For 45 years, Enza Steele established a Lynchburg field hockey program that is a conference powerhouse and a consistent NCAA top-20 team. She accumulated 666 wins with a .727 winning percentage at Lynchburg. She has the most victories in Division III history and the third-most among all divisions. She retired as the winningest active head coach across all three divisions.
The National Field Hockey Coaches Association inducted Steele into the NFHCA Hall of Fame in January of 2020.
Under Steele, Lynchburg won 22 Old Dominion Athletic Conference titles and reached the national tournament on 23 occasions. In 14 of those seasons, Steele earned ODAC coach of the year honors.
Lynchburg's success is recent as well as historic. The Hornets were 14-8 in 2021 and earned an at-large berth to the national dance, and in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign, Lynchburg went a perfect 10-0 and rolled to the ODAC title for the 21st time. The Hornets played for another ODAC title in 2022 but fell in overtime after a 17-4 record. In 2023, her final season, Lynchburg went undefeated in the ODAC and defeated Shenandoah for a record-23rd ODAC title. Steele and the Hornets went undefeated in conference play and won a conference title in the same season on 16 occasions. The Hornets also won two games in the NCAA tournament and reached the quarterfinals of the national championship for the sixth time in program history. Steele also won her 650th game as the field hockey coach on Sept. 22 against Randolph-Macon.
The Hornets' 2019 season ranked among the most successful in Steele's tenure, as Lynchburg posted a 20-4 record -- including four wins over top-20 opponents -- and reached the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. Lynchburg claimed the ODAC championship for a 20th time. The Hornets earned Steele her 600th-career victory Nov. 3, 2019 with a 3-1 win over Wooster, making her the fifth coach in NCAA history to reach the milestone.
The 2018 season brought similar success as the Hornets reclaimed the ODAC title for the first time in four years and won their NCAA first-round game.
Steele earned her 500th win on Shellenberger Field with a 5-2 victory over York (Pa.) College on Sept. 21, 2013. Her 400th win at Lynchburg came via a 3-2 victory at Washington & Lee University on Oct. 23, 2007.
From 2012-16, Steele led the Hornets to the ODAC tournament all five seasons, including three consecutive titles from 2012-14, while boasting a 38-1 record in conference play.
In 2011, the Hornets lost their first game of the season before reeling off 19 straight wins en route to the national quarterfinals. Playing against host institution The College of New Jersey, the Hornets dropped a heartbreaker, 3-0, to the eventual national champions.
The Hornets won both the conference regular-season and tournament titles in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 and advanced into the NCAA Division III tournament. Her teams made the Elite 8 in 2001, 2011, and 2012. The 2007 and 2008 versions also won the conference tournament and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Steele and the Hornets won nine-consecutive ODAC championships from 2006-2015 and has brought Lynchburg to 34 conference championship games out of the 40 ever played.
The 2004 and 2005 seasons were also highly successful, as Lynchburg combined to go 31-12 overall (16-1 in the ODAC regular season), captured the regular-season conference title both years and entered the NCAA Tournament in 2005. In 2001 the Hornets enjoyed their finest season in program history to date, advancing to the NCAA Division III tournament's round of eight. Lynchburg posted a 21-2 record and won the ODAC regular-season and tournament titles. In 2002, Lynchburg again won the ODAC regular-season title with a 9-0 conference record and advanced to the NCAA tournament. The Hornets fnished 17-4 as Steele was named the All-State field hockey coach of the year.
Steele guided the Hornets to the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national runner-up finish in 1981. Lynchburg has also won a pair of regional titles and one Virginia State Championship under Steele. In all, her teams made three appearances at the AIAW national tournament and advanced to the finals of the ODAC tournament on 23 occasions.
Steele is also active at the national level, having served on numerous NCAA and NFHCA committees and was the developer and organizer of the Senior All-Star Game. In addition, she has served as a head coach and site director at many Olympic developmental camps. A native of Pompton Lakes, N.J., Steele received her M.S. from Ithaca College and her B.S. from William Paterson University. She currently serves as the senior women's administrator at Lynchburg and is an associate professor in the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance.
Steele also coached the women's lacrosse program at Lynchburg for 20 years amassing 241 victories. Her combined win total between women's lacrosse and field hockey make her the winningest coach in ODAC history.
