Ali Johnstone Position: Assistant Coach Experience: First season at NU Alma Mater: Ohio, 2002

Northwestern head coach Tracey Fuchs announced on April 27 that Ali Johnstone would join the Northwestern coaching staff as an assistant coach for the 2011 season. Johnstone arrived in Evanston after coaching two seasons at her alma mater, Ohio University.

"I am very excited for the addition of Ali to our staff at Northwestern," Fuchs said. "Having played for Team Canada and coached at Ohio University, she is going to bring a tremendous amount of passion and experience to our program. Ali is going to be an asset to our defensive unit and also will be instrumental in recruiting high-caliber future Wildcats to Evanston."

During Johnstone's first season on staff at Ohio, the Bobcats won their third MAC championship in a span of four years and finished with a 12-9 overall record. OU followed that up in 2010 by going 7-3 in MAC play and reaching the semifinals of the conference tournament.

"I am extremely excited to become a member of the Wildcat family," Johnstone said. "I am looking forward to being part of such an extraordinary program in an elite athletic department. Northwestern has been the home of a world-class coaching staff and a team of dedicated student-athletes in recent years. I look forward to giving all that I can to add to this program and to represent Northwestern in the highest way possible."

Johnstone brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience to Evanston. A two-time NFHCA All-American and the first Bobcat to earn first-team All-MAC each of her four seasons in Athens, she graduated from Ohio in 2002 as one of the most decorated players in program history. Johnstone was a three-time first-team All-West Region honoree as well as the 2001 Ohio Female Student-Athlete of the Year. She has the career record for assists (36) and ranks third in all-time points (106) and fourth in career goals (35).

Like Fuchs, Johnstone gained extensive experience at the international playing level. A native of Delta, British Columbia, Johnstone played nine years and earned 35 caps for the Canadian national team. In 2005-06, Johnstone played professionally for Hamburg in the German Premier Division.

Before beginning her collegiate coaching career at Ohio, Johnstone was the head coach for the U-19 British Columbia Provincial A team in 2007 and the U-16 Regional High Performance team from 2006-08. Johnstone is also very involved with USA field hockey as a head Futures coach, a regional and national Futures tournament selector and a Junior High Performance Program volunteer coach.

Johnstone earned her bachelor's degree in sports sciences from Ohio in 2002.

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