- Year of Service: 20th
- Birthdate: November 16, 1960
- Hometown: Pompton Lakes, NJ
- Education: BS, Health & Physical Education
Sharon Pfluger is entering her 20th season at the helm of TCNJ’s field hockey program. In addition, Pfluger is also the head coach of the Lion women’s lacrosse squad. She currently owns an overall coaching record of 354 wins against 56 losses and nine ties, with 345 of those wins happening here at the College. Her winning percentage of .856 is fourth among coaches from all three NCAA divisions, while her 354 wins are eighth.
In Pfluger’s first season, the team posted a 22-3 mark and won the program’s third NCAA title, defeating Millersville University, 2-1. A year later, the Lions fell to Bloomsburg University in the NCAA Semifinals. TCNJ beat Bentley College in the consolation game to bring home the third-place trophy. The 1987 season failed to see Pfluger’s troops advance past the NCAA First Round, falling in overtime to Salisbury State University and finishing as NJAC Champions.
In 1988, the Lions garnered their second NCAA title under Pfluger with a 3-2 double overtime win over Bloomsburg. TCNJ finished the year with a 21-0-2 record, setting a school record for most shutouts with 18. The program earned the national runner-up title in 1989, losing 2-1 to Lock Haven University.
Pfluger’s team ended the 1990 season by capturing the program’s fifth NCAA Championship with a 2-1 defeat of Bloomsburg. The Lions tallied an 18-0-1 record and Pfluger was chosen as the CFHCA Division III Coach of the Year. TCNJ successfully defended its NCAA crown in ’91, beating Bloomsburg for the second straight year with a 1-0 win and became the first Division III program to win back-to-back championships. The 1992 season saw the team make its fifth appearance in a row in the NCAA title game versus William Smith College, completing the year with an 18-2 mark. Bowing out to Mary Washington College in the NCAA Semifinals in ‘93, the team picked up the program’s second third-place trophy after defeating Trinity (CT) College in the consolation match.
After going 20 games without a loss, TCNJ dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to SUNY Cortland in the 1994 NCAA title game to finish the season at 19-1. The Lions collected the program’s fourth undefeated season, winning the 1995 NCAA Championship with a 2-1 victory over Messiah College. In 1996, TCNJ repeated as NCAA Champions as the squad defeated Hartwick College, 2-1. Pfluger’s squad earned their 13th consecutive NJAC title in 1997, finishing the year with a 16-3 overall record.
The 1998 season saw the Lions suffer a 3-2 setback at the hands of eventual national champion, Middlebury College, in the NCAA Regional Final. In 1999, the team notched the program’s ninth NCAA crown as TCNJ tallied a 4-1 win over Amherst College. After leading her team to the 1999 NCAA title, Pfluger earned NFHCA national and regional coach of the year honors.
In 2000, the Lions lost to Springfield College in the NCAA Regional Final for a 13-4 record. Finishing once again with a 13-4 mark in 2001, TCNJ dropped an overtime decision to Messiah in the NCAA Semifinals. History repeated itself at the end of the 2002 season as the Lions were defeated by Messiah in the semifinals once again. For the third straight campaign, Pfluger’s troops could not advance beyond the NCAA Semifinals as the Lions fell 1-0 to eventual national champion, Salisbury, in 2003.
Acknowledged as one of the premier field hockey coaches in Division III, Pfluger became TCNJ’s all-time winningest coach in the sport in less than six full years at her alma mater, moving ahead of Melissa Magee, her predecessor and head coach during the early ‘80s. Her teams have earned 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. Pfluger notched her 350th career win with an overtime victory over Messiah on October 21, 2003.
Since the inception of the NJAC in 1985, her squads have won 15 of 19 possible NJAC titles. Pfluger has been tapped as the NJAC Coach of the Year four times, with selections in 1989, 1995, 1999 and 2001. Three times, she has coached squads to consecutive national championships. First, from the fall of 1990 to the spring of 1992, Pfluger earned four titles. Then she followed that up with four more from the 1995 women’s lacrosse title to the 1996 field hockey title. Pfluger picked up two more rings as the 1999 field hockey and 2000 women’s lacrosse teams were victorious.
