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Karin Brower Corbett
Through 23 seasons as head coach at the University of Pennsylvania, Karin Corbett has established Penn as one of the nation's elite women's lacrosse programs. With 11 Ivy League championships in the past 16 years, 13-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament prior to the pandemic, including three trips to the national semifinals, Corbett's teams have established themselves as perennial NCAA powers. The pinnacle of Corbett's tenure was the 2008 season where the Quakers were NCAA Finalists and spent a number of weeks ranked No. 1 in the country after defeating Northwestern in the regular season.
Corbett, who took over a team in 2000 that won only one game the previous year, has led her teams to 240 wins -- averaging 10.4 wins per season.
The Quakers were back to full competition in 2022 following two years of sidelined seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic. The team won six games including a one-goal victory over No. 24 Drexel. The Quakers earned six All-Ivy honors led by Ellen O'Callaghan, who garnered first team accolades before being named to IWLCA All-Region and an Inside Lacrosse Media All-American.
The 2020 season was unchartered territory for the entire college sports world, as all Spring sports were cut short due to the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19. On March 11, 2020, the Ivy League canceled all spring sports across the conference, bringing the Quakers' season to a close with a 4-1 record. In the top-10 for most of the season, they concluded the final rankings at No. 10 in the IWLCA poll. Corbett had a strong squad through the first five games, including two Tewaaraton Award watch list honorees in seniors Gabby Rosenzweig and Erin Barry. Rosenzweig, who already had a decorated career for Penn, became the program's career points record holder in the second game of the season against Johns Hopkins University.
The pandemic carried over into the 2021 season, limiting the Quakers to one game in which they defeated La Salle, 16-11. The final goal of the game solidified senior captain Zoe Belodeau's 100th career finish to solidify a six-point performance.
Penn earned its 13th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2019, the fifth longest active streak in the country, amassing 12 wins and a runner-up showing in the Ivy League Tournament. Junior All-American Gabby Rosenzweig paced a Penn offense that finished with 224 goals, setting the program record with 98 points on the year, including a single-season record 63 assists. Erin Barry, the Ivy League Midfielder of the Year, joined Rosenzweig with All-American honors, as each were named unanimous first-team All-Ivy, in addition to six other Quakers. Penn defeated four top-25 teams, while boasting six one-goal victories.
The Quakers won their 11th Ivy League title in 2018, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a dramatic overtime victory over Penn State. Corbett’s team set a program record for goal in a season with 261, besting the previous mark by 38 goals. A balanced group of senior leaders and underclass catalysts made the Red and Blue a dynamic attack as four players had more than 35 goals – led by sophomore All-American Gabby Rosenzweig who tied the program record for points in a season with 85. Fellow All-American Erin Barry became just the third player in program history to score 50 goals in a season, finishing with 51. Rookie Zoe Belodeau set the Penn single season record – and established a new Ivy League rookie record with 103 draw controls. In addition, she set new Penn records for goals (45), assists (35) and points (80) by a rookie. Corbett’s team held true to its defensive roots, with senior Natalie Stefan earning Ivy League Defender of the Year honors to lead nine All-Ivy selections.
In 2017, Corbett coached her 10th Ivy League championship team, and guided her squad to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th consecutive season. Her team defeated four Top-20 opponents, including a 17-12 defeat of No. 6 Princeton at Franklin Field. Corbett coached five All-Ivy selections in 2017, including Alex Condon who earned Ivy League Midfielder of the Year honors. Condon would also earn second-team All-American honors, joined by Katy Junior who was a third-team All-American.
The 2016 season saw Corbett and the Quakers return to the NCAA Quarterfinals -- playing a program record 20 games and compiling a 15-5 record. Corbett won her ninth Ivy League title with a 6-1 record inside the Ancient Eight, and her team defeated four Top-20 teams. Corbett has redefined the Red and Blue, building a team that can score and defend, At the conclusion of the 2016 season, Corbett saw attacker Nina Corcoran named Ivy League Attacker of the Year following a season where she set both Penn and Ivy League records in assists for a season and a career. Three of Penn's attackers were named first-team All-Ivy, while the Quakers continued to be among the Top-15 in terms of scoring defense.
In 2015, Corbett guided the Quakers to a 14-5 overall record and a ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Quakers won a game in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in those nine years, defeating Albany in overtime, 11-10.
The Red and Blue had one of their finest offensive seasons in program history in 2015, scoring 199 goals which ranked fourth all-time at Penn at the end of the season. Tory Bensen became the program’s first Ivy League Attacker of the Year, scoring 58 goals which tied the single-season Penn record. Bensen was named second-team All-American, one of three Penn players named All-American -- the second-most in a single season under Corbett.
Defensively, Meg Markham repeated as a first-team All-American and as Ivy League Defender of the Year -- just the second Quaker in program history to repeat as a first-team All-American and the first to repeat as an Ivy League yearly award winner. Lucy Ferguson was named first-team All-Ivy at goalkeeper for the third consecutive season and earned her first career All-American honor with a second team selection.
