Women's Soccer—Coaches

Jennifer Holsten ’90, who heads into her 19th year as head coach of Colby’s women’s soccer program in the 2012-13 academic year, has guided the Mules to a 128-107-31 record. Her 128 wins make her the all-time leader in career wins among women’s soccer coaches at Colby.

Over the past 18 seasons her teams have posted 13 winning seasons and notched 11 postseason tournament appearances. The Mules have made the NCAA Division III tournament on two occasions, and the program has had 16 players named to the NSCAA All-New England team with a total of 27 awards.

A native of western Massachusetts, Holsten was a three-sport varsity athlete at Colby, in soccer, ice hockey, and softball, and earned a bachelor’s degree in government. She holds a master’s degree in education with a concentration in athletic administration from Springfield College.

During the off-season, she is head coach of the state champion Coastal Under-17 Kamikazes. Holsten holds her premier license from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Assistant Coaches

Karen Henning 

Karen Henning enters her sixth year as an assistant coach for the women's soccer team for the 2012 season. She helped the Colby women's lacrosse team win NESCAC titles in her first two years as head coach and made the NCAA tourney all five years.

Henning earned NESCAC Coach of the Year and New England Pilgrim Region Coach of the Year honors after leading the women's lacrosse program at Colby to their first league title. The Mules made the second round of the NCAA tourney and had four All-Americans. Colby returned to the NCAA tourney in 2008 and had three All-Americans.

Henning spent eight years as head coach at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. She started the women’s lacrosse program at C.W. Post in June 1999 and won NCAA Division II national titles in 2001 and 2007. Henning had a 103-21 record at C.W. Post.

Success has followed Henning at every stop in her lacrosse career. She was an attacker for the University of Maryland, which won national titles in 1995 and 1996 and finished unbeaten in both seasons. Henning was an NCAA Division I First Team All-American in 1995 and 1996 and finished her career with 78 goals and 76 assists for 154 points. Maryland had a 61-3 record during Henning’s four seasons.

Nate Lovitz 

Nate Lovitz, a Bowdoin College graduate and a former goalkeeper for the Polar Bears, will enter his first season as an assistant coach for the Mules in 2012.

Lovitz was a four-year starter and a 2008 graduate of Bowdoin. He posted a 36-14-2 record in his collegiate career and added 226 saves and 22 shutouts. He is a native of Fairfield, Maine, and a graduate of Lawrence High School. Holsten coached Sara Lovitz '01, the sister of Lovitz, at Colby.

"We are very excited to welcome Nate to Colby. His goalkeeper skills and knowledge of the sport of soccer made him a strong candidate for the position," Holsten said. "He will make a great role model for our players and an excellent representative of Colby and the women's soccer program."

Lovitz was the boys' assistant varsity soccer coach at Teton County School District in Jackson, Wyoming, last year. He worked at the school as a literacy paraprofessional. Lovitz also was a volunteer goalkeeper coach for the Colby men's soccer team for the 2008 season.   Lovitz, who played for the Vermont Voltage Soccer Club in the summers of 2006 and 2007, will help with all aspects of the Colby women's soccer program and will train the goalkeepers.