Returning for her eighth season as head field hockey coach in 2023, Tarah Christenson has helped guide the Golden Flyers toward respectability with 30 victories over the past five seasons and three consecutive Empire 8 Conference Tournament berths in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Nazareth went 4-5 in conference play in 2022 and missed the playoffs with an overtime loss at Keuka in the final game of the season.
Christenson became Nazareth's first full-time field hockey head coach when she was appointed in May of 2016. With a couple of strong recruiting seasons under her belt, Christenson has overseen improvement in the Golden Flyers' field hockey fortunes.
The 2022 All-Empire 8 team featured freshman Avery Tanton as one of just two freshmen selected to teh All-Conference team.
The 2019 season featured an E8 Tournament berth and a dramatic overtime upset win over top-seeded St. John Fisher in the tournament semifinals. The Golden Flyers lost to Hartwick in the E8 championship game, but were represented on the conference all-star team by second-teamers Jennifer Hilts, Natalie L'Hommedieu and Abbey Szumloz as well as honorable mention selections Amanda Chuttey and Alexandra Livesey. In addition, Hilts, the program's second-leading all-time scorer, was named to the all-region team and competed in Division III Senior All-Star Game.
A native of Kitchener, Ontario, Christenson spent the 2015 season starting an intercollegiate field hockey program at Keuka College.
Before that, in 2011, she was the first head coach at St. John Fisher and stayed there for three seasons. She was named Empire 8 Conference Coach of the Year in 2012 as the Cardinals made the conference tournament in just their second season. One year later, in 2013, she helped the Cardinals reach the E8 championship game.
Christenson began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Utica College in 2004. She became the head coach there in 2007 and stayed for two seasons. Her coaching experience also includes one season as an assistant coach at the University of Rochester and a stint as coach of the Finger Lakes Field Hockey Club.
Christenson was a standout player at Division I Central Michigan University. She served as co-captain for her senior season in 2003 and earned several individual accolades, including first-team Mid-American Conference all-star honors after leading the league with 16 goals. She also competed in the Division I North-South Senior all-star game.
She gained a bachelor's degree in Human Environmental Studies from Central Michigan in 2004 and a Master of Science degree in Education from Utica in 2007.
Christenson resides in Victor with her son Reid.
