Alexa Tardif will begin her third year as head coach of the Elmira College women’s lacrosse program and assistant coach of the field hockey program during the 2017-18 academic year.
In two seasons, Tardif has mentored four Empire 8 All-Conference recipients, including 2016 All-Conference First Teamer Moorea Spoljaric ’16, who also was named EC Female Athlete of the Year and received Metro/Upstate All-ECAC First Team honors that season.
In her first campaign at the helm, Tardif guided the club to a four-game improvement in the win column, taking a two-win team and finishing the 2016 season with a respectable 6-9 record. Tardif's debut season also saw the Soaring Eagles establish many new team records. Fourth-year phenom Spoljaric, set single-season highs for points (78) and goals (66), and became the school's all-time leader in career points (218) and goals (184). Spoljaric ranked among the best in all of NCAA Division III in several categories, including 10th in goals per game (4.40). As a result of her accomplishments, Spoljaric was awarded the coveted EC Female Athlete of the Year award. Defensively, Tardif's first season saw EC ranked 32nd out of 268 teams in the nation with 11.53 caused turnovers per game, while the team's goals-against average dropped almost two full points from the previous season.
In 2017, Tardif guided multiple Soaring Eagles to record-setting seasons. In goal, senior Lindsay Wargo ’17 became the program’s all-time saves leader with 383 career stops. Also on defense, Sarah Hughson ’18 and Kelcey Crawford ’18 both cracked EC’s single-season leaderboard for caused turnovers, as Hughson ranks fourth (36) and Crawford sits seventh (30). Following her junior season, Hughson moved into fifth place in program history in career caused turnovers with 76.
Prior to joining the Soaring Eagles coaching staff, she spent the 2014-15 academic year at Daniel Webster College, where she served as an assistant coach of the field hockey and women’s lacrosse programs. Under first-year head coach Bill Davidson, Tardif played a prominent role in recruiting and was responsible for devising and executing practice and game plans.
She helped to revitalize both programs, including the reestablishment of the women’s lacrosse program after a lost season in 2014. Although the Eagles went 1-11 during the 2015 campaign, her impact on the program was evident in the steady improvement of the team throughout the season, culminating in a 12-6 victory over conference rival Mitchell in the squad’s season finale. She showed excellent poise and composure during the fall season, as she was almost immediately thrust into the interim head coaching role for the field hockey program. She handled all coaching and administrative responsibilities during the opening month, before the appointment of Davidson.
She also served as an assistant coach of the women’s lacrosse program at her high school alma mater, Hollis Brookline, during the 2015 season. She handled coaching duties for the Lady Cavaliers, helping the squad to a 5-9 record.
Tardif is a 2014 graduate of New England College, where she earned B.A. in Psychology.
She also was a dual-sport athlete during her time at New England, playing three years of varsity lacrosse and one year of varsity field hockey. She appeared in 51 games over her three-year lacrosse career for the Pilgrims, tallying 22 goals and four assists in an attacking role. She had a breakout senior season, posting career bests with 13 goals and seven assists.
