Kristin Blanchette is in her fourth year as Plymouth State's head women's lacrosse coach.  The Panthers have captured two Little East Conference regular season championships in three seasons under Blanchette, and she was recognized as the 2012 Little East Coach of the Year.

            The Panthers recorded one of the top turnarounds in the country in 2012 when the team finished 13-2 with a 13-game winning streak, a six-game improvement over the 2011 team’s 7-8 mark.  Blanchette produced three of the LEC’ s top award recipients with the Midfielder, Defensive Player and Rookie of the Year.

          PSU shared the LEC regular season crown under Blanchette in 2010 with a 5-1 mark, and topped the 2012 standings with a perfect 6-0 record.  Blanchette has guided the Panthers to a three-year record of 30-16, including 13-5 in conference play.

           Blanchette came to PSU after serving three years as an assistant coach at two top Division I lacrosse programs. She coached one year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and two years at Brown University. While at UMass, she helped lead the squad to the 2009 Atlantic-10 regular season and tournament championships and a berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1984. She helped coach nine Atlantic-10 All-Conference players at UMass including two U.S. Developmental Team members. Blanchette also coached several All-Region and All-Ivy League players while at Brown.

            A 2006 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, where she was a team captain and four-year starting midfielder for the Wildcats, Blanchette helped UNH to national rankings from 2004-06 and a berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2004.  She earned America East All-Conference First Team and All-Championship team honors in 2006 when she was also named a Regional All-American and played in the prestigious North/South Senior All-Star game. 

           Blanchette compiled career totals of 112 goals, 39 assists and 151 points to rank tied for eighth on UNH's all-time goals list and ninth in career points.

           Blanchette has played at the highest level of women's lacrosse and has extensive international experience. She played for the US National Team in 2005-2007; being only the second player in UNH history to be selected to the US National Team program.  She also played for the Irish National Team at the 2009 World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic, where it finished fifth out of 16 countries; a World Cup record for a newly entered country.

            A native of Sudbury, Mass., Blanchette was a 2002 All-American in lacrosse for Massachusetts lacrosse powerhouse Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. She also lettered in ice hockey and soccer. Blanchette’s sister, Stephanie played for the Panthers from 2004-07 and was a two-time All-Little East defender.