The 2014 season saw Corbett's Quakers do something no Ivy League women's lacrosse program had ever done -- win an eighth consecutive Ivy League championship. The Quakers went 6-1 in Ancient Eight play, never allowing more than nine goals in a game, to share the League crown and set a new record for conference supremacy in the process. Corbett placed seven of her players on the All-Ivy team, including her first Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year in Meg Markham. The Quakers would play in 18 games during 2014 -- the third most by any Penn team -- and win 13 of them -- fifth-most in school history. In early May, the Quakers made some more history, winning their third Ivy League Tournament championship and first away from Philadelphia with a win over host Princeton in the championship game. That win secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, making it eight consecutive years with a national tournament appearance for the Quakers.
In 2013, Corbett guided her team to a seventh consecutive Ivy League championship with her fifth undefeated Ivy League slate since 2007. The seven consecutive conference championships was the current longest streak of regular season championships in NCAA Division I and are the most ever by any Penn women's program. Success in clutch situations was the hallmark of Corbett's Quakers in 2013, the Red and Blue setting a program record with a 4-0 mark in overtime games. Three Penn players were named unanimous first-team All-Ivy, including Shannon Mangini who earned the first-ever Ivy League Midfielder of the Year award.
2012 saw Corbett add her sixth Ivy title in dramatic fashion with a win at Princeton to claim outright possession of the Ancient Eight crown negate any thoughts of a five-way share. Corbett graduated the program's second-leading all-time scorer, Erin Brennan, who totaled 213 points over her four seasons. The Red and Blue were an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history.
In 2010, Corbett made history when Penn won the first Ivy League Tournament. In the process, the Red and Blue earned their fourth automatic berth to the NCAA Championships in a row. In the NCAAs, Corbett's team won its first round game once again before falling in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Maryland. During the 2010 season, Penn set a record for goals scored in a season with 223. In fact, from 2007-10, Corbett helped Penn shatter virtually every program record on the books, including wins in a season (17), consecutive wins (15), highest national ranking (1) and goals in a season (223).
The 2010 campaign saw one of Corbett's players re-write the record books as Ali DeLuca became Penn's first Tewaaraton Award finalist. DeLuca became Penn's all-time leading goal scorer with 148 career tallies and set a season-record for points with 76. DeLuca was named unanimous Ivy Player of the Year, the third in Corbett's tenure in West Philadelphia.
From 2007-09, Corbett and the Quakers announced their presence on the national stage with three consecutive appearances in the national semifinals. Named the 2007 National Coach of the Year by multiple organizations, Corbett led the Quakers to an unforgettable '07 season that saw Penn win its first Ivy League title since 1982 -- and the program's first-ever outright crown. The Red and Blue would win two games in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to play in the NCAA semifinals for the first time ever -- a game held at Franklin Field.
Corbett followed 2007 with another outright Ivy title and trip to the NCAA tournament in 2008, this time advancing to the program's first championship game where Penn was edged by Northwestern, 10-6. During the 2008 season, the Quakers won a program-best 15 consecutive games, including a win over No. 1 Northwestern at Franklin Field which vaulted the Red and Blue to No. 1 for the first time.
In 2009, Corbett again had her team in the national semifinals, where the Red and Blue came one goal short in a double-overtime classic against top-seeded Northwestern after rallying from four goals down in the final seven minutes. The Quakers won their first 13 games of the season, extending their regular-season win streak to 25 before a loss to the Wildcats in Evanston.
The 2006 season was a precursor to success as she led the Quakers to a 10-6 record, the program's first 10-win season since 1982. Penn beat three teams ranked in the national top-20 and finished the season ranked 20th in the IWLCA poll for the first time since 1996. Five members of her team were named All-Ivy while four were tabbed as All-Region.
The 2004-05 seasons saw Corbett's team post back-to-back winning records, the first time Penn accomplished that feat since 1984-85. The 9-7 mark for the 2004 squad was the first winning season for Penn since 1994, and the 4-3 mark in Ivy play put Penn above .500 in Ancient Eight competition for the first time since 1988.
Prior to coming to Penn, Corbett was an assistant coach at Princeton University from 1996-98 where she was instrumental in all aspects of the Tigers' nationally-ranked lacrosse program, with a particular emphasis on recruiting. She organized clinics for high schoolers and was the assistant director of both the Princeton Tiger Camp and the Princeton Elite Camp.
Corbett began her coaching career as an assistant at Rutgers University, before serving as an assistant at Villanova University for a year. She then moved on to her alma mater, where she was an assistant field hockey coach. After a successful year at William & Mary, Corbett took the head lacrosse job at Drew University. She led Drew to a pair of conference championships in her two years, and was active in organizing clinics and winter leagues.
As an undergraduate at William & Mary, Corbett captained both the field hockey and lacrosse teams as a senior in 1992. She earned first-team All-America honors and was named Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year in lacrosse as a senior, and was a Regional All-American in field hockey in the fall of 1991.
In the summer of 1991, Corbett was a member of the Under-23 National Lacrosse team which faced Great Britain. Following her college career, Corbett was a member of the United States Women's Lacrosse team from 1993-96.
Corbett was the IWLCA All-America committee chair from 2006-08 and has served as a board member of the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association. She was also the director for the Lawrenceville Girls Lacrosse Camp, the USA Lacrosse Camp and the "Shoot to Score" Lacrosse Camp. In 2004, she was inducted into the US Lacrosse New Jersey Chapter Hall of Fame, and in 2005 she was inducted into the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame.
Corbett married William Corbett in December 2009; the couple resides in West Chester, Pa., with their son, Dylan.
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