VILLANOVA, Pa.—The coaching staff for the Villanova field hockey team for the 2026 season has been finalized with two staffing announcements made by head coach Joanie Milhous this week. The program has promoted Karlie Kisha to associate head coach in her eighth season with the Wildcats and has added Maddie Orobono to the staff as an assistant coach. She joins second year assistant Brie Barraco on Milhous' staff as she begins her 32^nd year leading the program. Villanova begins the season on Friday, August 28 and will report to campus for its preseason camp three weeks prior.
 
Kisha has served multiple stints on the Wildcats coaching staff and most recently returned to the program in a full-time role before the 2024 season. She earns a promotion to associate head coach after being part of the team's positive momentum both on and off the field over the past two years. Villanova qualified for last year's BIG EAST Championship for the second time in three seasons and posted a top 20 win (No. 15 Saint Joseph's) for the second straight year. Kisha helped mentor last season's BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year Ava Borkowski, who led the team with nine goals and became the third player in program history and second in the last three years to be named the top offensive player in the BIG EAST.
 
Prior to her current stint on the staff, Kisha spent a total of five seasons with the Wildcats from 2018-23, including the 2018 to 2020 campaigns as a full-time assistant coach. She was a volunteer assistant to Milhous on the 2022 and 2023 teams while playing for USA Field Hockey. Her time on the national team culminated with representing the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics just weeks before being named back to the Villanova coaching staff in a full-time role. As a collegiate standout in the BIG EAST during her playing career, Kisha was part of two national championship teams and four Final Four teams at Connecticut.
 
Orobono similarly comes to the Wildcats after gaining extensive playing experience on the world stage. She was a member of the U.S. National Team in 2021 and 2022 after previously playing for the U17, U19 and U21 national teams as she rose through the USA Field Hockey ranks. While playing for the Women's Indoor National Team from 2015-18 she traveled to events in South Africa, Austria and Canada, and was a gold medalist at the 2017 Indoor Pan American Cup in Guyana which secured the United States' first ever appearance in the FIGH Indoor World Cup in 2018 in Germany.
 
Orobono was a three-time collegiate national champion at North Carolina from 2019-22 where she played on the back line. She was a four-year starter for the Tar Heels and was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. Her career accolades included being named to the ACC All-Tournament Team as a true freshman in 2019 and earning a spot on the All-ACC Academic Team.
 
Villanova returns 18 student-athletes to its roster from last season and has also brought in a deep and talented group of eight newcomers. In addition to Borkowski returning for her third season on the roster, the Wildcats bring back 2025 second team All-BIG EAST performer Gemma Lysaght on defense as part of a roster which features eight seniors and two graduate students in Borkowski and fifth year forward Barrett Trigg.
 
An exciting new chapter for Villanova Field Hockey was revealed last month with the announcement that the Wildcats will move to a new permanent home in Radnor as part of the official opening of the Villanova University Cabrini Campus. The final stage of construction plans for the program's brand new field is underway as Villanova ushers in a new era for both the University and Field Hockey program.