Former Penn women's lacrosse and field hockey coach Anne Sage has died

Longtime Penn women’s lacrosse and field hockey coach Anne Sage died on Feb. 14. 

Sage was the first ever head coach for both teams at Penn and coached for a total of 50 seasons — leading women’s lacrosse for 26 years and field hockey for 24 years.

Sage was highly successful in both positions, amassing a total of 178 wins in field hockey and 151 in lacrosse. Penn field hockey won seven Ivy League championships under Sage, and advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1988. Penn women’s lacrosse won its first Ivy League championship under Sage in 1982, and made national semifinal appearances in 1980 and 1982 even before the NCAA adopted it as a sport. Sage then made the NCAA Tournament in both 1983 and 1984.

“Anne's legacy has made a lasting impression on Penn Field Hockey,” field hockey coach Colleen Fink said in a statement. “She was a mentor and friend to so many of those that she coached. The time and energy that she dedicated to this program will never be forgotten. We sincerely thank Anne and her family for the mark she left on this community.”

Sage also coached six All-American field hockey players and five Ivy League Players of the Year. In lacrosse, 10 players earned All-American honors and one Ivy League Player of the Year award under her tutelage.

“Anne was a pioneer for the game of women's lacrosse and had some tremendous teams and athletes in her time at Penn,” women's lacrosse coach Karin Corbett said in a statement. “She impacted so many lives and will be greatly missed.”

As an athlete, Sage played for the U.S. National Women’s Lacrosse team for seven years and was a two-time collegiate All-American in lacrosse at Temple. She was inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.

Sage was a trailblazer for women’s sports at Penn, and her impact is still felt in both the women’s lacrosse and field hockey programs today.