she studied at the Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg, Gauteng, and represented her country at the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Summer Olympics.

[3][4] A striker, Coetzee played club hockey with Amsterdam, Netherlands in the late 1990s.

Coetzee was the top goal scorer at the 2002 Women's Hockey World Cup held in Perth, Western Australia, where South Africa finished in 13th position.

Pietie Coetzee became the all-time leading goal scorer in women's international hockey on 21 June 2011 with the third of four goals she scored in a 5–5 draw against the United States in the Champions Challenge in Dublin.

It took her to 221 goals, bettering the 20-year-old world record of Russia's Natella Krasnikova.