Temple University Athletics
Field Hockey
Susan Ciufo-Bennett
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- susan.ciufo@temple.edu
- Phone:
- 215-204-2886
Susan Ciufo-Bennett, who led Stonehill College to three NCAA Tournaments in four years, was named the head coach of Temple field hockey in January, 2019. Ciufo-Bennett (pronounced chew-fo), a former standout for the Drexel Dragons and a five-year member of the USA Indoor Team, spent the four seasons amassing a record of 54-27 as the head coach at Stonehill before coming to Temple.
Despite the challenging circumstances of playing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Owls continued their upward trajectory in the second year of the Ciufo-Bennett era. The team saw one more total win than the 2019 season and doubled its conference win total, ending the season with an 8-10 (4-8 BIG EAST) record. Temple also qualified for the BIG EAST Conference Tournament for the first time since 2016, earning the No. 4 seed.
Four Owls saw postseason conference honors, up from one in 2019. Seniors Cristina Carotenuto and Veronika Novakova were named to the NFHCA Division I Senior Team, though the game itself was bot held due to COVID-19 precautions. Both Carotenuto and Novakova were named Mid-Atlantic All-Region, with junior Nienke Oerlemans also earning a nod. Novakova was named First Team while Carotenuto and Oerlemans were named Second Team, the first time since 2015 that three Owls earned the honor.
In her first year at the helm of the Temple field hockey program, Ciufo-Bennett led the Owls to a 7-10 (2-5 Big East) record. Temple saw a 2-0 opening weekend for the first time since 2008, and recorded five more wins than the 2018 season. The Owls also snapped an 18-game losing streak in regular season conference play with a 2-1 OT win at Georgetown, earning their first Big East win since 2016.
Under the leadership of Ciufo-Bennett, the Owls conceded 47 fewer goals in 2019 than the previous season and 72 fewer penalty corners. Seven of the team's losses were decided by just one goal, four fewer than in 2018.
The Owls finished the season at 57 in RPI, jumping 10 spots from last year's RPI finish. It also marked the first time since 2016 that Temple has finished the season with an RPI better than 60.
Ciufo-Bennett led Stonehill to the Division II NCAA Tournament in three of her four years, with all four teams also earning at least a semifinal spot in the Northeast 10 Conference (NE10) Tournament. Her 2015 team captured the NE10 Championship and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals. In 2017, Stonehill led Division II in goals per game and scoring average.
Stonehill made program history in 2018 by earning its first-ever No. 1 national ranking in in the October 3 Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II poll after starting the season with a 6-1 record overall, including wins over preseason No. 2 East Stroudsburg (Pa.) University and No. 5 West Chester (Pa.) University in September.
Offense was Stonehill’s staple over Ciufo-Bennett’s four seasons, with the Skyhawks finishing first or second in the NE10 all four years and ranking in the top six nationally each year as well. The Skyhawks led Division II with 4.10 goals per game in 2017 and also led the NE10 with 3.38 goals per game in 2015 to rank second nationally that year.
Under Ciufo-Bennett's leadership, two Stonehill field hockey student-athletes earned three NFHCA Division II Player of the Year honors, with the first in 2015 marking the first time in program history the honor had been achieved. She coached a total of 10 All-Americans and 15 All-NE10 selections.
Prior to her career at Stonehill, Ciufo-Bennett spent two years as an assistant coach with her alma mater Drexel, and two seasons before that as an assistant coach and interim head coach at Lehigh University.
Ciufo-Bennett was a member of the USA Field Hockey Indoor Team from 2011-15, winning a gold medal at the 2013 Rohrmax Cup and a bronze at the 2014 Pan Am Cup. She is a Level II Certified coach with USA Field Hockey and has been a USA Regional and National Futures Tournament selector since 2013. She was also an assistant coach with USA New Jersey Junior High Performance in 2011 and USA Pennsylvania High Performance in 2015.
At the club level, Ciufo-Bennett has been with the Northeast Elite Field Hockey Club since November, 2017, with a primary focus as the indoor director. She previously spent two years with the Mystx Field Hockey Club.
Ciufo-Bennett started every game for Drexel in her four-year career from 2007-10, earning All-America Third Team honors in 2008 and being selected to the CAA First Team three times. She scored in 22 straight games for the Dragons and still holds the nation's record for longest point streak. Ciufo-Bennett helped the 2009 Dragons earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the CAA regular season championship. She also scored 21 goals, the second highest single-season total in Drexel program history.
In 2015, Ciufo-Bennett earned her master's degree from Drexel in sport management. She earned her bachelor's degree in education in 2011. Ciufo-Bennett is a native of Bangor, Pa., and holds the career scoring record at Bangor High School.
