One of the greatest woman athletes in Millersville history,
Linda Kreiser was a four-year letterwinner in varsity field hockey, lacrosse and basketball during the early 1970s. She was co-captain in all three sports.
Kreiser tallied 51 field hockey goals in her four-year career--an all-time Marauder record, and led the 'Ville fielders, coached by Sandra Peters, to a 27-4-7 record from 1970 to 1973. The Marauders went unbeaten in her junior and senior seasons with 9-0-2 and 10-0-1 records, respectively.
In basketball, Linda scored 602 points and helped lead Coach Marjorie Trout's cagers to a four-year record of 36-20.
Kreiser was named as the Marauders' outstanding basketball performer in 1973 and 1974. She earned the Elwood J. Finley Award as Millersville's outstanding female athlete her senior year ('74) and was the first Marauder woman competitor to have her jersey number (21) officially retired by the University.
She has earned numerous honors as a field hockey athlete. She competed for seven years on the U.S. national team from 1972 to 1979 and belonged to the U.S. squads that toured internationally in 1974, 1975 and 1978. Kreiser has held membership in the Red Rose Field hockey Club from 1973 to the present and has played in every U.S. Field Hockey Association (USFHA) Festival tournament since 1970. She was named Most Valuable Player of the JFK International Field Hockey Tournament in 1988 and 1993.
She graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology and returned to earn a master's degree in biology in 1976.
Kreiser has earned a legendary reputation for coaching excellence in high school field hockey at Lower Dauphin High School in Hummelstown, Pa. She has led the Falcons to two PIAA Class AAA championships, including a perfect 26-0-0 season in 1993. In addition, her LD teams have earned four District Three titles, a career record (through 10/22/03) of 457-71-30, and winning seasons in each of her 26 seasons.
Thanks to Linda's guidance, numerous LD graduates have gone on to compete in intercollegiate field hockey in all three NCAA divisions and some have competed in U.S. Olympic Festival and international championship tournaments.
Kreiser was named Pennsylvania Field Hockey Coach of the Year by the National Federation Interscholastic Coaches Association in 1995. In 2003, she received added acclaim with her selection to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
In addition to her varsity field hockey coaching duties, she has coordinated Lower Dauphin's elementary field hockey programs since 1978, and has served as a head and assistant varsity basketball coach for 15 years and as an assistant softball coach for 21 seasons.
In the Lower Dauphin School District, Kreiser served as an eighth grade physical science instructor for five years and as a seventh grade life science teacher for 13 years. For the past 12 years, she has been employed as senior high work-study coordinator.
Because of her popularity as a teacher and coach, Linda was selected as Lower Dauphin High's commencement speaker in the spring of 1994.
She has had extensive involvement in the USFHA in several capacities since 1985 and was vice-president of teams from 1990 to 1993.
She has served on the Penn Monto All-American High School Field Hockey Team selection committee since 1989 and was a coach, player and coordinator for Region III of the Keystone State Games from 1981 to 1985.
During the summer months, since her graduation from Millersville in '74, Kreiser has served as director of the Red Rose Field Hockey Camp in Hummelstown and as a director of Mid-Atlantic Field Hockey Camp in Lewes, Del., since 1977.
