HEAD COACH
CATHY FOTO

Cathy Foto, the 2004 and 1996 Patriot League Coach of the Year, is in her 17th season as the head field hockey coach at Colgate University.

During her time in Hamilton, Foto has established the Colgate field hockey program as a competitive force in the region, as is evidenced by her teams' steady improvement over the last 16 seasons. Under her tutelage, Colgate has produced 23 All-Mideast selections, 24 Academic All-Americans, a two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, three Patriot League Rookies of the Year, the 2004 Patriot League Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year, and 37 All-Patriot League selections.

In 2004, Foto enjoyed one of her most successful seasons on the Raider sidelines. After losing the first three games of the season, Colgate reeled off seven straight victories and won 10 of 11 contests on its way to a 12-8 overall record. The Raiders' 12 wins marked the second-highest single-season win total of Foto's career. In conference play, Foto guided Colgate to a second-place finish with a 3-2 Patriot League mark. For these accomplishments, Foto was recognized by her peers as the Patriot League Coach of the Year for the second time in her career. The Raiders hosted the league tournament, where Colgate defeated third-seeded Holy Cross, 4-2, to earn the right to play American in the championship game.

Foto earned her 100th career coaching victory with a 2-1 win against Fairfield in 2003. She became the winningest coach in Colgate history with a 4-3 overtime victory against Providence on Oct. 22, 2000. After reaching that milestone, she was honored as Colgate's Howard Hartman Coach of the Year.

Foto served as both the head field hockey coach and head women's lacrosse coach for her first 10 years at Colgate. She stepped down from the latter position in 1999 and has since worked solely as the field hockey coach.

In 1997, Foto guided the Raiders through the Patriot League season with a perfect 6-0 record as the team compiled 13 wins, the most in her tenure. Colgate advanced to the Patriot League Tournament for the third straight season, but was upset by seven-time conference champion Lafayette in double overtime in the semifinals.

Foto's Raiders won 12 games for the first time during the 1996 season. Colgate opened the season by winning eight of its first 10 games, including a six-game winning streak. The Raiders had five games decided in overtime, and they came out with two wins. Colgate's 12-8 record marked the 13th time a CU team posted a record above .500.

Colgate entered the 1996 Patriot League Tournament as the underdog fourth seed. The Raiders faced top-seeded Lafayette, who had won five of the first six conference titles, in the semifinal round. Two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Hilary Meyer backstopped Colgate to a 2-0 shutout of the Leopards, and propelled the Raiders into the championship game. Colgate beat Lehigh, 3-1, to claim its first Patriot League Tournament title.

The 1996 team continued to rewrite the Raider history book with the program's first appearance in an NCAA-sponsored event, a play-in game against Ivy League powerhouse Princeton.

After back-to-back five-win seasons, Foto's Raiders began a string of improvements when Colgate posted six wins in 1993. The next year, her squad improved another three games to amass a 9-9 record and pull even at .500. In 1995, Colgate registered a 9-8 regular-season record and earned an invitation to the ECAC Championship Tournament for the first time in the school's history.

Foto began her coaching career at Colgate in 1989. She led the Raiders to six victories, and followed that with a seven-win season in 1990 as Colgate played its first campaign as a member of the Patriot League. Three of the Raiders' victories came against conference foes as Colgate finished second in the league standings.

Prior to her arrival in Hamilton, Foto served as an assistant coach at Ohio State during the 1988 season. She moved into the collegiate coaching ranks in 1987 when she worked as the graduate assistant field hockey and assistant lacrosse coach at Cortland. While at Cortland, she also served as the head coach of both sports' junior varsity teams while earning her master's degree in education.

Foto's coaching career has included a summer stint as the head coach of the Under-15 teams at the U.S. Field Hockey Association Futures Tournament in Boston in 1993. She has also served as a manager at both the 1991 and 1993 U.S. Olympic Festivals in Los Angeles and San Antonio, respectively.

As a player, Foto led Ithaca College's field hockey team to the 1982 NCAA Division III Championship. She earned All-America honors that season, and went on to be named the Ithaca Journal Female Athlete of the Year. Foto, who was inducted into Ithaca's Hall of Fame in 1989, still ranks as the Bombers' all-time leading scorer.