Vittese and Dicke Named First-Team All-Americans

Dec. 5, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia field hockey senior midfielder Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and freshman forward Pien Dicke (Den Haag, Netherlands) were both named to the 16-player 2017 Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-America First Team, as announced on Tuesday (Dec. 5) by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.

Vittese, the 2017 NFHCA South Region Player of the Year, became the fifth player in Virginia history to earn four All-America honors in her career and the first to be named a four-time first-team honoree. Meridith Thorpe (1995-98), Michelle Vizzuso (1995-98), Paige Selenski (2008-10, 2012), and Elly Buckley (2010-13) were all four-time All-Americans, but each was named to the second team at least once in their careers.

Vittese ranked second in the country in goals per game (1.25) and points per game (3.20) this season as well as finishing in the top-10 in assists at 0.70 per game. The two-time NFHCA National Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year finished her collegiate career with 195 points, third-most in program history. Vittese also ranked third with 51 career assists and fifth with 72 goals.

Dicke, the ACC Freshman of the year and first-team All-ACC honoree, averaged 1.05 goals per game and 2.45 points per game, both of which ranked second in the conference and nationally in the top 10. The two-time ACC Offensive Player of the Week set the single-season record for hat tricks by tallying five this season, including scoring three goals in the season-opener against Fairfield, and tallied five game-winning goals in her rookie campaign. She is the third freshman in program history to be named a first-team All-American, joining Thorpe and Vittese.

The Longstreth/NFHCA National Player of the Year will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 14 with the winner coming from among the five regional player of the year honorees.