.png&width=24&type=webp)
Women's Ice Hockey
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Alma Mater:
- Brown '01
- Phone:
- (609) 258-1557
For recruiting related emails please use: pwihtigers@princeton.edu
Cara Morey completed her eighth year leading the Princeton women's hockey program in 2024-25. Since Morey was announced as head coach on June 12, 2017, the program has won its first ECAC tournament title, won an Ivy League championship, qualified for two NCAA quarterfinals, set the program single-season wins record, and established itself as a regular inclusion in the national rankings.
She has recruited and developed some of the finest women's ice hockey players in program history, including 2022 Olympic gold medalists Sarah Fillier and Claire Thompson. Fillier, the #1 overall draft pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft by New York, and Thompson, selected #3 the same year by Minnesota, have gone on to make an impact in the professional ranks alongside recent Tigers Maggie Connors (Toronto) and Mariah Koepple (Montreal) who were on PWHL rosters in 2024-25.
Through seven seasons of competition, Morey's teams have an 120-82-24 record overall and 79-59-18 in ECAC Hockey. During the 2022-23 season, Morey became the second-winningest coach in program history, behind only the 327 wins over 21 seasons by predecessor Jeff Kampersal '94, under whom she served as an assistant coach for six seasons, and on Jan. 13, 2024, Morey won her 100th game as the team's head coach, defeating Harvard.
This past season, the Tigers reached as high as No. 12 in the national polls and finished with an 18-12-2 record overall. Morey helped guide Issy Wunder to ECAC Forward of the Year and Ivy League Player of the Year honors en route to a selection as a Patty Kazmaier Award Top-10 Finalist and a third-team All-USCHO selection. Wunder was one of four players named All-ECAC at the end of the 2024-25 season, earning first team honors. She was joined by Sarah Paul (second team), Mackenzie Alexander (All-Rookie Team) an Rosie Klein (All-Rookie Team) in receiving postseason honors from the ECAC.
Following the Ivy League's cancelation of the 2020-21 season, Princeton returned in 2021-22 and qualified for the ECAC Hockey tournament, defeating top-seeded Harvard in three games to become the first eighth-seeded team in conference history to win a series against the top seed. During the season, the program saw Claire Thompson '20 and Sarah Fillier '24, both of whom helped Princeton to the 2020 ECAC Hockey tournament title, win Olympic gold with Canada. Thompson led all defenders with 13 points, was fifth overall in scoring, and led the tournament in plus-minus, at +23. Fillier tied for second in the tournament with eight goals and was sixth with 11 points.
With Princeton, Fillier finished her career as a three-time Patty Kazmaier Award top-10 finalist and was one of only four players in program history, and the only one who played with the program after 1995, to stand in the top six in career assists (second, 101), points (fourth, 194) and goals (sixth, 193).
The 2019-20 season saw Princeton set a program wins record with 26, reach the ECAC tournament final for the first time and win the ECAC tournament title for the first time. Princeton finished the season with three players ranked in the top 12 in the nation in goals and points per game, with Sarah Fillier's 1.84 points per game and Carly Bullock's 0.91 goals per game each ranking second in the nation. With 95 goals, Bullock finished her career as the program's top goal scorer of the 21st century. The ECAC recognized Princeton's success with both Bullock and Fillier as Best Forward top-three finalists, Fillier as a top-three finalist for Player of the Year, and Morey as one of three finalists for league Coach of the Year. The team qualified for the NCAA quarterfinals, but the event was canceled by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 virus.
In the 2018-19 season, the Tigers were in the national rankings all season, reaching a program-best fourth. The team won the Ivy League and was undefeated in the ECAC through the first 15 games of the season. A program record 20-game unbeaten streak, which stood as the nation's longest unbeaten streak for months, helped the squad earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Princeton finished with the top-ranked power-play unit in the nation and the the nation's leader in scoring in Sarah Fillier, who earned national Rookie of the Year and All-American honors.
In Morey's first year as head coach in 2017-18, the Tigers went 14-14-4 and 11-10-1 in the ECAC falling to fifth-ranked Cornell in the league quarterfinal series. Princeton's season was highlighted by a 2-0 win over No. 1 ranked and eventual national champion Clarkson on Feb. 1 at Hobey Baker Rink. Five players were named first-team all-Ivy League and one was named All-ECAC Hockey.
From 2012-17, Morey assisted the Tigers to five ECAC quarterfinal appearances and one semifinal appearance in 2017. With a 20-win season she helped recruit and develop the 2017 USCHO Division I Rookie of the Year Steph Neatby. In 2016, she was instrumental in Princeton's run to the Ivy League championship and at-large berth in the NCAA tournament, as well as coaching Kelsey Koelzer to first-team All-America honors. During her time as an assistant coach, Morey had nine All-ECAC and 18 All-Ivy League selections.
