Hood hires first-time head coach to lead women’s soccer

By Genesis Lemus//

Hood athletics has hired former Washington College assistant coach Molly Kovarik as the new head coach of women’s soccer starting this spring semester.  

This will be Kovarik’s first time in a head coaching position.

Kovarik began her coaching career as the graduate assistant coach at Eastern University, a school in the same athletic conference as Hood. After the team’s head coach left mid-season, she got to “dip her toes into head coaching,” and lead the program.

The search for a new coach began in November of last year. The interview process included a first round of Zoom meetings and a second round of in-person interviews with the final four candidates.

“During my second round, I got to come in-person and I got to meet the athletic staff, see the campus, all COVID friendly, and meet with the girls in small groups,” Kovarik said.

Kovarik said that she is very excited for the challenge of starting “blindly” with an already well-established soccer program.

“The program was left in a very good place,” Kovarik said. “Most of the girls are returning and there’s a lot of leadership within that group of girls.”

The season is set to begin in March, but the team is still waiting to hear back from the Mid-Atlantic Conference to confirm the start date of the 2021 spring season.

Recruiting has also been at the top of Kovarik’s to-do list.

“Since this pandemic started, soccer hasn’t really stopped recruiting process, we attend most events,” Kovarik said. “We’ve been able to connect with a lot of individuals, we have always been traveling.”

Kovarik has already begun to develop a relationship with the team and said she’s ready to get to work.

“I’m excited to see how the season pans out,” Kovarik said. “The girls have been awesome, fun and caring.”