Despite the challenging circumstances of playing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Owls continued their upward trajectory in the second year of the Ciufo-Bennett era. The team saw one more total win than the 2019 season and doubled its conference win total, ending the season with an 8-10 (4-8 BIG EAST) record. Temple also qualified for the BIG EAST Conference Tournament for the first time since 2016, earning the No. 4 seed.
Four Owls saw postseason conference honors, up from one in 2019. Seniors Cristina Carotenuto and Veronika Novakova were named to the NFHCA Division I Senior Team, though the game itself was bot held due to COVID-19 precautions. Both Carotenuto and Novakova were named Mid-Atlantic All-Region, with junior Nienke Oerlemans also earning a nod. Novakova was named First Team while Carotenuto and Oerlemans were named Second Team, the first time since 2015 that three Owls earned the honor.
In her first year at the helm of the Temple field hockey program, Ciufo-Bennett led the Owls to a 7-10 (2-5 Big East) record. Temple saw a 2-0 opening weekend for the first time since 2008, and recorded five more wins than the 2018 season. The Owls also snapped an 18-game losing streak in regular season conference play with a 2-1 OT win at Georgetown, earning their first Big East win since 2016.
Under the leadership of Ciufo-Bennett, the Owls conceded 47 fewer goals in 2019 than the previous season and 72 fewer penalty corners. Seven of the team's losses were decided by just one goal, four fewer than in 2018.
The Owls finished the season at 57 in RPI, jumping 10 spots from last year's RPI finish. It also marked the first time since 2016 that Temple has finished the season with an RPI better than 60.
Ciufo-Bennett led Stonehill to the Division II NCAA Tournament in three of her four years, with all four teams also earning at least a semifinal spot in the Northeast 10 Conference (NE10) Tournament. Her 2015 team captured the NE10 Championship and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals. In 2017, Stonehill led Division II in goals per game and scoring average.
Stonehill made program history in 2018 by earning its first-ever No. 1 national ranking in in the October 3 Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II poll after starting the season with a 6-1 record overall, including wins over preseason No. 2 East Stroudsburg (Pa.) University and No. 5 West Chester (Pa.) University in September.
Offense was Stonehill’s staple over Ciufo-Bennett’s four seasons, with the Skyhawks finishing first or second in the NE10 all four years and ranking in the top six nationally each year as well. The Skyhawks led Division II with 4.10 goals per game in 2017 and also led the NE10 with 3.38 goals per game in 2015 to rank second nationally that year.
Under Ciufo-Bennett's leadership, two Stonehill field hockey student-athletes earned three NFHCA Division II Player of the Year honors, with the first in 2015 marking the first time in program history the honor had been achieved. She coached a total of 10 All-Americans and 15 All-NE10 selections.
Prior to her career at Stonehill, Ciufo-Bennett spent two years as an assistant coach with her alma mater Drexel, and two seasons before that as an assistant coach and interim head coach at Lehigh University.
Ciufo-Bennett was a member of the USA Field Hockey Indoor Team from 2011-15, winning a gold medal at the 2013 Rohrmax Cup and a bronze at the 2014 Pan Am Cup. She is a Level II Certified coach with USA Field Hockey and has been a USA Regional and National Futures Tournament selector since 2013. She was also an assistant coach with USA New Jersey Junior High Performance in 2011 and USA Pennsylvania High Performance in 2015.
At the club level, Ciufo-Bennett has been with the Northeast Elite Field Hockey Club since November, 2017, with a primary focus as the indoor director. She previously spent two years with the Mystx Field Hockey Club.
Ciufo-Bennett started every game for Drexel in her four-year career from 2007-10, earning All-America Third Team honors in 2008 and being selected to the CAA First Team three times. She scored in 22 straight games for the Dragons and still holds the nation's record for longest point streak. Ciufo-Bennett helped the 2009 Dragons earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the CAA regular season championship. She also scored 21 goals, the second highest single-season total in Drexel program history.
In 2015, Ciufo-Bennett earned her master's degree from Drexel in sport management. She earned her bachelor's degree in education in 2011. Ciufo-Bennett is a native of Bangor, Pa., and holds the career scoring record at Bangor High School.
Ep. 9: Head Women's Soccer Coach Chris Shaw
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Ep. 8: Temple Athletics Weekly Recap; Women's Cross Country Runner Amelia Sabatino
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Ep. 7: Temple Field Hockey Alumna Cherifa Howarth
Friday, September 26
Ep. 6: Temple Athletics Weekly Recap; Field Hockey's Peyton Rieger
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