Carin Jennings-Gabarra

Carin Leslie Jennings-Gabarra (née Jennings; born January 9, 1965) is an American retired soccer forward. She earned 117 caps with the United States women's national soccer team from 1987 to 1996 and was awarded the Golden Ball Award as the best player at the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup. In 2000, she was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. She currently coaches women's soccer at the United States Naval Academy.

Carin Jennings-Gabarra
Personal information
Full name Carin Leslie Jennings-Gabarra[1]
Birth name Carin Leslie Jennings[2]
Date of birth (1965-01-09) January 9, 1965[1]
Place of birth East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1980–1983 Palos Verdes High School
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1986 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 79 (102)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Southern California Ajax
International career
1987–1996 United States 119 (56)
Managerial career
1987 Westmont College
1988– Harvard (assistant)
1993– Navy
Medal record
Women's football (soccer)
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Team competition
FIFA Women's World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1991 China Team competition
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Sweden Team competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life and education

While born in East Orange, New Jersey, Jennings-Gabarra grew up in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, where she attended Palos Verdes High School from 1980 to 1983. During her four seasons playing high school soccer, she scored 226 goals and was a four-time High School All-American and a three-time California Most Valuable Player.

After high school, Jennings-Gabarra attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where she played on the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's soccer team from 1983 through 1986. In 1984, Jennings-Gabarra set the NCAA Division I women's soccer single-season records for goals (34), goals per game (1.55), points (80), and points per game (3.64).[3]

She finished her college career holding numerous NCAA Division I women's soccer records including 102 goals scored, 1.29 goals per game, 60 assists, 0.76 assists per game, 264 points, and 3.34 points per game.[4]

She was named as a second-team All-American in 1984 and 1985 and a third-team All-American in 1987. Archived November 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine She graduated from UCSB in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in business management. Gabarra was named the school’s Athlete of the Decade[1] and in 1991 the university inducted Gabarra into its Hall of Fame.

In 2000, Soccer America selected Jennings-Gabarra to its College Team of the Century.

Playing career

Club

Jennings-Gabarra played with The Los Angeles Blues (now the Southern California Blues) and later with Southern California Ajax of Manhattan Beach, California. In 1992 and 1993, Ajax won the USASA National Amateur Cup. Jennings and defender Joy Biefeld-Fawcett both were members of the Manhattan Beach club women's soccer team Ajax in the late 1980s and early 1990s and routinely played at Columbia Park in Torrance, California.[5] In 1991, Ajax won the U.S. women's amateur championship.[5]

In 1993, Los Angeles United of the Continental Indoor Soccer League drafted Jennings-Gabarra.[6]

International

Jennings-Gabarra’s fame rests on her achievements with the United States women's national soccer team. During her ten-year career, spanning 1987 to 1996, she earned 117 caps and scored 53 goals.[7][8]

1991 World Cup

During the early 1990s, Jennings-Gabarra was part of the national team's "Triple-Edged Sword". The term, coined by the Chinese media during the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, included two other prolific scorers, April Heinrichs and Michelle Akers. Of those three players, Akers scored ten goals at the World Cup to claim the Golden Boot, while Jennings-Gabarra added six as the tournament's second leading scorer. Jennings helped the U.S. national team win the first women's World Cup.[5] She was also selected as the Golden Ball Award winner as the tournament’s top player.

1995 World Cup

In 1995, Jennings-Gabarra and her teammates came up short in the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, losing to Norway in the semifinals. Gabarra with her team finished third in Sweden 1995, with a 2–0 win over China in the third-place playoff match.

1996 Olympics

In 1996, the U.S. won the first women’s Olympic soccer tournament. Following the tournament, she retired from playing international soccer.

Matches and goals scored at World Cup and Olympic tournaments

Carin Jennings-Gabarra competed in Atlanta 1996 Olympics, China 1991 and Sweden 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments; played 16 matches and scored 6 goals at those 3 global tournaments. Jennings-Gabarra with her teams won a gold medal at Atlanta, finished first at China 1991 and third at Sweden 1995.

Key (expand for notes on "world cup and olympic goals")
Location Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred
Lineup Start – played entire match
on minute (off player) – substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time

off minute (on player) – substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time
(c) – captain

Min The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal.
Assist/pass The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information.
penalty or pk Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.)
Score The match score after the goal was scored.
Result The final score.

