University of Pennsylvania hires Dr. Krissy Turner to lead women’s soccer program

PHILADELPHIA – Dr. Krissy Turner, who has led the Monmouth University women’s soccer program to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular-season championships eight of the past nine seasons, has been named the Douglas N. Brush Head Coach of Women’s Soccer at the University of Pennsylvania. The announcement was made today by Alanna W. Shanahan, the University’s T. Gibbs Kane, Jr. W’69 Director of Athletics and Recreation.

“We are thrilled to announce Dr. Turner as the next head coach of our women’s soccer program,” said Shanahan. “It was clear through the interview process that her passion for leading and developing exceptional student-athletes fit nicely with our values as a department. Krissy has a proven record of success on the field and a commitment to academic excellence off it, and I can’t wait to see that continue with our women’s soccer program.”

Turner has led the Hawks for the past 24 years, winning ten conference regular-season championships and eight conference tournament championships in the Northeast Conference (NEC) and the MAAC. Her teams have advanced to the NCAA College Cup Championship eight times.

Monmouth has dominated the MAAC since joining the league in 2013. Turner’s teams have won the regular season each year except for the COVID-disrupted 2020-21 season, compiling a remarkable 66-5-5 (.921) record in MAAC play during that time. In those 76 matches, 48 have been shutout victories. Her career record at Monmouth is 282-130-43 (.619) that includes a 164-43-20 (.722) mark in conference play.

In 2021, Monmouth recorded a 15-5-1 record that included an 8-1-1 mark in the MAAC, winning the regular season and tournament titles and reaching the NCAA College Cup Championship for the fourth time in five years.

“It is an honor to be named the Douglas N. Brush Head Women’s Soccer Coach at the University of Pennsylvania,” said Turner. “I am grateful to Alanna, Rudy Fuller, Josh LaRosa and the rest of the search committee for entrusting me to lead the women’s soccer program. I am excited to enhance the strong foundation that currently exists and develop a championship culture on and off the field. I accept the challenge of coaching at one of the top institutions in the world and cannot wait to get started.”

A nine-time conference coach of the year, Turner’s teams have posted 15 consecutive winning seasons and 21 overall. She has coached 156 all-conference selections, 31 conference major award winners, and 33 United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Region selections. Her teams have also received NSCAA/USC Team Academic Awards in 23 straight seasons.

Turner previously spent time as the head coach at Lafayette (1996-98) and as an assistant coach at The College of New Jersey (1993-95), helping lead the Lions to two NCAA Division III national championships.

Turner earned her degree in elementary education from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in 1993 and a master’s degree in education from TCNJ in 1995. In 2018, she earned her Ph.D. in psychology from Grand Canyon University.

Turner was a two-year team captain for the Lions, earning All-America honors as a senior and twice receiving All-Northeast Region accolades. She began her career at the University of Rhode Island, where she was named the 1988 URI Rookie of the Year and the 1989 team Most Valuable Player for the Rams.

Turner, who owns a United States Soccer Federation “A” license, has been involved in training youth teams throughout New Jersey for the past 20 years and as an assistant coach and head coach in the New Jersey State Girls Olympic Development Program (ODP) for the past 20 years. As a head coach, Turner guided teams to regional championships eight times, reaching the national final in 2008, 2011 and 2012.

Turner is married to Bob Turner, a former longtime assistant women’s soccer coach at TCNJ. For more on Turner, including quotes from some of the top coaches college soccer, click here.