FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brawn Coached at Division I Colgate for 29 Years.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – When Le Moyne Director of Athletics Bob Beretta and his staff began the search for the school's next women's soccer head coach, they set out to find a proven winner experienced in building a championship-quality program.
That goal was attained on Thursday as Beretta named Kathy Brawn as the next leader of the Dolphins' program.
Brawn, who brings a wealth of head coaching expertise at the Division I level to her new post at Le Moyne, is credited with having built Colgate into one of the premier women's soccer programs in the Northeast.
In 29 years at the helm of the Raiders from 1991 through 2019, Brawn authored an overall coaching record of 312-196-54, which translates to a winning percentage of .603. During that time, she led Colgate to a 134-50-20 (.706) Patriot League record, guiding the Raiders to 11 Patriot League championships, three ECAC championships, and six NCAA Tournament appearances. She led the Raiders to Patriot League titles in eight of her first nine years, including six consecutively from 1994 to 1999 and failed to miss postseason play only twice in her near-three-decade tenure.
"We couldn't be more excited to introduce Kathy Brawn as the next head coach of our women's soccer program," Beretta stated. "The Search Committee worked diligently to identify the perfect fit for our program and we found that match with Coach Brawn.
"Kathy has experienced tremendous success as a head coach at the Division I level. She has demonstrated the ability to build and sustain a championship level program, and possesses the personal qualities necessary both on and off 'the pitch' to succeed here on 'The Heights.' We are confident Kathy will have an immediate impact on our young ladies and build our program into a consistent contender for Northeast 10 Conference championships."
Brawn arrives at Le Moyne having spent this past season as an assistant coach at Hamilton College after serving a brief stint as the interim head coach at Mount Holyoke.
"I would like to thank President LeMura and Director of Athletics, Bob Beretta for bringing me to The Heights.," said Brawn. "I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to join the Le Moyne College community and lead the Dolphins' women's soccer program. Thanks too, to Assistant AD, Liza Hillegas, the search committee, faculty, administrators, coaches and student-athletes for making me feel welcome throughout the process.
"I am especially looking forward to working with our players as we aspire to and achieve great success in the classroom, on the soccer field, and beyond," added Brawn. "I cannot wait to begin."
A three-time Patriot League Coach of the Year honoree, Brawn was cited as the league's top head coach in 1993, 1994 and 2014. She was also named the Northeast Region Coach of the Year by the NSCAA on two occasions (1994, 2004) and received the same honor from socccerbuzz.com in 2004.
Upon reaching the 300-win plateau in 2018, Brawn was among the top 30 active winningest Division I women's soccer coaches in the country. The native of Franklin Lakes, N.J., not only tops the Patriot League's all-time conference list for victories but also the league's career winning percentage for a minimum of five years in the league.
During her time in Hamilton, N.Y., Brawn coached eight Patriot League Rookies of the Year, 15 Offensive, Midfielder and Defensive Players of the Year, one Goalkeeper of the Year, 137 All-Patriot League selections, 31 NSCAA and United Soccer Coaches All-Region picks, five All-Americans and one two-time All-American. Additionally, five of her Colgate players earned Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards for the sport of women's soccer and seven were named to the Patriot League's 25th Anniversary team.
Brawn's classroom achievements prove her value reaches far beyond wins and losses. The head coach's emphasis on the "student" end of student-athlete is evidenced by the 181 players she coached who have been named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. In fact, all 29 of her Colgate squads posted cumulative team grade point averages of at least 3.1. Twice during her time heading the Raider program, a women's soccer student-athlete earned Colgate's 1819 award, the institution's highest honor for a graduating senior.
In recognition of her commitment to excellence both on and off the field, Colgate has bestowed on Brawn the Howard Hartman Award as Colgate Athletics Coach of the Year in 1993, 1999, 2004 and 2009.
The Raiders were unbeaten and untied in the league in the 1996 and 1997 seasons. The 1996 team, regarded as the best in Colgate history, posted a 19-2 mark and won both the Patriot League and ECAC titles in dominant fashion. The only two losses that season came at the hands of nationally-ranked Connecticut and Virginia. From 1997 to 1999, Colgate posted a 22-2 record in the Patriot League, winning the conference title each year and advancing to the NCAA tournament.
