NEW YORK -- The BIG EAST women's soccer coaches have voted senior midfielder/forward Natalie Tavana (Middletown, Conn.) to repeat as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Tavana was also named to the 13-member Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. The Pirates were picked to finish eighth in the 11-team BIG EAST, one vote shy from tying Creighton for seventh place. This marks the first preseason poll since 2015 that Seton Hall has not been picked to finish in the final slot of the league standings.
Tavana was named BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year after a standout junior season that saw her score 12 goals and tally 26 points. She finished with the most goals in the BIG EAST and both her goal and point totals were the most at The Hall since Kelly Smith's senior season in 1999. Tavana was named Third Team All-East Region by the United Soccer Coaches and a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team pick. Tavana was the first Pirate to be named All-BIG EAST first team in 10 years when Ashley Clarke was named to the league's top team in 2013. She was the first Pirate to be named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year since SHU Athletics Hall of Famer Kelly Smith won the award in 1999.
In year two under head coach Josh Osit, the Pirates registered their most BIG EAST points in a season since 2011 and finished with their second-most wins in a season since 2012. Natalie Tavana and Chiara Pucci made All-BIG EAST teams, which was the first time multiple Pirates received All-BIG EAST honors since 2013.
