Hamilton-Wenham will have a new field hockey coach this fall as Krissy Italiano has been appointed to the post, athletic director Craig Genualdo announced on Friday.
A Saugus High graduate who captained the Sachems in field hockey and basketball, Italiano has served as head middle school field hockey coach in her hometown for the last two years while assisting her alma mater’s varsity as well. A Northeastern Conference all-star in her playing days, she has also been an assistant with Saugus’ girls basketball and track programs.
Italiano takes over for Emma McGonagle, who led the Generals for one season. Last fall, H-W had a 2-12-4 record in the highly competitive Cape Ann League and missed out on the playoffs by less than three-hundredths of a rating point, finishing 33rd out of 50 squads in Division 4. Returning all-star defender Skylar McNall is one of several promising players for H-W, which will play most of its games on the road this fall as construction of its new artificial turf facility continues.
A graduate of Boston College who was her class salutatorian at Saugus, Italiano is a registered nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She has raised money for cancer research by running the Boston Marathon in 2021 and has served as co-chair volunteer event coordinator for the Welles Crowther Red Bandana 5K Run from 2018-2021.
Genualdo also announced that Jenna Fiore has been hired as Italiano’s assistant coach. A field hockey standout at both Pentucket and Winnacunnet, she played at Division 1 college field hockey at Long Island University before transferring to and getting a degree from Liberty.