Harvard hires ‘perfect fit’ Roth as associate head coach for Crimson women’s hockey team

Meredith Roth has joined the staff of the Harvard women’s hockey team (photo: Phil Tor).

Harvard has announced that Meredith Roth will join the Crimson as associate head coach for the women’s hockey team.

Roth previously served in the same role at Holy Cross.

“We are thrilled to add Meredith to our staff and feel she is the perfect fit for our program,” said Crimson head coach Laura Bellamy in a statement. “Her relationship-centered approach will play a key role in developing our student-athletes as hockey players and guiding them as members of the Harvard community. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from the highest levels of hockey, which will help us as we strive for a return to national prominence in college women’s ice hockey.”

“I’m extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to join Coach Bellamy and the Harvard women’s hockey program,” added Roth. “I look forward to working with talented and bright student-athletes on a daily basis, serving them in pursuing their passions academically and athletically.”

Roth joins the Crimson staff after a four-year tenure at Holy Cross. Prior to her time in Worcester, Roth was the head coach at St. Norbert.

Previously, Roth coached at Providence in two stints from 2006 to 2010 and 2012 to 2015. In between her time with the Friars, Roth was on staff at Cornell. Roth’s first head coaching job came in 2004 when she was appointed the leader of the Shattuck St. Mary’s School U16 team.

In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, Roth has been heavily involved in USA Hockey, in particular its U-18 program. She was recently named as an assistant coach for the United States U18 Women’s National Team for its 2023-24 season and will coach the group at the 2024 IIHF World Championships in Switzerland. Roth was also with the group during its gold medal run in the 2020 IIHF World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. She has been integral in the success of the U-18 program since coaching at her first camp in 2006.

Roth was a four-year member of the Providence women’s hockey team and was a two-time captain. She graduated from Providence in 2004 with a degree in social science before going back to school at Cortland, where she earned a master’s degree in sports management.

In addition to her formal education, Roth was also recently selected to attend a diversity and inclusion scouting mentorship program, hosted by the Boston Bruins, during the 2021-22 season. During the nine-month program, she worked on developing skills in management, scouting, talent identification and decision-making at the NHL level. Throughout the course of the program, she worked closely with contacts from the Bruins front office and regularly attended AHL and NHL games as a scout.