Villanova University

Lindsey Carstens Position: Assistant Coach Experience: Second Season Alma Mater: Illinois '08

Lindsey Carstens begins her second season on the Villanova coaching staff in 2010. She will continue to draw on her wealth of collegiate and professional playing experience while working with the Wildcat goalkeepers.

During her first year with Villanova in 2009, Carstens played a vital role in developing senior goalkeeper Molly Williams into one of the top keepers in the BIG EAST Conference. In just her second year in a starting role, Williams posted a 0.89 goals-against average for the season, registering six solo shutouts and 118 saves while helping the Wildcats go 11-6-5 and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006. In addition, Carstens worked with a pair of freshmen goalkeepers on the Villanova roster as they made a successful transition to the collegiate game.

Prior to coming to Villanova, Carstens played for the W-League Chicago Red Eleven during the summer of 2009. The Red Eleven are affiliated with the Chicago Red Stars and finished in second place in the Midwest Division to qualify for the playoffs.

Carstens has also played professionally in the top league in Norway, as she spent the fall of 2008 with Team Strommen in the Toppserien League. The team finished second in its division and was a finalist in the Norway Cup. A silver medal finish in the Cup Final qualified Team Strommen for the 2009 Euro Cup. While playing in Norway, Carstens was coached by Hege Riise, a former captain of Norway's champion World Cup squad and a current assistant coach for the United States national team. As a coach, Carstens started out as a Region II ODP Camp coach in 2006 and 2007. She also was an assistant coach at Centennial High School in Champaign, Illinois from 2006-09, where she worked with the team's goalkeepers. In addition, Carstens has been a coach at the University of Illinois camps and the CUP Club camps.

During her collegiate career, Carstens was a three-year starter in goal and a senior team captain at the University of Illinois. She is the program's all-time record holder for career shutouts (28) and goals-against average (0.94) and also ranks third in school history in saves (200) and fourth in save percentage (.778). The Fighting Illini played in the NCAA Tournament each year of Carstens' career, including berths in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8.

Off the field, Carstens received numerous honors while at Illinois. She was chosen by the university Chancellor as the only athlete on the U of I Athletic Board and represented all student-athletes. Carstens was also selected as one of the leaders of the U of I Leadership Academy, compromised of captains from each sport. She was a recipient of the George Huff Award, presented to student-athletes maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Carstens graduated from Illinois in 2008 with a B.S. degree in Kinesiology.