An already historic season for junior midfielder Natalie Tavana just got better as this afternoon she was named the Big East Player of the Year All-Big East First Team member. The award is voted on by the Big East coaches and Tavana was the clear standout as she posted 12 goals and two assists in 17 games played this season and is the Pirates' first winner since 1999.
Tavana came up big for the Pirates multiple times this season and was a huge reason Seton Hall was 6-7-5 on the season and fell just short of making the playoffs. Seton Hall faithful knew this season was going to be a special one for Tavana early on, when she scored a hat trick against Binghamton, the first hat trick scored by someone in the program since 2006 and also earned herself Big East Offensive Player of the Week with her performance.
Shortly after, she would go on to earn herself a spot on the Big East weekly honor roll and be an honorable mention on the Top Drawer Soccer national team of the week after notching seven points in two games.
When conference play started, she didn’t slow down and helped the Pirates earn crucial points to start off October after scoring the game winner against St. John's, and a goal against a ranked Xavier program which ultimately ended up in a tie, giving Seton Hall four points in two games. Her performances earned her yet another Big East Offensive Player of the Week award. With this award, she became the first player since 1999 to win the award multiple times in a season.
The week after was another four-point week for the Pirates as Tavana came up big again as she had the assist on the game winning goal against Marquette and a goal against #12 Georgetown which ended in a tie. Tavana was once again Big East Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts. Tavana ended the season with the most goals in the Big East and the most goals against conference opponents.
Her efforts this season helped Seton Hall reach highs they haven’t seen in a long time. The 2023 season saw the Pirates earn their most Big East points and score the most goals since 2011. Seton Hall was also able to make history by drawing against two ranked opponents for the first time in program history.
After scoring her hat trick against Binghamton, I had the opportunity to speak with Tavana about her goals for the season. Personally she wanted to have a more electric and confident season and put up new personal bests in the goal and points columns. As a team, she stated that the Pirates were ready to prove everyone in the Big East that they were a threat and were ready to make some noise. Tavana exceeded in her personal goals as well as the rest of the program for her team goals.
The midfielder will be going into her fourth season with the Pirates next year, where she will surely look to build off of this incredible season. For the Pirates faithful, the future is bright for this program and it’s only up from here.
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