One of the winningest coaches in NCAA women's ice hockey, Kerstin Matthews wrapped up her 14th season as the head women's ice hockey coach at Saint Anselm College in 2020-21.

During her tenure on the Hilltop, Matthews has led the Hawks to seven 20-win seasons, including five in the last seven seasons, making her the second head coach in program history to accomplish the feat. Her teams have won five postseason tournament titles and finished as the runner-up on four other occasions. She exits her 13th season on the Hilltop with a 237-74-22 (.745) overall record alongside an impressive 159-41-15 (.774) mark in league play.

Most recently, Matthews guided the program to its third New England Women’s Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) Championship appearance and second runner-up finish. She led the team to a 16-14-3 overall record in 2019-20 alongside an 11-8-1 mark in league play. The Hawks earned the third seed in the NEWHA Postseason Tournament, defeating Post 8-1. During the tournament, Matthews coached the longest NCAA women’s ice hockey game in history against Franklin Pierce in the NEWHA Semifinals, going to five overtimes, which the Hawks won 2-1 on Feb. 22. The Hawks finished the most recent campaign with a 1-0 loss in the NEWHA Championship against Long Island University.

Matthews led the Hawks to a 25-3-1 overall record in 2018-19, winning Saint Anselm's first New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) championship on Mar. 24, 2019. The Hawks finished the 2018-19 campaign with a dominant 15-0-1 record against NEWHA programs and won the program's first NEWHA Championship on Mar. 24, 2019.

The 2018-19 season featured Matthews' 200th career victory, downing Franklin Pierce by a 5-2 margin on the road. Matthews was named NEWHA Coach of the Year, Katy Meehan earned NEWHA Player of the Year and Erin Meyers was the program's second consecutive NEWHA Rookie of the Year selection. She was also behind the bench for the team's 300th overall win in team history on Jan. 25, 2019 against Post.

In 2017-18, the Hawks finished atop the NEWHA regular-season standings and were the runners-up in the inaugural NEWHA Tournament. Six Hawks were named to the All-NEWHA Teams, led by co-Rookie of the Year Meehan, who was one of three first-team selections.

In 2016-17, Matthews' team won the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) regular season title, the program's first regular-season conference title since back-to-back East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) East championships in 2006-07, while also winning the NEHC Open Tournament crown.

Matthews is a two-time ECAC East/NEHC Coach of the Year (2013-14, 2016-17) and was also one of eight finalists for the 2016-17 CCM American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Women's Ice Hockey College Division Coach of the Year. Her .757 career winning percentage ranks among the highest in the country among head coaches at four-year institutions.

During her time on the Hilltop, Matthews has coached five AHCA East Region All-Americans, eight New England Hockey Writer's All-Stars and 30 All-NEHC selections, including nine first team honorees and one NEHC Player of the Year (Alex Starzyk - 2015-16). Twenty-five student-athletes have earned spots on the ECAC East/NEHC All-Academic Team during Matthews' time behind the bench. She also has coached a Hockey Humanitarian Award winner (Amanda Conger – 2019-20).

Matthews picked up her 100th career coaching win in Saint Anselm's 6-3 victory at Williams College on Dec. 7, 2013, becoming the first women's hockey coach to reach the century mark on the Hilltop. Her first 11 teams have recorded at least 15 victories and 12 conference wins, including a 24-3-0 season in 2013-14 that matched the single-season program wins record.

Matthews came to Saint Anselm from Boston University where she transitioned the BU women's club team to Division I varsity status, eventually serving as the Terriers' top assistant from 2005-08. She operated as the team's recruiting coordinator, both domestically and internationally, and specialized with the Terrier forwards.

In addition to her responsibilities at BU, Matthews was a co-owner of Hockey Advantage, a girls' ice hockey school in Woburn, Mass. Founded in 2001, Hockey Advantage taught the fundamentals of ice hockey through clinics, camps and private instruction.

Matthews is a 2000 alumna of Providence College, where she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in management. She was a four-year letter-winner for the Division I Friars, captaining her squad to a 20-10-3 record overall and a 14-7-3 mark in ECAC play her senior year.

Matthews resides in North Reading, Mass., with her husband, Jeff, and sons Jacob and Cameron.

Matthews Year-by-Year