Tara Zollinger completed her seventh season (eighth year) as the head field hockey coach at Shippensburg University in 2024.
A two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Coach of the Year, Zollinger has guided the Raiders to a 118-25 overall record in seven seasons, including a 59-8 mark in regular-season conference matches (the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Under Zollinger’s direction, Shippensburg posted a 10-3 record in NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship matches – winning three NCAA Division II National Championships and directing three National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II Coaching Staffs of the Year.
SU won its third PSAC Championship in school history in 2024, claiming a 1-0 victory over No. 2-ranked East Stroudsburg. Zollinger’s squad won its first 16 games of the season and entered the NCAA Tournament with an 18-1 record. The Raiders won an NCAA Quarterfinal matchup over Limestone, 3-2, before dropping an NCAA Semifinal contest to Kutztown, 4-3.
Zollinger earned her second PSAC Coach of the Year award in 2024 and was also recognized for directing the NFHCA’s 2024 Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Five Raiders were tabbed 2024 NFHCA All-Americans, the most since the 2021 season.
In 2023, the Raiders boasted one of NCAA Division II's most talented attacks, finishing fourth in the classification with 3.25 goals per game. The campaign also featured a breakout season from Emma Albee in goal (NCAA Division II-leading .821 save percentage), and resulted in trips to the PSAC Championship game and the NCAA Division II Semifinals.
Despite the loss of 12 seniors from the previous season, Zollinger directed the Raiders to their second consecutive NCAA Division II National Championship Game appearance in 2022. SU earned its berth in the national championship game thanks to a 4-2 semifinal victory over West Chester that included a historic effort from goalkeeper Lindsay Tripodo, who recorded a career-high 22 saves – the second most saves in a single game in NCAA Division II Tournament history.
The 2022 season was a tremendous follow up to a landmark 2021 campaign that saw Zollinger guide the Raiders to a perfect 20-0 record, resulting in Shippensburg’s fourth NCAA National Championship in school history. It marked the first time since 2010 that a team won a NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship with an undefeated record and marked SU’s first undefeated season since 1977. The Raiders also snapped a 16-year drought with the school’s second PSAC Field Hockey Championship.
Zollinger was named the 2021 PSAC Coach of the Year, marking the first time an SU coach received the award since 2011. She was also a finalist for the USA Field Hockey National Coach Award. Zollinger and her assistants were named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year and Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year, marking the fifth time that Shippensburg received the National Coaching Staff of the Year award.
During the 2021 season, Shippensburg led the nation in goals per game (4.95), scoring average (4.92), scoring margin (4.33), assists per game (3.30), points per game (13.20) and shutouts per game (0.60), and ranked second in penalty corners per game (13.40). The Raiders allowed multiple goals against in just three games, and one goal or less in the final 14 games of the season (including nine shutouts).
Zollinger holds Level 3 Certification from USA Field Hockey, the highest level of coaching certification you can receive from USA Field Hockey program. She directs all aspects of the SU program, but her primary instructional focus is on offense. Shippensburg has been ranked among the nation’s Top 7 in goals per game, penalty corners per game and scoring average in each of her seasons at the helm.
A talented recruiter, Zollinger’s first Raider class reaped immediate dividends en route to the national championship. Highlighting the group is midfielder Jazmin Petrantonio, who graduated as a two-time NFHCA Division II National Player of the Year, three-time NFHCA Atlantic Region Player of the Year, and two-time PSAC Athlete of the Year. Petrantonio earned the 2022 Division II Honda Athlete of the Year from THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda. She graduated with 106 career goals, third-most in NCAA Division II history, and the all-time NCAA Division II Championships career goals record with ten scored in just eight career NCAA Tournament games.
Through five competitive seasons, Zollinger has instructed 14 NFHCA All-Americans and 25 All-PSAC performers.
Zollinger’s first two seasons directing the Raiders resulted in back-to-back Division II National Championships, giving her the distinction of being the only person to win an NCAA Division II National Championship in each of her first two years as a collegiate head coach. In 2017 and 2018, Zollinger and her assistants were named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year and Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
In 2018, Shippensburg ranked second nationally in goals per game (3.43), scoring average (3.41) and scoring margin (2.16) while averaging 9.48 penalty corners per game. Zollinger’s first season featured the Raiders leading the nation in penalty corners per game (13.05) while ranking fifth in goals per game (3.62). SU increased its goal total by 27 in 2017, Zollinger’s first season.
Shippensburg won its third consecutive NCAA Division II National Championship in 2018 – posting a 19-4 overall record. The Raiders won three times in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, defeating Merrimack 4-1 in the quarterfinals, West Chester 4-0 in the semifinals and East Stroudsburg 1-0 in the national championship game.
Zollinger’s debut season of 2017 saw the Raiders post a 17-4 overall record. In the NCAA Tournament, Shippensburg defeated Stonehill 6-1 in the quarterfinals, East Stroudsburg 2-1 in the semifinals and LIU Post 4-1 in the national championship game.
