When Karen Townsend left Drew, the triple-threat athlete was the lacrosse career leader in points, goals and assists and still held the record for points with 360. For this and more, she was named the 2000 Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Midfielder of the Year.
But Karen’s love of the game began long before then. As a small child, Karen’s dad encouraged her participation in a variety of sports. By high school, she’d narrowed it down to three—soccer, basketball and lacrosse—which she played throughout her time at Collingswood High School in Collingswood, N.J., a school well known for its athletic success, especially in basketball. Karen played point guard, holding a 1,000-point record when she set her sights on college. She wanted to find a school where she could continue playing her three sports, and she found she could at Drew.
Once in the Forest, the priority shifted from basketball—which she played her first two years, averaging eight points per game her sophomore year—to lacrosse, where she felt she could make more of an impact. And make an impact she did.
At the time of her induction, Karen held records for most points in a season with 119 and was tied for most points in a game with 11. She owned the record for most caused turnovers in a season with 45. On goals, she had the third, fourth and 12th most in a season, ranked second all-time with 235 and boasted a career record of 3.34 goals per game. With 51 assists, she left Drew the record holder and ranked second at the time of her induction. She was a four-time MAC champion and All-Conference selection and a three-time IWLCA National All-American. Karen was 1999 ECAC Tournament Champion, 2000 MAC Most Valuable Player and 2000 Verizon National Academic All-American, in addition to her 2000 IWLCA Midfielder of the Year award.
All the while, Karen played soccer, too, ranking 10th all-time in assists with 12 and scoring 14 goals in her career at midfield. She was a two-time All-Conference selection and, in 1999, was both a MAC All-American Team member and All-Region selection.
