Elmira College Athletics

Lauren Thomas was named the ninth head coach of the Soaring Eagles prior to the start of the 2022-23 academic year. Thomas returned to Elmira, where she was a four-year member of the Soaring Eagles Field Hockey program.

Originally from Marshfield, Massachusetts, Thomas returns to Elmira after spending the last four years as the head coach at Depauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. In her tenure, Thomas guided the Tigers to a 24-30 mark in three seasons (excluding the COVID-19 shortened season of 2020-21), with fourteen of the Tigers' losses being decided by just one goal. During her time at Depauw, Thomas had 11 players selected to All-NCAC Field Hockey teams, as well as over 30 members earning Zig Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA DIII National Academic Squad recognition.

A goalkeeper during her time donning the Purple & Gold, Thomas' defensive mind helped the Tigers to the 8^th highest defensive saves mark (17), as well as the 11^th highest save percentage (.813) in Division III during the 2021 season. Additionally, Thomas helped guide Depauw to an NCAC Tournament semifinal appearance during the 2019 season.

Before Depauw, Thomas served three seasons as an assistant at fellow NCAC school, Ohio Wesleyan University (2015-17). Thomas arrived at Ohio Wesleyan from DePauw, where she served as an assistant coach for one season during 2014.  She helped the Tigers to a 16-3 overall record during 2014 while working with all facets of the program, including recruiting, academic check-ins, scheduling, and game management.
 
Thomas has also served as a skill instructor for the USA Futures Field Hockey Program in Dublin, Ohio, in addition to coaching at camps hosted by the University of Connecticut, Boston College, and Washington and Lee University.
 
The Marshfield, Mass., native is a graduate of Elmira College where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. On the field, Thomas served as the Soaring Eagles' starting goalkeeper for four years (2010-13) and twice earned All-Empire 8 Athletic Conference honors. She finished her career ranked second in school history for saves (652) and minutes played (3,500), and is 4^th all-time in saves percentage (.781). Thomas also holds four of the top-ten single-season save marks in program history, recording at least 150 saves in each of her four seasons. In all, Thomas' name appears in the top-ten, single-season, and career record books for goalkeepers at Elmira College an astonishing 16 times.

During her time, Thomas additionally served as the president of Elmira's Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAC) and was a student-athlete representative at the 2013 NCAA Leadership Forum. Thomas served as a representative for the Empire 8 Leadership Summit and acted as the Class of 2014 Fundraising Committee Chair.