During her 26-year tenure as head coach of the Penn women’s lacrosse team, Karin Brower has coached many players who have earned national accolades. But this year, Anna Brandt W’25 won something that no Quaker had ever won before.
Brandt was named the Midfielder of the Year by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), marking the first time in program history a player earned that honor.
A consensus IWLCA First Team All-American, Brandt led the Quakers in goals (68), points (71), caused turnovers (28), and ground balls (60) this season. She was also named the Ivy League Midfielder of the Year for the second time and a unanimous first team All-Ivy selection for the third time, among several other honors.
For her career, Brandt set Penn’s all-time record for goals (206) and draw controls (214). This year she also tied the program’s single-game goal record (nine) and broke the single-season goals record during Penn’s NCAA quarterfinal matchup at Northwestern. The Quakers lost the game (the second straight year they lost in that round to Northwestern) but Brandt’s five-goal performance prompted a shoutout from Penn President J. Larry Jameson during his Commencement speech. Brandt had helped the Quakers get to that point by scoring three goals apiece in a 16–6 win over Army and a dramatic 11–10 double-overtime win over Maryland in the previous rounds of the 2025 NCAA tourney.
Brandt is only the second player in program history to earn a national position player of the year award. Sarah Waxman C’08 was named the IWLCA Goalkeeper of the Year in 2008.
—DZ
