E.A. Jackson Named Goucher Field Hockey Coach
TOWSON, Md. – Goucher College Director of Athletics Andrew Wu announced Thursday that E.A. Jackson, most recently the head field hockey coach at Towson University, has been named the Gophers' field hockey head coach. Jackson is the 16th head coach in the program's 73-year history and the 10th in the program's NCAA era dating back to the early 1990s.
""I was just so impressed with the transparency and value of equity at Goucher. It's apparent that Andrew and (Senior Associate AD) Andrea (Ricketts-Preston) make a great AD team and are focused on ensuring everyone has equal access to a quality experience. It's an exciting place to be and a community that I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of," said Jackson.
"I can't wait to build on the tremendous care that Coach Stacey leaves in her wake. I got to meet with a number of the women on the team last week and it's clear that they adore each other and have each other's back, through thick and thin! They spoke so highly of their care of the program, Goucher, and their former coach, the warmth was palatable. It just felt like a place where each student can thrive and I can't wait to get started with the athletes."
"I'm thrilled to introduce Coach Jackson as our new head field hockey coach and look forward to seeing the program grow under her leadership. Bringing a proven professional like E.A. on board is a strong statement about our potential and intention with our field hockey team and development of our student-athletes," said Wu. " I'm extremely impressed with her perspective, commitment, and eagerness, and thankful that our search has concluded with such a fantastic hire."
Jackson spent six seasons as the head coach at Towson, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. During her tenure guiding the Tigers, Jackson coached a total of 13 All-CAA selections as Towson steadily increased its win total. The Tigers won their most games since 2011 this past fall while suffering four overtime setbacks and dropping two other one-goal decisions.
In the classroom, the Tigers won the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award in 2019 for having the top team GPA among all field hockey teams in the conference, posting a 3.63. A total of 20 Towson players earned NFHCA Scholar of Distinction honors, while 88 Tigers were selected to the NFHCA National Academic Squad. The Tigers also earned the NFHCA National Academic Team award in each of Jackson's seasons.
In June of 2019, Jackson was presented the Cecile Reynaud Coaching Mastery Award, named for long-time Florida State volleyball head coach Cecile Renaud. While attending the NCAA WeCOACH Academy 2.0, she received this award voted on by her coaching peers at the event. Jackson is an active member of the WeCOACH Organization Coaches Council.
Before coming to Towson, Jackson worked as the head field hockey coach and Senior Woman Administrator at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia for two years. She joined the Royals' staff in the spring of 2015 and had an immediate impact on the program. Jackson doubled the team's win total for the 2016 season and helped the team record its most wins in a season since 2011. During her second season as head coach, she increased the team's goals for by 28, while decreasing the goals against by 34.
Before joining the staff at EMU, Jackson served as the head coach at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Virginia for five years. Jackson was named District Coach of the Year following her first season at Albemarle. She managed the varsity and club programs, oversaw the team's budget, coaching staff and social media accounts while at Albemarle. She also planned, wrote and facilitated the implementation of her engaging curriculum.
She also worked as an American Studies teacher as well as a Special Education Transitional Specialist at Albemarle High School for 15 years, prior to making the leap to college coaching.
She served as a USA Futures Elite Coach at the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond in 2016 and 2017. Jackson also has worked as a coach at James Madison University's Summer Field Hockey Camp from 2015-19.
Jackson graduated from the University of Mary Washington in 1999 with a bachelor of science in psychology. She served as team captain for the Eagles under Coach Dana Hall and helped the team reach the Division III NCAA Tournament as a freshman. Jackson added a masters of education from George Washington University in 2001.
E.A.'s oldest child, Madison Fagan, played field hockey at the University of Pennsylvania and recently graduated in 2022.