Andrew Griffiths

Andrew Griffiths completed his 11th season at the helm of the Old Dominion field hockey program in the fall of 2023 after being named the fifth head coach in school history in December 2012. With over 16 years of NCAA coaching experience, Griffiths picked up his 100th career win as a head coach with a victory over William & Mary on Sept. 11, 2015.

YEAR-BY-YEAR AT OLD DOMINION

2023
Old Dominion started the season 2-5 with four losses coming to opponents ranked inside the top 10. The Monarchs rattled off 12 straight wins after the start including a win over #19 Temple and defeating UConn for the first time in 10 years snapping a 13 game losing streak. The Monarchs would carry a 10 game winning streak into the BIG EAST Tournament when they would defeat Temple 2-0 in the BIG EAST Semifinals and would defeat #6 Liberty in the BIG EAST Championship 3-1. ODU claimed its first BIG EAST Tournament title in school history. The Monarchs went on to face #4 Maryland in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 where they fell 3-0. Suus Broers was named BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year and Marlon de Bruijne, Nicole Fredricks and Frederique Zandbergen were named First Team All-BIG EAST while Sacha de Gier and Suus Broers were named Second Team All-BIG EAST. 

2022
Old Dominion began the season with an overtime loss at William & Mary before reeling off five-straight wins, including wins over No. 14 Boston College and No. 21 American. An overtime setback to No. 11 UConn stopped the streak, but ODU began another win and doubled it by winning 10-straight games, highlighted by a 1-0 shootout win over Liberty in the final game of the regular season to clinch the Big East regular season championship. The Monarchs fell to Liberty in the Big East Title game and were robbed of an NCAA Tournament bid. Griffths and his coaching staff were named the Big East Coaching Staff of the Year,Marlon de Bruijne was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year and Cam MacGillivray was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year.

Fall 2021
The Monarchs finished 13-5 in the fall of 2021 and had a 5-2 mark in BIGEAST play.  Old Dominion recorded a pair of wins over nationally-ranked Virginia and defeated 24^th-ranked James Madison. Marlon de Bruijne was named second team Synapse Sports All-American and earned third team NFHCA All-American honors.  She also was named first team All-South Region, while teammate Delphine Le Jeune was a second team selection. Four players were named to the All-BIGEAST teams as Le Jeune and de Bruijne were first team picks, while Rina Tsioles and Alix Marien were named to the second team.

Spring 2021
The Monarchs logged a 9-5 record in the spring season, including an 8-3 mark in BIG EAST play, reached a second-consecutive BIG EAST final and finished the year ranked 16th by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Griffiths led a young team to success and integrated five first-year players into the starting lineup. Newcomer Marlon de Bruijne enjoyed a Second Team All-American campaign and led all Division I freshmen in goals (15) and total points (32). De Bruijne also racked up co-freshmen of the year honors from both the BIG EAST and VaSID and made the all-conference and all-state first teams as well as the NFHCA All-South Region First Team. Joining de Bruijne on the All-BIG EAST First Team was fellow first-year Monarch Delphine Le Jeune, who was one of three unanimous first team selections. In total, six ODU players earned a spot on an All-BIG EAST team. On March 26, ODU topped No. 4 Liberty 2-1 at home, giving Old Dominion its first top-five win since the 2015 season. Less than a month later, the Monarchs beat No. 6 Liberty by the same 2-1 score in the BIG EAST Semifinals.

2019
ODU posted an 11-7 record and finished the season ranked No. 17 in the country. The Monarchs earned three ranked wins on the year, all away from home, including beating Big East foe Liberty twice, once in the regular season when the Flames were ranked No. 15 and once in the Big East Championships when the Flames were ranked No. 19. Early in the season, the Monarchs downed No. 17 Penn State. After missing out on the Big East Tournament in 2018, Griffiths led the Monarchs to a 6-1 conference record and to the Big East Championship Final match, where they fell to No. 3 Connecticut. Rebecca Birch was named a third-team All-American, while her and Erin Huffman were named first and second team All-State and first and second team All-Region, respectively. ODU had five Monarchs named All-Big East as well, as Birch and Huffman were named to the first team, while Marlee McClendon, Cam MacGillivray and Nicole Fredricks all earn their first all-conference honor with their selection to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. 

