Field Hockey
Doton, Kelly
Kelly Doton
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- dotonk@bc.edu
- Phone:
- 552-8583
Kelly Doton is entering her 10th season as head field hockey coach and 12th as a member of the field hockey coaching staff at Boston College. Â
Inducted into the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024, Doton has posted Boston College's best winning percentage (min. 50 games) during her time at the helm of the Eagles.  Over the past decade as head coach, she has guided the program to unprecedented heights, including a trip to the 2019 NCAA Final Four while consistently challenging for supremacy in the ACC - the nation’s premier Division I conference for field hockey.
Originally from Greenfield, Mass., Doton was one of the most dominant players in the country during her collegiate career. Â A 2004 graduate of Wake Forest, Doton led the Demon Deacons to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2002 and 2003. Â The 2003 Honda Award winner as the National Player of the Year, Doton was also recognized as the 2002 ACC Player of the Year. Â One of the best attack corner hitters in the country during her career, Doton was a two-time NFHCA All-American and three-time All-ACC honoree. Â She was inducted to the Wake Forest Hall of Fame in October 2014.
In addition to her collegiate playing experience, Doton was a member of the U.S. Women's Senior National Team from 2005 to 2010. In 2008, she was a member of the U.S. Olympic squad that competed in the Beijing Games. Doton began her career with Team USA on the 2005 New Zealand Tour and scored her first international goal against Australia later that year. She also appeared in the 2006 World Cup in Spain and the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil. She earned 100 caps in her international career.
She began her collegiate coaching career at Indiana from 2008-12, elevating to the role of associate head coach.  While at Indiana, Doton was instrumental in guiding the Hoosiers to the title game of the Big Ten Tournament en route to the program’s second-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2009.
Inducted into the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024, Doton has posted Boston College's best winning percentage (min. 50 games) during her time at the helm of the Eagles.  Over the past decade as head coach, she has guided the program to unprecedented heights, including a trip to the 2019 NCAA Final Four while consistently challenging for supremacy in the ACC - the nation’s premier Division I conference for field hockey.
Originally from Greenfield, Mass., Doton was one of the most dominant players in the country during her collegiate career. Â A 2004 graduate of Wake Forest, Doton led the Demon Deacons to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2002 and 2003. Â The 2003 Honda Award winner as the National Player of the Year, Doton was also recognized as the 2002 ACC Player of the Year. Â One of the best attack corner hitters in the country during her career, Doton was a two-time NFHCA All-American and three-time All-ACC honoree. Â She was inducted to the Wake Forest Hall of Fame in October 2014.
In addition to her collegiate playing experience, Doton was a member of the U.S. Women's Senior National Team from 2005 to 2010. In 2008, she was a member of the U.S. Olympic squad that competed in the Beijing Games. Doton began her career with Team USA on the 2005 New Zealand Tour and scored her first international goal against Australia later that year. She also appeared in the 2006 World Cup in Spain and the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil. She earned 100 caps in her international career.
She began her collegiate coaching career at Indiana from 2008-12, elevating to the role of associate head coach.  While at Indiana, Doton was instrumental in guiding the Hoosiers to the title game of the Big Ten Tournament en route to the program’s second-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2009.
The Doton File
2023
- Ranks among the program's all-time leaders in wins and winning percentage - at nearly 60% - in Boston College field hockey history
- Third-highest win total by a head coach in Boston College field hockey history
- Guided the Eagles to a 15-win season in 2019, advancing to the ACC Championship game and the NCAA Final Four
- With Doton as head coach, BC has advanced to the NCAA Tournament on three occasions - 2015, 2016, and 2019
- Has been part of five total NCAA Tournament trips with Boston College, helping guide the team to consecutive trips in 2013 and 2014 while serving as associate head coach
- Has guided BC to double-digit victories seven times in her nine seasons; Eagles won nine games during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign
- Has coached 17 NFHCA All-Americans during her head coaching tenure at the Heights, including eight First Team All-American honorees
- A total of 23 Eagles have received All-ACC postseason honors, including eight First Team selections
- Margo Carlin was named the 2023 ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Year
- During the 2020-21 campaign, Jonna Kennedy became the program’s first-ever ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ACC Field Hockey Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- Thirty-seven BC field hockey student-athletes have earned NFHCA All-Region accolades under Doton’s tutelage
2023
- Margo Carlin was named the ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Year; the first Eagle to earn the prestigious award since Bob Dirks in 2006
- Carlin led the ACC in points per game (2.0), registering 12 goals and eight assists on the season
- Peyton Hale was also named to the All-ACC First Team, while Kara Heck and Caroline Kelly were Second Team selections
- All four Eagles were named to the NFHCA All-Northeast Regional team
- BC registered 11 wins for the seventh double-digit win season for Kelly Doton
- Margo Carlin earned a bevy of honors: First Team All-American, First Team All-ACC, NFHCA Northeast Region First Team
- Sarah Johnson was also an NFHCA Northeast Region First Team selection while earning , Second Team All-ACC honors; was promoted to assistant coach on May 1
- Thirteen players earned ACC All-Academic HonorsÂ
- Upset then-No. 8 Louisville 4-1 on Oct. 28 behind Carlin hat trick to clinch 4-seed in ACC TournamentÂ
- Earned three top 20 wins over Louisville, Duke, and VirginiaÂ
- Posted a 12-win season, ranking as high as No. 3 nationally on the NFHCA poll
- Swept the B1G/ACC Cup, downing Maryland and eventual national champion Northwestern during the non-conference
- Earned victories over five nationally-ranked opponents
- Fusine Govaert and Sarah Johnson were named NFHCA All-Americans, leading five Eagles on the All-Northeast Regional team and four BC players among the All-ACC honorees
- Posted a 9-2 record during the 2021 spring season, including a 3-2 mark in ACC play
- Played an abbreviated 2020 fall slate due to COVID-19.