On the national level, Zollinger served a two-year term (2017-18 and 2018-19) as the field hockey representative on the coaches’ council for WeCOACH (formerly Alliance of Women Coaches). She was one of 15 coaches from across the country spanning all three NCAA divisions that serves on the council, serving as an ambassador in coaching communities and networks. At the completion of her term, Zollinger graduated from WeCOACH Academy 2.0.
In July 2019, Zollinger was named a Performance Analyst for USA Field Hockey’s Women’s Junior High Performance staff. Zollinger, appointed on a volunteer basis, provided support across all four women’s teams in the Olympic Development Pathway and was tasked with working closely with existing coaching staffs to shape the best environment possible to support the growth of all the players involved.
Zollinger, a 2013 University of Maryland graduate, arrived at Shippensburg having spent the 2013-16 seasons as an assistant coach at Syracuse University, working under two-time NFHCA Division I National Coach of the Year Ange Bradley. Among Zollinger's primary responsibilities included integral roles as both the team's recruiting coordinator and its lead instructor for offensive skill sets.
Success has followed Zollinger throughout her career. She is a three-time NCAA Division I Field Hockey national champion, having helped coach Syracuse to the 2015 national title after winning two championships as a player at Maryland. As a coach or player, Zollinger has won four Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Regular Season Championships and made six NCAA Division I Final Four appearances.
At Syracuse, Zollinger was a part of the school's most successful seasons in history. She helped instruct a 2015 team that posted a perfect 16-0 regular-season record – the first team in 25 seasons to achieve the feat. The No. 1-ranked Orange also swept the 2015 ACC postseason awards, becoming the first team to do so since North Carolina in 1994.
Under Coach Bradley, Zollinger also assisted in practice planning, technical development, scouting and video preparation, travel coordination and scheduling. One of Zollinger's primary on-field responsibilities included scouting and leading the penalty corner unit.
At Maryland, Zollinger was an attacker who won two NCAA Championships (2010, 2011) and two ACC Championships (2009, 2010) – reaching the Final Four in all four of her collegiate seasons. She received Maryland's Kateri Simon Award in 2012, recognizing an athlete that persevered in times of adversity and displayed courage while bringing positive energy to all team sessions.
Zollinger earned her undergraduate degree in sociology and was an active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was a development assistant with the University of Maryland Terrapin Club, coordinating and organizing member and donor events.
In 2017 and 2018, Zollinger coached the Women's High Performance Mid-Atlantic Training Site and coached at the 2018 USA Field Hockey Young Women's National Championship.
For four years, Zollinger served as the head coach of the USA Field Hockey Futures program for Region 4, based in Syracuse. She has trained and developed elite high school athletes who were selected to represent the New York Region at USA Field Hockey competitions. As a club coach, Zollinger has worked with Freedom HKY in Maryland.
Zollinger also boasts extensive experience competing and coaching overseas. In 2012, Zollinger played with the Westside Wolves club team in Perth, Australia and also coached various ages while studying abroad. She previously coached summer camps in Barcelona, Spain from 2010-11. As a prep athlete, Zollinger played on tours to Germany and Barbados with her home club team, East Coast Field Hockey.
In high school, Zollinger was two-time All-WPIAL First Team performer at Hempfield Area High School, leading the Spartans in scoring her freshman through junior seasons. Midway through her senior season, she joined Club San Andres in Buenos Aires, Argentina to train and play.
Zollinger has been especially active in growing the game of field hockey as both a clinician and a coach. She currently owns and directs the youth field hockey training program Core Hockey (corehky.com), whose mission is to inspire and motivate athletes to play from the inside out and create a growth environment that meets the individual where they are in their development.
A native of Jeannette, Pa., Zollinger is a FIH Level 1 certified in addition to her USA Field Hockey Level 3 certification and a graduate of the NCAA Alliance of Women's Coaches Academy. She earned a master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Lock Haven in December 2018 and a master’s degree in Sport Science: Sport Administration from Lock Haven in December 2019.
Zollinger At-A-Glance
Shippensburg University
Year Overall Conference Postseason
2024 19-2 9-0 NCAA Semifinals, PSAC Champions
2023 15-5 8-1 NCAA Semifinals, PSAC Finals
2022 16-4 7-2 NCAA Finals, PSAC Semifinals
2021 20-0 10-0 NCAA National Champions, PSAC Champions
2020 No season due to COVID-19
2019 12-6 8-2 PSAC Quarterfinals
2018 19-4 8-2 NCAA National Champions, PSAC Finals
2017 17-4 9-1 NCAA National Champions, PSAC Semifinals
118-25 59-8 3 NCAA National Championships
6 NCAA Tournament Appearances
7 PSAC Tournament Appearances
(7 seasons, 8 years)
