse programs at Ramapo College from 2003-2008.  Prior to her time at Ramapo, she spent 10 years as the varsity head coach at Wayne Valley High School and was named the County Coach of the Year on four occasions. In addition to her coaching duties, LaFronz was the athletic academic coordinator for Division I Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan from 1992-1999.

LaFronz is a member of the College Conversation Subcommitee of espnW; espnW connects young women with the sports they love and follow. It is ESPN’s first dedicated content and digital business initiative designed to serve, inform and inspire female athletes and fans.

As a full-scholarship student-athlete at Northwestern University, LaFronz competed in the NCAA Division I tournament all four seasons as a field hockey player and for two seasons while playing women's lacrosse.  Her field hockey team advanced all the way to the Final Four in 1984 and she was a First-Team All-Big Ten defender for the Wildcats.

LaFronz currently owns Rapid Fire Field Hockey, a year-round field hockey business that assists in the development of the youth, including summer camps, instructional clinics and league play. In 2012, Rapid Fire introduced beach hockey events, the first of their kind in the United States.

LaFronz earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Northwestern University in 1985 and is a Level 2 USA Certified Coach.

Updated 7-3-23