- Jonna Kennedy took home several major postseason awards: ACC Defensive Player of the Year; ACC Field Hockey Scholar-Athlete of the Year; NFHCA Northeast Regional Player of the Year
- Four Tabbed as NFHCA All-Americans - Margo Carlin (first team); Fusine Govaert (second team); Kennedy, and Elizabeth Warner (third team)
- Kennedy and Carlin named to All-ACC first team; Govaert and Warner selected for second team
- Guided Boston College to a 15-8 overall record and a 4-2 mark in ACC play
- The 15 victories set a new program single-season record
- Entered the 2019 ACC Championship as the No. 2 seed - the highest in program history
- Won seven of its last eight regular season games, advancing to the program’s first ACC title game
- Earned several coaching honors: the 2019 ACC Coach of the Year; the NFHCA Northeast Coaching Staff of the Year; and the USA Field Hockey National Coach of the Year
- Ranked as high as No. 7 nationally on the NFHCA Coaches Poll - the highest national ranking in program history
- Scored the second-most goals per game in the ACC - ranking only behind eventual national champion North Carolina
- Was the only school in the country to have three NFHCA First Team All-Americans: Sarah Dwyer, Fusine Govaert, and Margo Carlin
- Carlin was also named ACC Freshman of the Year as a program-record tying four Eagles earned All-ACC honors: Carlin, Jonna Kennedy (first team); Govaert and Elizabeth Warner (second team)
- Won 10 games - including a four-game win streak through the month of September
- Reached as high as No. 11 nationally on the NFHCA Coaches Poll
- Ymke Rose Gote and Frederique Haverhals each earned a full slate of postseason honors: NFHCA All-American team; NFHCA All-Northeast Region team; and First Team All-ACC
- Eva Van de Mierop also earned a spot on the NFHCA All-Northeast team
- Registered 11 victories on the season, opening the season with four consecutive wins
- Swept through the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, earning wins over Northwestern and No. 6 Maryland
- Elevated as high as No. 8 nationally on the NFHCA Coaches Poll
- Ymke Rose Gote and Frederique Haverhals were recognized as part of the NFHCA All-American team, while also earning a spot on the NFHCA All-Northeast Region and All-ACC First Teams
- Lucy Lytle also named to the NFHCA All-Northeast team
- Guided the Eagles to a 10-win season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament
- Tied for third place in the ACC standings - the highest finish in program history since joining the league in 2005
- Downed No. 14 Stanford and No. 3 North Carolina in consecutive games, as BC reached as high as No. 9 nationally on the NFHCA Coaches Poll
- Also earned victories against nationally-ranked opponents Louisville (No. 8), Wake Forest (16), and Harvard (16)
- Fell to Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
- Two Eagles - Ymke Rose Gote, Frederique Haverhals - earned NFHCA All-American honors
- Set a new program-record with four Eagles earning All-ACC honors - Gote, Haverhals, Audra Hampsch, and Emily McCoy
- Placed six on the NFHCA All-Northeast team - Gote, Haverhals, Hampsch, McCoy - along with Eryn McCoy and Lucy Lytle
- Took over as head coach and helped guide the Eagles to a 13-win campaign and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament
- Downed No. 3 Maryland and cracked the top 10 on the NFHCA National Poll
- Guided the Eagles to a new program-best national ranking - No. 7 - entering the ACC Tournament
- BC earned the program’s first-ever victory in the ACC Tournament, a double-overtime 4-3 victory over No. 2-ranked Wake Forest
- Advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for only the third time in program history - and the first time since 1998 - with a 2-1 victory over Albany
- Emily McCoy and Leah Settipane were tabbed at NFHCA All-Americans
- McCoy and Settipane led six Eagles on the NFHCA All-Northeast team, along with Romee Stiekema, Frederique Haverhals, Kelcie Hromisin, and Eryn McCoy.
- Two Eagles - Stiekema and Emily McCoy - were selected to the All-ACC team
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