Jane Karger was hired as the 10th head coach of the Drew women's lacrosse program in July of 2015. She has led the Rangers to a successful four-year run that has included four consecutive appearances in the Landmark Conference Championships and two ECAC Division III tournament berths. In addition, she has coached 12 student-athletes to 16 All-Landmark Conference honors, including two conference rookies of the year. In addition, two Rangers have combined to receive three IWLCA All-Region status under her direction.
Under Karger, Drew recorded one of its most successful seasons in recent history in 2019. The Rangers posted the second-best start in program history, opening the year with 12 straight victories. The team would go on to post its first two postseason victories in five years, defeating Neumann and Marymount to reach the final of the ECAC Division III Championships. The Blue and Green finished the year with a record of 16-5, tying the program record for victories in a season. The team made its mark as a powerful offensive unit, breaking the school record for goals with 307 tallies.
Karger's teams have consistently finished among the statistical leaders in the Landmark Conference and in 2019, the Rangers led the conference in save percentage (50.9). In 2018, the Rangers were second in both ground balls per game (21.53) and caused turnovers per game (11.35).
Drew is providing Karger with her first head coaching opportunity after a successful Division I playing career, followed by high-profile assistant coaching stints at Division I programs University of Connecticut and Princeton University. From 2012-14, she served as the First Assistant Coach at UConn under Head Coach Katie Woods, a 2001 graduate of Drew University and 2012 inductee to the Drew Athletics Hall of Fame. Most recently, Karger was an assistant coach at Princeton University for one season and aided in the daily operation of a national top 15 lacrosse program.
"I am honored and grateful to be named the next head coach of Drew women's lacrosse," Karger said. "I want to thank
Jason Fein,
Christa Racine, and the entire search committee for the opportunity and everything they have done for me thus far. I look forward to getting started and building on the success and history of the program."
A 2008 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland, Karger received a bachelor of arts in German and stood out as a goalkeeper and captain for the Mountaineers. As a player, she was named to the NEC All-Tournament Team and the Division I North/South All-Star Game in 2008, and was a three-time selection to the NEC Academic Honor Roll. She began her collegiate coaching career at her alma mater in 2008 as an assistant coach, where she increased her knowledge of the game and established her coaching philosophy. Karger continued her coaching career at the Division III level as an assistant at Connecticut College from 2010-11.
"We are delighted to welcome Jane to the Drew coaching staff," Fein said. "Her experience and enthusiasm make her a perfect fit for our program and our student-athletes. We are looking forward to building on a historically successful program and to everything the future brings under Jane's direction."
Karger returned to Division I as the assistant coach at Central Connecticut State University from 2011-12, when she trained and developed the 2012 NEC Goalkeeper of the Year and two NEC First Team selections. In the spring of 2012, she joined Woods at UConn and was part of a historic coaching staff. Karger helped guide the Huskies to their first-ever Big East Conference Tournament and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2013, and followed it up with the best regular season conference finish in 2014. She was responsible for developing and coaching a two-time All-Big East and NCAA Division I All-Northeast Region goalkeeper in 2013 and 2014.
She continued to expand her coaching and administrative duties as a member of the Princeton University coaching staff and as an administrative coordinator at Ultimate Lacrosse Club simultaneously in 2014. Karger has been at the forefront of recruiting top talent across multiple divisions of the NCAA, and was paramount in creating high-intensity training programs for goalkeepers and defensive skill development in elite programs.
Outside of the collegiate coaching scene, Karger has been a camp counselor for girls lacrosse since 2005 and has coached girls lacrosse clubs for the past 11 years.
Karger earned a master of arts in educational psychology from University of Connecticut in 2014. She began graduate work at Mount St. Mary's in 2008, when she worked as a graduate assistant in the Department of Learning Services.
