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Kara Reber
Kara Reber is the only women’s lacrosse head coach that Florida Southern College has ever known, joining the program at its inception in 2011. In 13 years, Reber has won an NCAA Division II national title (2016), twice finished as the national runner-up (2017 & 2018) and has finished as national semifinalists (2023), while compiling an overall record of 200-43 at the helm of the Moccasins.
In just over a decade, Reber has thrust Florida Southern into women’s lacrosse royalty. After guiding the Moccasins to the first national championship outside the states of Massachusetts, New York or Pennsylvania to win an NCAA Division II women's lacrosse championship in 2016, in just the fifth year of existence, she guided the program to back-to-back national runners-up bids in 2017 and 2018. In the 2017 run, the Mocs won 18-straight games en route to the national title game.
The 2016 championship marked Florida Southern as the first team from outside the states of Massachusetts, New York or Pennsylvania to win an NCAA Division II women's lacrosse championship. Florida Southern finished the season on a 14-game winning streak, and Reber was tabbed as the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year by Inside Lacrosse and the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).
At Florida Southern, Reber has coached six National Player or Positional Player of the – Katie Hammerer (2013 and 2014 C. Markland Kelly Award [Goalie of the Year]), Emily Santoli (2016 and 2017 Midfielder of the Year), Meghan O’Brien (2018 National Player of the Year and Attacker of the Year), Sam Keesey (2019 Defender of the Year), Gina Verrone (2023 Defender of the Year), Jackie Stoller (2024 Attacker of the Year) – IWLCA Year while five have been named the Sunshine State Conference Player / Positional Player of the Year or Freshman of the Year – Ashley Seborowski (2015 Freshman of the Year), Emily Santoli (2017 Player of the Year), Patricia Werker (2019 Freshman of the Year), Marina Jozokos (2021 Player of the Year), and Jackie Stoller (2023 Player of the Year, 2024 Attack Player of the Year).
In 13 seasons with the Mocs, Reber has led the team to 11 10-plus win seasons including a pair of 21 win seasons in 2017 and 2018. Under Reber’s guidance, the Moccasins have posted a 124-22 record at home while owning a 76-21 record in road games (62-13 in true road games, 14-8 in neutral games). She has guided the team to a 45-6 record in league games while capturing the Sunshine State Conference title 11 times since the league awarded champions in 2015.
The Moccasins won the first five regular season championship titles (2015-2019) and tacked on two more in 2021 and 2024 while the Red & White won the tournament four times, including a three-peat between 2016-2018. The program defeated Tampa in Tampa, Fla. in 2022 to capture the program’s overall then-10th title. In eight years of SSC tournament play (2020 and 2021 canceled due to COVID19 Pandemic), the Moccasins have played in every championship game while advancing to the NCAA tournament in eight seasons.
Her teams have also been highly successful off the field, as the Moccasins have been named the IWLCA Team-All Academic Squad 12 times with a streak of eight straight going from 2012 to 2019. The Mocs have been awarded the IWLCA Community Awareness Award twice (2012 and 2015), and have had at least 15 players earn a spot on the SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll each year since 2012.
Milestone Wins
200th - In 2024, Reber led the Mocs to the program’s 200th career win which came in the team’s third-straight NCAA Division II Tournament birth, eighth overall. Florida Southern topped no. 9 Flagler 16-15 in overtime in the NCAA First Round to mark the 200th win.
100th - In 2018, Reber led Florida Southern to the program’s 100th win as the Moccasins defeated no. 1 Adelphi 17-16
1st - In 2012, Florida Southern won its very first game as a program 18-16 against Lindenwood on Feb. 19 at Thomas Bryant Stadium, where Alexa Caffrey scored the first goal in program history at the 24:52 mark in the first half.
Prior to being named the head coach at Florida Southern, Reber spent two seasons at St. Mary's College in Maryland, where she compiled a record of 21-14 and led the Seahawks to the Capital Athletic Conference semifinals in both seasons. At St. Mary's, Reber coached one all-American, seven all-region, and 11 all-conference players, including the CAC Player of the Year (2009) and Rookie of the Year (2010).
Reber's 2010 team at St. Mary's earned the NCAA Division III Community Service Award for their various community service projects.
Before her stint at St. Mary's, Reber spent five seasons as the head coach at Lycoming College in Pennsylvania, where she led the Warriors to an overall record of 47-34, including a pair of 14-win seasons in 2006 and 2007. She was named Middle Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year in 2006 after leading her team to a 14-4 record - nine more wins than the previous season. At Lycoming, Reber coached two all-America selections, 10 all-region, and 12 all-conference honorees.
She also saw her 2008 squad earn the NCAA Division III Community Service Award for raising more than 6,000 to benefit breast cancer research.
A 1999 graduate of Bowling Green State University, Reber was a two-sport athlete for the Falcons, playing both soccer and ice hockey. She holds a degree in sports management from BGSU, and a second bachelor's degree in physical education from SUNY Brockport. Reber added a Masters in Sport Administration from Arkansas State University in 2019. A native of Pittsford, NY, Reber began her coaching career at the high school ranks at Newark High School in Newark, NY.
Reber and her husband, Matthew, reside in Lakeland with their four daughters: Eve, Kylie, Kendall and Kenzie.
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