LIer Kara Mupo named George Mason women's lacrosse coach
Northwestern's Kara Mupo (Rocky Point High School) practices before the NCAA Division I women's lacrosse semifinals at Stony Brook University on May 24, 2012. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Kara Mupo sat down on her couch and felt tears prick her eyes.
The former Rocky Point standout and Stony Brook assistant was named head coach of the women’s lacrosse team at George Mason in Fairfax, Virginia, on Tuesday morning. And, a few hours after the announcement of her first head coaching job, Mupo said she was left with one overwhelming feeling.
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Kara Mupo sat down on her couch and felt tears prick her eyes.
The former Rocky Point standout and Stony Brook assistant was named head coach of the women’s lacrosse team at George Mason in Fairfax, Virginia, on Tuesday morning. And, a few hours after the announcement of her first head coaching job, Mupo said she was left with one overwhelming feeling.
She was grateful.
“Honestly, it was tears of joy,” said Mupo, 27. “I’m so thankful for all the people who have helped me get here. From the minute I started playing lacrosse on Long Island when I was in eighth grade to where I am now, every person has had such a large impact.”
Mupo, an All-Long Island first-team selection in 2010, played four years at Northwestern, leading the Wildcats to back-to-back national championships in 2011 and 2012.
She began her coaching career as an assistant at William & Mary before returning to Long Island as an assistant at Stony Brook in 2018. With the Seawolves, Mupo helped develop one of the country's top offenses, leading the nation in points per game (29.28), scoring margin (+10.80), assists per game (11.23) and shot percentage (.547).
Mupo served as an assistant coach at Stanford in 2019, working under former George Mason coach Amy Bokker. When Bokker was named head coach at Ohio State this past season, Mupo once again joined her staff as an assistant.
Mupo, who has a degree in human development and psychological services and a master’s in sports administration, was also a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, and in 2018 captured the inaugural Women's Professional Lacrosse League championship with the New England Command.
Now, Mupo said she’s ready to take over a program of her own, thrilled that it “kind of brought me back to my days at Rocky Point.”
“It’s a smaller community, everybody’s got a hand in,” Mupo said. “It presents an awesome opportunity to collaborate and really move the needle in the right direction for Mason athletics and the women’s lacrosse program.”