Since day one on the job, VCU Field Hockey Coach Shannon Karl hasstressed a new culture for VCU Field Hockey.
In just one season as head coach it is easy to see VCU FieldHockey’s new culture is here to stay.
Karl helped guide the Rams to the third-best single-seasonturnaround in the country. The Rams’ 13 victories tied forthe second most in school history, and VCU qualified for theAtlantic 10 Tournament in their first season of competition. The13-6 record under Karl and her staff came just one year after VCUfinished 5-13.
Individually, Karl, had six student-athletes honored for A-10post season awards. Senior Kelsey Scherrer and junior StephanieDeMasi garnered first team honors, while senior Arialle Hess wasnamed to the second team. Freshman Kendall Farino was named to theAll-Rookie squad. VCU also placed three athletes on the A-10All-Academic team (DeMasi, Melanie Marotta and Megan Botteri).
The Rams also posted strong semester in the classroom. VCU, whoplayed 14 matches on the road, boasted a semester grade pointaverage of 3.43, and brought their team cumulative GPA to a 3.48.The Rams had 18-of-20 athletes earn Athletic Directors Honor Roll(3.0 or higher), while 10 of those athletes made the Dean's List(3.5 or higher). VCU also had four individuals finish the semesterwith a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Prior to becoming the head coach, Karl spent five seasons as theRams’ assistant coach. Karl was a vital part of bringing insome of the best recruiting classes in VCU history. Those recruitswere a significant part of the 2010 season, which will go down asone of the top years in program history with 13 wins and a berth inthe CAA Tournament.
A native of Centreville, Va., Karl enjoyed an outstanding careeras a midfielder at William & Mary, leading the Tribe to a 47-33record from 2002-05. As a freshman in 2002, Karl was a part of thesecond team in program history to play in the NCAA Tournament. In2004, she helped steer the Green and Gold to a 13-7 mark, includinga perfect 7-0 ledger in CAA play.
Karl ranks fourth in Tribe history in assists with 18, third ingames played with 80 and is second in career starts. In addition,she was selected to the CAA All-Tournament squad in 2004.
In addition to her college exploits, Karl was selected forUnited States Field Hockey Association's (USFHA) A & B Camps in2002-04. Those camps serve as a pipeline to the national team, andher presence at the sessions earned her a spot as an alternate forthe USA Field Hockey U19 and U21 squads in 2004. Karl was alsoselected to the South squad for the NFHCA North-South All-Star Gamein 2005.
She received her bachelor's degree in kinesiology from William& Mary in 2006 and earned The President's Award for Leadershipthe same year. She added her master's in sports administration fromLouisville in May of 2007.
Karl resides in Short Pump with her fiancee, Sean.
