Recognized four times by her peers as the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Coach of the Year (1999, 2001, 2005, 2014),
Hallie Cohen has shown an uncanny ability to instill in her players a belief that they can achieve greatness during her 24 seasons as William Paterson’s head softball coach.
Cohen’s accomplishments at WP have been impressive since she arrived in 1995: she is the school’s all-time leader in victories (643-326-4) and has guided William Paterson to its four NJAC Tournament championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2009) and its two NCAA Tournament East Regional titles (2001 and 2005). In addition, WP student-athletes have earned 12 all-America certificates under her guidance, and she has coached the Pioneers to seven 30-win seasons (30-16 in 1999, 39-10 in 2001, 37-11-1 in 2005, 35-9 in 2009, 30-12 in 2012, 31-11 in 2014, 30-13-1 in 2015). Cohen begins the 2019 season seventh among active Division III coaches in victories (838-482-5), and William Paterson has won 20 or more games during 20 of the last 21 seasons.
It took Cohen her first three seasons at Pioneer Softball Field to build William Paterson into a national power. From there, she started attracting better and better student-athletes and transformed the program into a major player. It started in 1998 when the Pioneers went 25-15 and earned an at-large invitation to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. A year later, William Paterson won 30 games and captured its first NJAC title.
Bigger things started happening in 2001. William Paterson won a school-record 39 games and captured its first NCAA Tournament East Regional crown. Two years later, the Pioneers overcame an opening-game loss and earned four consecutive victories to take the program’s second NJAC championship. Of course, there was the 2005 season, with the team winning twice on the final day of the NJAC Tournament, including a 1-0, 15-inning decision over Rutgers-Camden. One week later, the Pioneers defeated the same Scarlet Raptors by the same 1-0 score at Pioneer Softball Field for the NCAA Tournament East Regional championship.
In 2009, William Paterson won its fourth conference tournament title under Cohen’s leadership, compiling a 35-9 overall record and a 13-5 mark in NJAC play. Led by second-team all-American and NJAC Player of the Year Meghan Reilly, the Pioneers’ only two NCAA Tournament losses came to the eventual national champion as WP reached the final of the Mahwah First Round. WP was 31-11 overall and 15-3 in league play, earning a spot in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, and in 2016 the Pioneers were 30-13-1 and reached the NCAA Tournament Union Regional championship game.
In addition to attracting athletically-talented recruits, Cohen also seeks quality student-athletes who represent William Paterson well in the classroom, with four Pioneers currently members of the University’s Honors College.
Cohen also coached the Pioneers’ field hockey program for nine years and owns more than 200 victories. She guided the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001, and oversaw the 2003 squad that won the school’s first postseason game and reached the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament final.
Prior to her arrival at William Paterson, Cohen coached the field hockey and softball teams at FDU-Florham. She posted a 195-155-1 record in softball and was inducted into the institution’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
A graduate of Wayne Valley High School and a member of its Hall of Fame, Cohen was a scholarship athlete in both softball and field hockey at Rutgers University, enjoying standout careers in each before earning her bachelor’s degree in health and physical education in 1980.