W – match was won
L – match was lost to opponent
D – match was drawn
(W) – penalty-shoot-out was won after a drawn match
(L) – penalty-shoot-out was lost after a drawn match

aet The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation
pso Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parentheses; the match was tied at the end of extra-time
Orange background color – Olympic women's football tournament
Blue background color – FIFA women's world cup final tournament
Goal Match Date Location Opponent Lineup Min Score Result Competition
China 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup
1
 1 1991-11-17[m 1] Panyu  Sweden Start 40 1–0

3–2 W

 Group match
2
 49 2–0
3
2
 1991-11-19[m 2] Panyu  Brazil Start 38 3–0

5–0 W

 Group match
3
 1991-11-21[m 3] Foshan  Japan {{{4}}}.

off 41' (on Hamm)

3–0 W

 Group match
4
 1991-11-24[m 4] Foshan  Chinese Taipei Start

7–0 W

 Quarter-final
4
 5 1991-11-27[m 5] Guangzhou  Germany Start 10 1–0

5–2 W

 Semifinal
5
 22 2–0
6
 33 3–0
6
 1991-11-30[m 6] Guangzhou  Norway Start

2–1 W

 Final
Sweden 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup
7
 1995-06-06[m 7] Gävle  China Start

3–3 D

 Group match
8
 1995-06-08[m 8] Gävle  Denmark {{{4}}}.

off 85' (on Rafanelli)

2–0 W

 Group match
9
 1995-06-10[m 9] Helsingborg  Australia {{{4}}}.

on 45' (off Manthei)

4–1 W

 Group match
10
 1995-06-13[m 10] Gävle  Japan Start

4–0 W

 Quarter-final
11
 1995-06-15[m 11] Västerås  Norway Start

0–1 L

 Semifinal
12
 1995-06-17[m 12] Gävle  China {{{4}}}.

off 80' (on Rafanelli)

2–0 W

 Third place match
United States Atlanta 1996 Olympic Women's Football Tournament
13
 1996-07-21[m 13] Orlando, FL  Denmark {{{4}}}.

on 75' (off Hamm)

3–0 W

 Group stage
14
 1996-07-23[m 14] Orlando, FL  Sweden {{{4}}}.

on 85' (off Hamm)

2–1 W

 Group stage
15
 1996-07-25[m 15] Miami, FL  China {{{4}}}.

on 30' (off Milbrett)

0–0 D

 Group stage
16
 1996-08-01[m 16] Athens, GA  China {{{4}}}.

on 89' (off Hamm)

2–1 W

 Gold medal match

International goals
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.18 April 1991Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti Mexico11–012–01991 CONCACAF Women's Championship
2.22 April 1991 Trinidad and Tobago?–010–0
3.?–0
4.25 April 1991 Haiti?–010–0
5.?–0
6.17 November 1991Ying Tung Stadium, Guangzhou, China Sweden1–03–21991 FIFA Women's World Cup
7.2–0
8.19 November 1991 Brazil3–05–0
9.27 November 1991Guangdong Provincial Stadium, Guangzhou, China Germany1–05–2
10.2–0
11.3–0

Playing style

"Her greatest quality is that she can beat defenses on her own. She is creative and has great athletic ability and agility. She has great speed, can change direction quickly and still keep control of the ball."

— Anson Dorrance, 1991 [9]

Jennings-Gabarra is renowned for her remarkable ball control, imagination, dribbling skills and feints on the wing, as well as her ability to create chances out of nothing. Her distinctive gait earned her the sobriquets "Crazy Legs" and "Gumby".[10][11]

Also an effective goalscorer, she struck a 23-minute hat-trick against Germany to put the United States 3–0 ahead in the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup semi-final. The Los Angeles Times reported that "Carin Jennings, the ponytailed winger from Palos Verdes, tore the Germans to shreds". In 1999 Assistant coach Lauren Gregg hailed Jennings-Gabarra's performance against Germany as the single greatest ever by an American player.[12]

Jennings-Gabarra epitomizes the speed, fitness, and mental strength that coach Anson Dorrance demanded of his players. "Before every game, Anson would challenge us, asking us which of us was going to make the difference. I always wanted to be that player." Teammates saw Jennings-Gabarra as setting the standard for the group.[10]

Coaching career

Gabarra began coaching following her graduation from UCSB in 1987. That year, Westmont College, located in Santa Barbara, California, hired her as its women’s soccer coach. After one season, she moved to Harvard, where she was an assistant coach. In 1993, the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland, hired Gabarra as its women’s soccer coach. At the time the women’s team competed at the club level. She developed it into a competitive Division I NCAA team.

