On July 2, 2010, Missy Doherty was introduced as the ninth head coach in Penn State women's lacrosse program history. A winner of five national championships as a player and coach, Doherty came to Happy Valley after a highly successful stint at Towson University in Baltimore.
In 2012, Doherty led Penn State to a 12-7 record, earning the program's most wins since 2005 and its third consecutive double-digit win season. Five of those wins came against ranked opponents, including three versus top-10 teams. Penn State excelled on the road in 2012, registering eight victories, the most by the Nittany Lions since the 1989 national championship team. Penn State received an at-large bid to the 2012 NCAA championship, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1999.
In her first season at the helm of the collegiate women's lacrosse's second winningest program, Doherty led the Penn State to a 10-8 record and a second-place finish in the American Lacrosse Conference. The Nittany Lions knocked off four ranked opponents during the regular season and advanced to the semifinals of the ALC Championship.
In her two seasons as Penn State head coach, Doherty has coached three Nittany Lions to IWLCA All-America honors.
In seven years at Towson, Doherty built the Tigers into one of the top teams in the Colonial Athletic Association and into a nationally recognized and competitive program. At Towson, she posted an impressive 79-46 (.632) record, including five seasons with 13 or more victories, and led it to three CAA Tournament championships (2005, 2008-09) and a share of one CAA regular season title (2008). Doherty coached six All-Americans during her tenure, including Towson's first three-time honoree in program history.
In 2010, Doherty guided Towson to a season of unprecedented success, as the Tigers earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and received their first-ever top 10 national ranking in the IWLCA Division I poll.
Prior to arriving at Towson, Doherty had a successful six-year stretch as an assistant coach at three different schools. At Princeton University, she was an integral member of the coaching staff that led the Tigers to NCAA championships in 2002 and 2003. During Doherty's tenure, Princeton compiled a 49-9 record and captured three straight Ivy League crowns.
Doherty also served two seasons at Brown University (1999-2000) after starting her coaching career at Vanderbilt in 1998.
A 1997 graduate of the University of Maryland, Doherty was a four-year letterwinning defender, helping the Terrapins claim three NCAA championships. Maryland was a dominant force in collegiate women's lacrosse during her career, amassing a remarkable 68-2 record, including an NCAA record 50-game winning streak. Also a standout in the classroom, Doherty was a three-time honoree on the ACC Academic Honor Roll.
In 2010, Doherty earned a Master Degree's in Biology from Towson University.
The former Missy Holmes, she is married to Brian Doherty. The couple has two sons, Evan and Nathan.