In addition to her coaching at Princeton, Morey has coached with Team Canada at the 2016-17 U-18 World Championships, helping the Canadians to a silver medal, and served as an assistant coach for Canada during the Feb. 2019 installment of the Rivalry Series with Team USA. Her international experience includes a gold medal as a player with Team Canada at the 2000 Nations Cup, two years experience as a player in the national program and gold as an assistant coach with Canada's National Women's Development Team at the 2015 Nations Cup in Germany. Morey was also a coach at the National Development Team Camps in 2012, 2014, 2019, at the 2014 National Women's Team Fall Festival and at the 2016 National Women's Under 18 three-game series with the U.S. During the summers of 2021, 2022 and 2023, Morey served as a camp coach at the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers' development camp.
A 2001 graduate of Brown University, Morey (nee Gardner) was a two-sport athlete playing, both hockey and field hockey. An All-ECAC and All-Ivy League defender, she helped the Bears to three AWCHA National Championship tournament appearances, including two runner-up finishes.
She earned All-Ivy and All-America honors in both sports and was the 2001 recipient of Brown's Bessie H. Rudd Award, which is given to the female varsity athlete that has done the most to promote female athletics through spirit, enthusiasm and leadership. She also represented Brown at the NCAA Leadership Conference in 2000.
She then played two seasons in the NWHL with the Montreal Wingstars and the Brampton Thunder.
On the coaching side, Morey spent a year teaching and coaching hockey, field hockey and softball at Thayer Academy. She also spent a season working at Robert Morris and coached the Phoenix Lady Coyotes U-19 AAA team.
Morey graduated from Brown with a degree in human biology and earned a Master's of Education from Arizona State in 2010.
Morey's husband Sean spent nine years playing in the NFL. Also a Brown graduate, Sean has the distinction of scoring the first touchdown in Princeton Stadium history. He is also a Super Bowl Champion and NFL Pro Bowler. The couple has three daughters, Devan, Kate and Piper.
| Year | School | Overall | Conference | Postseason |
| 2011-12 | Princeton (Asst. Coach) | 12-15-4 | 10-10-2/7th ECAC Hockey | ECAC Tournament quarterfinals |
| 2012-13 | Princeton (Asst. Coach) | 11-16-2 | 6-14-2/9th ECAC Hockey | |
| 2013-14 | Princeton (Asst. Coach) | 14-13-4 | 10-9-3/6th ECAC Hockey | ECAC Tournament quarterfinals |
| 2014-15 | Princeton (Asst. Coach) | 15-14-2 | 13-8-1/6th ECAC Hockey | ECAC Tournament quarterfinals |
| 2015-16 | Princeton (Asst. Coach) | 22-9-2 | 14-6-2/4th ECAC Hockey | NCAA quarterfinals, Ivy League Champion, ECAC Tournament quarterfinals |
| 2016-17 | Princeton (Asst. Coach) | 20-10-3 | 14-6-2/4th ECAC Hockey | ECAC Tournament semifinals |
| Total as Princeton AC | 94-77-17 | 67-53-12 | ||
| 2017-18 | Princeton | 14-14-4 | 11-10-1/6th ECAC Hockey | ECAC Tournament quarterfinals |
| 2018-19 | Princeton | 20-8-5 | 15-4-3/4th ECAC Hockey | NCAA quarterfinals, ECAC Tournament semifinals |
| 2019-20 | Princeton | 26-6-1 | 17-4-1/2nd ECAC Hockey | NCAA quarterfinals*, ECAC Tournament Champion, Ivy League Champion |
| 2020-21 | Princeton | -- | -- (Canceled - COVID-19) | |
| 2021-22 | Princeton | 13-15-5 | 9-10-3/8th ECAC Hockey | ECAC Tournament semifinals |
| 2022-23 | Princeton | 15-15-1 | 10-12-2/7th ECAC Hockey | ECAC Tournament quarterfinals |
| 2023-24 | Princeton | 14-12-6 | 6-10-6/7th ECAC Hockey | ECAC Tournament quarterfinals |
| 2024-25 | Princeton | 18-12-2 | 11-9-2/7th ECAC Hockey | ECAC Tournament quarterfinals |
| Total as Princeton HC | 120-82-24 | 79-59-18 ECAC Hockey | ||
| Total at Princeton (AC/HC) | 214-159-41 | 146-112-30 |
