NEW INSPIRATION: Carla Tagliente exhorts her players while serving as the head coach of the University of Massachusetts field hockey team. Tagliente recently took the helm of Princeton University’s field hockey program, succeeding Kristen Holmes-Winn, who stepped down this June after a brilliant 13-year tenure which included the program’s and Ivy League’s first-ever National Championship in 2012. (Photo Courtesy of Princeton’s Office of Athletic Communications)

After producing a stellar career for the University of Maryland field hockey team where she was a three-time All-American forward and earned Academic All-American honors and was a summa cum laude grad as a finance and marketing major, Carla Tagliente set her sights on joining the CIA.

She made it through each hurdle of the arduous, year-long application process and was invited for orientation.

At the last minute, she was asked by friend and U.S. national teammate Kristen Holmes-Winn to consider joining the staff of the Princeton University field hockey program.

That didn’t pan out, but Tagliente ended up taking a job as an assistant coach for the University of Iowa. While she enjoyed coaching, going on to stints at Michigan and Northwestern, Tagliente nearly took another detour from the game, considering getting into the financial sector after earning an MBA with high distinction for the Ross School of Business at Michigan.

Fate intervened again as the University of Massachusetts reached out to her in 2011 to fill its head coaching vacancy.

“I think I would kick myself if I didn’t take the opportunity at UMass so I said I will do it,” recalled Tagliente, 37, who had an overall record of 64-44 (30-6 Atlantic 10) in five seasons with the Minutewomen, including three A-10 tournament championships (2012, 2013, 2015) and three regular season championships (2011, 2013, 2014).

“The five years went by so fast; I don’t regret a minute of it. It was probably the best decision I have ever made.”

Now Tagliente is getting the opportunity to coach at Princeton, succeeding Holmes-Winn, who stepped down this June after a brilliant 13-year stint which included the program’s and Ivy League field hockey’s first-ever National Championship in 2012, seven trips to the NCAA quarterfinals, and 11 straight Ivy League titles.

With her track record of excellence in the classroom and on the field, Tagliente feels she is a good fit for Princeton.

“I think for me and my past and my experience and my success as a student and an athlete, the opportunity at Princeton is to be in an environment that really embodies what my values are,” said Tagliente.

“I wanted to be a big fish in that big sea and I had that opportunity at Maryland. I don’t think you have that opportunity at a lot of those schools any more with how really tiered athletics has become. As a coach, I want that experience for my players. It is really what the core philosophy of college athletics is supposed to be. It has changed along the way and I don’t necessarily think it is ever going to change back. I think the Ivies are some of the last schools that have held on to those values.”

The experience Tagliente gained at running the program at UMass will serve her well in guiding the Princeton players.

“I think I am a lot more settled in,” said Tagliente. “I think when you are young, sometimes you worry about a lot of things that you can’t control. You worry about everything you say, this or that, and did they retain that and are they listening to me. Now I think you let some of that go and recognize that they are absorbing things and you have got to just trust your process.”

Noting that taking the new job has made this summer a bit of a whirlwind for her, Tagliente has hit the ground running.

“I think any change is challenging, especially with the short transition that we have with the current team and where we are in the recruiting cycle for the future,” said Tagliente. “We are working through that.”

Getting the chance to speak to nearly half of her new players, Tagliente believes that they are dealing well with the coaching change.

“I think the energy has been good; they have been mature with the transition and they are ready to move on,” said Tagliente.

“It is not like Kristen left on bad terms. Sometimes opportunities arise and I think that is a testament to how she mentored them, to be ready for a transition like this.”

While Tagliente may have a different style than her old friend, she shares the  ambitions Holmes-Winn had for the program.

“I think long term goals are probably not different; Kristen wanted to win and she wanted to win big and she wanted to be a consistent national contender and that is where my vision lies,” asserted Tagliente.

“We probably differ in the process and how to get there, not drastically, in terms of what we think is important and little things in the program. I think she has it on track to be where they were in 2012 with that national championship team. We have some stars coming in and we have a good core here. It is a great foundation.”

Tagliente will focus on some basic staples in order to get the most out of the foundation in place.

“I would like to think that the players are prepared, they are educated when they get on the field,” said Tagliente.

“I want them to make decisions and be confident and comfortable, doing their thing and that takes a lot of preparation. That is a big marker for me. Another one is depth on the team, just bridging the gap between our most talented and least talented player. The third thing that has been a key marker for us at UMass is penalty corners. Our execution was probably in the top three in the country over the last five years; that has been a big critical success factor for us because at times we have lacked the talent and the scoring punch.”