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.

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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 (age 59)[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	117	(56)
Managerial career
1987	Westmont College
1988–	Harvard (assistant)
1993–	Navy
Medal record Women's football (soccer) Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Team competition FIFA Women's World Cup 1991 China Team competition 1995 Sweden Team competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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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.

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]

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.^[13]

In 2000, Gabarra was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.^[14] In 2003, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

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.

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

• National Soccer Hall of Fame
• U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
• American Youth Soccer Organization Hall of Fame