Tara Vittese Named NFHCA National Player of the Year

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Dec. 9, 2015

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia field hockey sophomore midfielder Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) has been named the Longstreth/NFHCA Division I National Player of the Year, as announced Wednesday (Dec. 9) by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.

Vittese, the Longstreth/NFHCA South Region Player of the Year, was an All-ACC First-Team honoree and Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-South Region First-Team member, leading the Cavaliers with 39 points, including a team-high 15 goals with nine assists. Vittese scored three game-winning goals during the 2015 season, including converting a penalty stroke in the overtime road victory at Delaware, to help lead UVA to a No. 3 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Vittese will enter her junior season on the brink of cracking Virginia’s topâ€10 lists in career points (90), goals (32), and assists (26).

“Tara honors her talent with hard work outside of practice expectations,” said Virginia head coach Michele Madison. “She goes above and beyond to become the players that she is. When everybody else is on vacation, Tara is playing hockey somewhere. Above all, she is a team player and would rather pass the ball to her teammates to score than score herself. She makes players around her look better and play better. Tara will do anything for the team to win on a daily basis. With more hockey still ahead of her, I have no doubt that Tara will maximize her potential in future years.”

Vittese is the first Cavalier to be named the NFHCA National Player of the Year.