Colgate University Athletics

25-Year Anniversary Video

Cathy Foto, the 2004 and 1996 Patriot League Coach of the Year, is in her 28th season as the head field hockey coach at Colgate University. She also serves a role as an Associate Athletics Director, a position she accepted in January 2008.

Under Foto’s tutelage, Colgate has produced 28 all-region selections, 73 national academic team selections, a two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, three Goalkeepers of the Year, four Patriot League Rookies of the Year, the 2004 Patriot League Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and 60 first and second team All-Patriot League selections.

In the last nine years, Foto has also taken her squads on three international tours. In 2004, the Raiders went to Holland, Germany, and Belgium, while in May of 2008, the squad travelled to Italy and Switzerland. In the summer of 2012, the team went to Ireland, England, Holland, Germany and Belgium.

In 2015, Foto's Raiders were one of 63 teams in the county given the ZAG Field Hockey/NFHCA Division I National Academic Team Award while six players were recognized individually by the organization. Goalkeeper Maria Krull was also honored by the Patriot League with her placement on the All-League Second Team and led the nation in saves per game with 11.50.

The 2014 season saw the Raiders make a return to the Patriot League Championship as it finished League play with a 3-3 mark. Colgate landed three players on the All-Patriot League squad, including Eliana Brown, who became just the third player in school history to earn First-Team All-League honors three times.  

In 2010, she brought her team back to the Patriot League Tournament and coached her third Patriot League Goalkeeper of the year in Kristen Lalli, who led the nation in saves per game with just over 10 per contest. She also saw Lalli and Laura Denenga earn first team All-Patriot League selections.

In her 20th campaign, Foto led the Raiders to a 9-9 season and its second consecutive trip to the Patriot League Tournament. It marked the first time since the 1997 and 1998 season that Colgate has earned a spot in the league tournament in back-to-back campaigns. On September 24, 2008, Colgate upset then 18th-ranked Albany 1-0 giving Foto her first victory over a nationally ranked opponent during her career in Hamilton, N.Y. Five Raiders garnered all-league accolades (two first team and three second team), including Lauren Carey who also was named an all-region honoree.

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 October 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 seasons 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 campaign. 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 away 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 for 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 was inducted into Ithaca’s Hall of Fame in 1989, and she was selected to the NCAA Division III Field Hockey 25th Anniversary Team in 2005. She still ranks as the Bombers’ all-time leading scorer.

Get to Know 'Gate Athletics -- Cathy Foto

Influential person to my career: Elementary teacher Carol MacCaleese. She made me feel that there was no challenge I could not meet and that teaching and coaching was the best job in the world.
Invention: Composite field hockey sticks. When I played they were wood 
What I like about my job: Every day is different and watching the four-year journey that every athlete undertakes during his or her career. Staying in touch with students beyond Colgate and seeing what they do with their Colgate careers is also very gratifying.
What I like about competing: I love a challenge. I love watching kids learning to push themselves beyond what they thought they we capable of. Competing with and against yourself is one of the greatest challenges athletes learn about at the college level.
What I would like to change: Reid Athletic Center. I would love to have a window in my office. 
What I like that would surprise people who know me: I love to garden
What I like about myself: That I love my job and love going to work
 
Miscellaneous Favorites
Heroes: My mother and father and their parents. They were all great role models 
Possession: Hobie kayak
Memento: Miniature clay pot from my grandmother from Ireland
Magazine: Coastal Living
Gadget: Keyless entry clicker for my car
App: EOS Remote for my camera
Music: I listen to talk radio, ESPN, NPR, CNN
Books: Random topics that friends recommend 
Food: Bread. Thank god there is NO Panera in Hamilton
Movie: The Sound of Music
Quote: "People may not remember what you say but they will always remember how you make them feel." Maya Angelou