In 2000, Gabarra was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. In 2003, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

Personal life

In 1992, Gabarra married U.S. men’s national team player Jim Gabarra. They have two daughters and one son. Gabarra is a member of the U.S. Soccer Athlete Advisory Council, the U.S. Olympic Committee Athlete Advisory Council and the Maryland Physical Fitness Council.

Honors

World Cup Winner

  • 1991

Olympic Gold Medal

  • 1996

US National Amateur Cup

  • 1992, 1993

California Prep MVP

  • 1981, 1982, 1983

High School All American

  • 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983

NCAA Division I All American

  • 1984, 1985, 1986

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball

  • 1991

US Soccer Athlete of the Year

  • 1987, 1992

U.S. Olympic Player of the Year

  • 1987, 1992

National Soccer Medal of Honor

  • 2001

Hall of Fame

References
  1. "Supersport: Carin Gabarra". Ukiah Daily Journal. Ukiah, California. December 11, 1994. Retrieved February 12, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. "Area students on honor list at UC Santa Barbara". News-Pilot. Vol. 59, no. 132. San Pedro, California. August 6, 1986. p. A5. Retrieved August 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Division I Women's Soccer Records: Season Records" (PDF). fs.ncaa.org. 2015. p. 4. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  4. "Division I Women's Soccer Records: Season Records" (PDF). fs.ncaa.org. 2015. pp. 6–8. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  5. Murashko, Alex (January 31, 1993). "Women's Soccer Teams at Home in South Bay. Club sports: Although fan interest remains low, participation remains high". Los Angeles Times. p. 20. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  6. Cox, Bob (June 11, 1993). "United they stand - Indoor soccer team features both Mr. and Mrs. Gabarra". News-Pilot. San Pedro, California. Retrieved April 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "National Soccer Hall of Fame Player Bios". United States Soccer Federation. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  8. "Carin Jennings Gabarra". ussoccerhistory.org. June 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  9. Plank, Duane (December 27, 1991). "Taking Her Place Among the Best : Soccer: Former Palos Verdes High player Carin Jennings is named most valuable player at World Cup tournament in China". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  10. Mahoney, Ridge (April 30, 1998). "Gabarra bids goodbye". Soccer America. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  11. Jones, Grahame L (October 30, 2000). "A Top Woman Player Makes Hall of Fame". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  12. Jones, Grahame L (July 1, 1999). "U.S. Left Germany Aching in '91". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
Match Reports
  1. "FIFA Women's World Cup China 1991: Match Report: Sweden – USA". FIFA. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013.
  2. "FIFA Women's World Cup China 1991: Match Report: Brazil – USA". FIFA. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013.
  3. "FIFA Women's World Cup China 1991: Match Report: Japan – USA". FIFA. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013.
  4. "FIFA Women's World Cup China 1991: Match Report: USA – Taipei". FIFA. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013.
  5. "FIFA Women's World Cup China 1991: Match Report: Germany – USA". FIFA. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013.
  6. "FIFA Women's World Cup China 1991: Match Report: Norway – USA". FIFA. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013.
  7. "FIFA Women's World Cup Sweden 1995: Match Report: USA – China PR". FIFA. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013.
  8. "FIFA Women's World Cup Sweden 1995: Match Report: USA – Denmark". FIFA. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013.
  9. "FIFA Women's World Cup Sweden 1995: Match Report: USA – Australia". FIFA. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013.
  10. "FIFA Women's World Cup Sweden 1995:: Match Report: Japan – USA". FIFA. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013.
  11. "FIFA Women's World Cup Sweden 1995: Match Report: USA – Norway". FIFA. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013.
  12. "FIFA Women's World Cup Sweden 1995: Match Report: China PR – USA". FIFA. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013.
  13. "Olympic Football Tournaments Atlanta 1996 – Women: Match Report: USA – Denmark". FIFA. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013.
  14. "Olympic Football Tournaments Atlanta 1996 – Women: Match Report: USA – Sweden". FIFA. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013.
  15. "Olympic Football Tournaments Atlanta 1996 – Women: Match Report: USA – China PR". FIFA. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013.
  16. "Olympic Football Tournaments Atlanta 1996 – Women: Match Report: China PR – USA". FIFA. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013.


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