In the 1997 NCAA Tournament, the Raiders fell 4-1 to Hartford. One year later, Colgate hosted the first NCAA Tournament game played on Colgate's Van Doren Field in a 4-1 loss to Syracuse. The Raiders appeared in the tournament again the following season, drawing Dartmouth in the first round. Despite the 3-0 loss to the Big Green, Colgate had become a familiar face in the national tournament picture.
The Raiders were successful in regaining the Patriot League crown in 2004, marking the 10th title in program history. The title resulted in yet another invitation to the NCAA Tournament, where Colgate upset 13th-seeded Arizona in the first round. The 1-0 shutout victory ranked as the first NCAA Tournament win by a Colgate women's team and first in Patriot League history.
Colgate returned to the Patriot League title game in 2009 and earned its 11th conference tournament championship to complement a regular season Patriot League title. The win gave the Raiders their fifth bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they faced No. 20 Penn State. Freshman goalkeeper Ashley Walsh earned the Patriot League's Rookie of the Year award, marking the first major award for Colgate since Jessica Bitsack won the same honor back in 2006.
Brawn led the 2011 team to yet another Patriot League regular season title with a 4-1-2 league mark. The Raiders saw four players named to All-Patriot League teams that year, including the Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year, as well as an Academic All-Patriot League Team and an NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Second Team selection.
In 2018, Brawn led Colgate to its best season in four years with an 11-4-3 overall record. The Raiders finished league play at 7-1-1 and earned the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament behind a program-record tying 11 shutouts. Brawn orchestrated the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year, Midfielder of the Year and an Academic All-Patriot League honoree in the stellar season for the Raiders.
Brawn's scholastic coaching career began in 1984, when she guided the junior varsity team at Paramus (N.J.) Catholic High School. After three seasons at Paramus Catholic, she moved on to the collegiate coaching scene as an assistant at Yale. After one season at Yale, Brawn went back to the high school ranks for a year before heading to Princeton as an assistant in 1989. She followed Princeton with a year at Cornell. Both Cornell and Princeton were ranked in the top 20 nationally during her one-year stints.
Brawn earned a USSF "A" license in 1995 and has served as an Olympic Development coach in both New York and New Jersey. She has always been committed to giving back to the soccer community, organizing camps and clinics since 1978. In 1981, Brawn founded and directed the Franklin Lakes Soccer Camps in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. At Colgate, she began the Colgate Soccer Fit Academy.
In the spring of 2000, Brawn represented Colgate as a speaker on the coaches panel as well as serving as a facilitator at the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference. Brawn was extremely active in shaping the academic and athletic landscape at Colgate as well. She served on the Academic Affairs Board and was the chair of the Admissions Liaison Committee. She is also one of the founders of P.L.A.Y. (Promoting Life-long Activity for Youth) in Hamilton.
Formerly a member of the NCAA Tournament Regional Selection Committee, Brawn also has served as vice president representing all women's programs on the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America Executive Board. She has been involved in the ISAA regional and national rankings as well as a member of the coaching staff at the NCAA's YESClinic in 1994, 1997 and 1998.
Brawn is also no stranger to being involved with the campus community, as she served on the Colgate Division of Physical Education, Recreation & Athletics Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, as well as serving on the Colgate University Academic Affairs Board twice during her 29-year tenure in Hamilton. Brawn was also an instructor in Physical Education at the University for four years, and chaired both the Admissions Advisory Committee and the Drug and Alcohol Education Committee on campus.
Over the years, she has served as a volunteer for the Hamilton Food Cupboard, Adopt a Classroom Program and most recently the Sherburne-Earlville School District, providing course work in Core Values development, and Diversity & Inclusion training.
Brawn holds a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Sociology from Ramapo College. She becomes the eighth head coach in Le Moyne women's soccer program history.
-Release provided by Le Moyne athletic communications-
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