Field Hockey
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- kdesande@kent.edu
- Phone:
- 330-672-8412
Kyle DeSandes-Moyer enters her fourth season as Kent State’s field hockey head coach in 2022. Named as the seventh head coach in program history on Jan. 25, 2019, she has led the Golden Flashes to a 34-18 record and two Mid-American Conference regular season championships.
DeSandes-Moyer is just the second head coach in program history who won at least 11 games in each of her three seasons after the 2021 squad went 12-6 overall and earned a share of the MAC regular season title with a 6-1 league record. After defeating No. 22 Ohio State and No. 14 Syracuse in back-to-back games in early September, the Golden Flashes earned a spot in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll for the first time since 2010. Kent State remained in the Top-25 for eight weeks, peaking at the No. 22 spot. Goalkeeper Azure Fernsler was voted as the program’s first MAC Defensive Player of the Year honoree and named a nominee for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award.
Kent State featured a prolific offense during the 2020 season, which was played in the spring of 2021, ranking third in the NCAA in goals per game, points per game and scoring average, as well as fourth in assists per game and scoring margin. The Flashes went undefeated (6-0) at Murphy-Mellis Field and 11-3 overall, outscoring their opposition 46-16.
DeSandes-Moyer was named MAC Coach of the Year in her first season in 2019 after guiding Kent State to the regular season title. The Flashes earned the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament and advanced to the championship game.
Her student-athletes have also thrived in the classroom, as the team earned the highest GPA in program history during the Spring 2020 term. Kent State has received the NFHCA National Academic Team Award in all three of DeSandes-Moyer’s years leading the program. The Flashes have also had 50 student-athletes named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad, with 14 student-athletes recognized as NHFCA Scholars of Distinction.
DeSandes-Moyer brought an extensive coaching résumé to Kent State, which included two seasons as the head coach at LIU Brooklyn, where she was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2017.
While at LIU Brooklyn, DeSandes-Moyer demonstrated success in building a young program, taking an inaugural team that finished the 2016 season without a win to a second-place finish in the MAAC and an appearance in the conference tournament in 2017.
Prior to that, DeSandes-Moyer served as an assistant coach at Virginia Wesleyan, where she contributed to all aspects of the field hockey program, including analyzing game film, recruiting, and organizing tournaments and clinics. While with the Marlins, she helped the program to its first Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament appearance since 2011 and coached three All-ODAC selections.
She also spent time as an assistant coach at Goucher College, assisting with practice and game-day strategy. In 2014, she helped lead the team to its first winning record since 1995.
A 2013 graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, DeSandes-Moyer was a four-year letterwinner for the Quakers. She was a three-time member of the NFHCA All-Academic Squad and received the Diane Angstadt Award, given to the team’s most inspirational player. She went on to obtain her Master of Science from Johns Hopkins University, concentrating in education, during her time at Goucher.
In addition to her collegiate experience, DeSandes-Moyer has coached club field hockey teams including the Warhawks Field Hockey Club in Baltimore, Md. She holds a Level II coaching accreditation from USA Field Hockey and coaches with the USAFH Futures Development Program. She also serves as the young alumnae representative for the Penn Field Hockey Board.
