The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) honored 11 women – six of them from Philly – as Trailblazers this past weekend at US Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md. A group plaque, and individual plaques for each Trailblazer, were formally dedicated and the plaques were placed along the walking path that winds around the south end of Bill Tierney Field, which was formally dedicated as “Chris Sailer Trail.” This is one of a series on these legendary Trailblazers.
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 10/27/17
From Press Release and Staff Reports
Former Harvard women’s lacrosse coach Carole Kleinfelder (Archbishop Prendergast, West Chester) was honored as one of 11 former collegiate coaches to celebrate as trailblazers of the game for their exceptional work advancing women’s lacrosse and the coaching profession during the Title IX era. Kleinfelder was officially recognized as an IWLCA Trailblazer last weekend with a plaque along the newly dedicated Chris Sailer Trail.
Kleinfelder guided the Harvard women’s lacrosse program as head coach for 25 seasons from 1979-2003. During that span, the Crimson captured 12 Ivy League championships, including seven straight from 1987-1993, and won the 1990 NCAA title. Kleinfelder coached Harvard to a 260-132-3 overall record and 109-67-1 conference mark, while also helping the Crimson earn 52 All-America selections by 28 players during her impressive tenure.
Kleinfelder’s 1990 NCAA championship team, which posted a perfect 15-0 record, is the only undefeated team in program history, and was the first Harvard women’s team to win an NCAA title. The Crimson defeated Maryland, 8-7, in the championship game.
A two-time National Coach of the Year while at Harvard (1990 and 1992), Kleinfelder designed the first molded stick for women’s lacrosse and coached the U.S. National Team in 1978 and 1979. Prior to her time in Cambridge, Kleinfelder was the president of the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association from 1974-76 and was later inducted to the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame as an athlete in basketball and both a player and coach in lacrosse in 1996.
Kleinfelder picked up lacrosse at West Chester and earned three varsity letters before making the national team and graduating with a degree in physical education in 1965.
Kleinfelder will be one of six to be enshrined in the first class of the IWLCA Hall of Fame on Thursday, November 16 during the IWLCA Induction Ceremony during the IWLCA Annual Meetings at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.