Michelle Vittese Named Head Coach of Temple Field Hockey

PHILADELPHIA - After serving as the interim head coach of the Temple field hockey team for the 2021 season, Michelle Vittese has been named as the team's head coach, announced Temple University Vice President and Director of Athletics Arthur Johnson. A two-time Olympian, Vittese has served on the Owls staff since March of 2019.

"Michelle Vittese's career has proven that she knows and loves field hockey. Based on her leadership last season and the support of our student-athletes and staff, she is the right person to not only lead our program, but take us to the next level," said Johnson. "Michelle has been an integral part of the program's success since she joined the staff three seasons ago. As interim head coach, she demonstrated her ability to improve the level of play, posting our first winning record in conference play in six years. We are truly fortunate to have such an accomplished player and a rising star in the coaching profession in charge of our program."

"I would like to thank Arthur Johnson and Craig Angelos (deputy athletics director) for this tremendous opportunity to continue to lead the Temple University Field Hockey program," said Vittese. "We have made amazing strides over the last three seasons and my staff and I look forward to building upon our recent success and raising the bar to an even higher level."

Since Vittese joined the Temple coaching staff as an assistant in 2019 and through her interim head coaching term, the Owls have seen marked improvement. Temple snapped an 18-game BIG EAST losing streak in 2019 with an overtime victory at Georgetown and more than tripled the team's win-total from the previous season with a 7-10 record.

The Owls have advanced to the last two conference tournaments, with the 2020-21 berth the team's appearance the first since 2016. Temple won eight games in 2020-21 but fell at top-seed UConn to end its season and three-game win streak.

Temple went 4-3 in BIG EAST play in 2021, the first time the team has had a winning conference record since 2015. The Owls' RPI of 37 is the program's best finish since 2014 (11), improving by 30 spots since Vittese's tenure with the team. She also led Temple to a win over #20 UConn in the program's first victory over a ranked team since 2016 and the first win over UConn since 1989.

Vittese, a three-time All-American at the University of Virginia, had an eight-year career with the United States Women's National Field Hockey Team. She played in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and earned a total of 211 international caps.

Since 2012, Vittese has gained coaching and administrative experience with the Spirit of USA club team based in New Jersey. She was responsible for coaching 200 athletes from ages 6-18, doing so while also playing for the USA until October of 2018.

Field hockey is a family affair for Vittese and her younger sisters, Carissa and Tara, who both also played at UVA. Carissa was a graduate assistant/director of operations for Temple from 2015-17 and currently serves as the team's assistant coach. She joined her older sister on the US National Team in 2017-18. Tara, the youngest sister, was also on the US National Team and is the only player to ever earn Longstreth/NFHCA National Player of the Year honors three times while she played at UVA.

Internationally, Vittese won four gold medals with Team USA including two golds at Pan American Games in 2011 and 2015.

Vittese, a native of Cherry Hill, N.J., graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor's degree in history in 2013. She is currently pursuing her master's degree in higher education and administration at Temple University.

Temple University Athletics

Michelle Vittese Named Head Coach of Temple Field Hockey

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