2018
In 2018, the Monarchs posted a 10-7 record and were ranked as high as No. 11 in the country. ODU recorded three wins over ranked opponents, including a signature victory over No. 8 Virginia in overtime on the road. For the season, ODU outscored its opponents, 40-27, and posted five shutouts. Individually, Erin Huffman and Rebecca Birch were both named First Team All-Big East. Huffman also earned First Team All-NFHCA South Region honors, while Birch was named Second Team All-Region.

2017
In 2017, her second season at ODU, Griffiths helped guide the Monarchs to an 8-10 record. ODU played one of the toughest schedules in the nation in 2017, taking on eight top-25 opponents, including four top-five foes. The Monarchs qualified for the Big East Tournament, but fell in the first round to Liberty. Two ODU players in Danielle Grega and Erin Huffman earned NFHCA All-Region honors, while three players in Grega, Huffman and Julia Van Dorsten landed on the All-Big East Team.

2016
Old Dominion finished the 2016 season with a 7-10 record and 3-4 mark within BIG EAST action. Griffiths' Monarchs highlight of the season came on Sept. 2, when Casey Dolan scored a gamewinner in overtime to lift ODU past eventual NCAA champion and then-No. 14 Delaware, 3-2 OT, in front of the home crowd. Griffiths led several Monarchs to individual accolades in 2016, as senior Meg Byas racked up a slew of honors, including first team All-BIG EAST accolades. Danielle Grega was named first team All-BIG EAST, second team NFHCA All-South Region and was also selected to represent the United States on the U-21 Women's National Team.

2015
The Lady Monarchs finished the 2015 season with a 9-10 overall record and defeated five nationally ranked teams, taking down No. 7 Penn State, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 8 Wake Forest, No. 19 James Madison and No. 5 UVA. At the conclusion of the season, Griffiths had five players earn all-conference honors, while three went on to earn NFHCA All-Region accolades. Sarah Breen was also named a Second Team Longstreth/NFHCA All-American for the third time under Griffiths. 

2014
In Griffiths' second season at the helm, he led the program to its 27th conference tournament. The Lady Monarchs finished the season with an 11-8 overall record and a 4-1 mark in the league, ending the regular season ranked 18th in the NFHCA Coaches Poll. Six members earned BIG EAST honors, while Kelsey Smither, Sarah Breen and Rosario Villagra were named All-Americans. Smither, along with freshmen Danielle Grega, Carrie Sensenig and Kelly Weaver were also named NFHCA Scholars of Distinction. Smither ended her career with the NFHCA Scholar Athlete of the Year award and was named the Alumni Associations Female Athlete of the Year at the annual ODU Athletics Banquet.

2013
In his first season as head coach with Old Dominion, Griffiths helped ODU to their first BIG EAST regular season title. During the season, ODU won 12 straight games (longest since 2011) en route to an NCAA at-large berth and fourth-straight NCAA appearance.

PRIOR TO OLD DOMINION

From 2005-2007, Griffiths served as the associate head coach at Boston College leading the Eagles to a ranking of No. 4 in the nation during the 2006 season. He was also an assistant coach at the University of Maryland in 1998-99 and from 2001-2004. The Terps won the NCAA title in 1999, made Final Four appearances in 2001, 2003 and 2004 and had two Honda Award winners during his tenure.

His head coaching career began at Lafayette College where he was at the helm of the program for six years. Under Griffiths' leadership, Lafayette won back-to-back Patriot League titles in 2011 and 2012 and his teams competed in the conference championship game in five of his six seasons. His 2012 team was ranked as high as 11th nationally, and Griffiths was named the Division I National Coach of the Year by Synapse Sports and the USFHA Mideast Region Coach of the Year. The win-loss record at Lafayette improved to a 73-46 mark in his six years, following a three-year record of 16-39 prior to his arrival in 2007.

OTHER COACHING VENTURES

Internationally, Griffiths is well known, having served as an assistant coach for the USA under 21 women's national squad from 2004 - 2011. He served as an assistant coach to the USA Senior women's national team in 2003-04 and was a consultant to the Canadian men's national field hockey team for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He currently holds a USFHA level 3 coaching accreditation, the highest level available domestically.

After graduating in 1994 in English from Western Ontario University in London, Ontario, Griffiths joined the coaching staff of his alma mater. He helped the team to the top 10 of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) for the first time in school history.

PLAYING CAREER

Griffiths played internationally as a member of the Canadian men's national team, appearing in 214 international games, including the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, as well as in three Pan American Games and two World Cup competitions.

OFF THE FIELD

Griffiths earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. He and his wife Tara, a former field hockey player at Quinnipiac College, are the parents of sons Aidan and Owen.