She is a member of the NFHCA Hall of Fame Class of 2003 which was inducted on January 10, 2004 at the NFHCA Awards Luncheon in Baltimore, MD. The Class of 2003 was only the fourth group of inductees to be honored by the NFHCA Awards & Hall of Fame Committee.
Over the course of her career, Pfluger has received other numerous honors. She received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the March of Dimes in 1990, while the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association cited her with the Outstanding Achievement Award in both 1991 and 1992. During the 1991 NCAA Division I and III Women’s Lacrosse Championships, Pfluger was the recipient of the NCAA 10th Anniversary Outstanding Service Award for her accomplishments in women’s lacrosse. On November 15, 1992, Pfluger became the first woman honored by the Trenton Select Committee. She has also served on the NCAA Field Hockey Regional Ranking Committee. Pfluger is one of just two female coaches (Pat Summitt being the other) featured in the NCAA Hall of Champions’ Legends of the Game display located in Indianapolis, IN.
She was an assistant coach at Drew University in 1982 for field hockey and in 1984 for lacrosse, and the head field hockey coach at Kean College (4-8-3) in 1983 and at Montclair State College (5-11-1) in 1984, prior to her return to her alma mater. Pfluger lives with her three children – Augie, 9, Jonah, 7, and Kileigh, 3 – in Hopewell Township, NJ.
Sharon Pfluger is entering her 20th season at the helm of TCNJ’s field hockey program. In addition, Pfluger is also the head coach of the Lion women’s lacrosse squad. She currently owns an overall coaching record of 354 wins against 56 losses and nine ties, with 345 of those wins happening here at the College. Her winning percentage of .856 is fourth among coaches from all three NCAA divisions, while her 354 wins are eighth.
In Pfluger’s first season, the team posted a 22-3 mark and won the program’s third NCAA title, defeating Millersville University, 2-1. A year later, the Lions fell to Bloomsburg University in the NCAA Semifinals. TCNJ beat Bentley College in the consolation game to bring home the third-place trophy. The 1987 season failed to see Pfluger’s troops advance past the NCAA First Round, falling in overtime to Salisbury State University and finishing as NJAC Champions.
In 1988, the Lions garnered their second NCAA title under Pfluger with a 3-2 double overtime win over Bloomsburg. TCNJ finished the year with a 21-0-2 record, setting a school record for most shutouts with 18. The program earned the national runner-up title in 1989, losing 2-1 to Lock Haven University.
Pfluger’s team ended the 1990 season by capturing the program’s fifth NCAA Championship with a 2-1 defeat of Bloomsburg. The Lions tallied an 18-0-1 record and Pfluger was chosen as the CFHCA Division III Coach of the Year. TCNJ successfully defended its NCAA crown in ’91, beating Bloomsburg for the second straight year with a 1-0 win and became the first Division III program to win back-to-back championships. The 1992 season saw the team make its fifth appearance in a row in the NCAA title game versus William Smith College, completing the year with an 18-2 mark. Bowing out to Mary Washington College in the NCAA Semifinals in ‘93, the team picked up the program’s second third-place trophy after defeating Trinity (CT) College in the consolation match.
After going 20 games without a loss, TCNJ dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to SUNY Cortland in the 1994 NCAA title game to finish the season at 19-1. The Lions collected the program’s fourth undefeated season, winning the 1995 NCAA Championship with a 2-1 victory over Messiah College. In 1996, TCNJ repeated as NCAA Champions as the squad defeated Hartwick College, 2-1. Pfluger’s squad earned their 13th consecutive NJAC title in 1997, finishing the year with a 16-3 overall record.
The 1998 season saw the Lions suffer a 3-2 setback at the hands of eventual national champion, Middlebury College, in the NCAA Regional Final. In 1999, the team notched the program’s ninth NCAA crown as TCNJ tallied a 4-1 win over Amherst College. After leading her team to the 1999 NCAA title, Pfluger earned NFHCA national and regional coach of the year honors.
In 2000, the Lions lost to Springfield College in the NCAA Regional Final for a 13-4 record. Finishing once again with a 13-4 mark in 2001, TCNJ dropped an overtime decision to Messiah in the NCAA Semifinals. History repeated itself at the end of the 2002 season as the Lions were defeated by Messiah in the semifinals once again. For the third straight campaign, Pfluger’s troops could not advance beyond the NCAA Semifinals as the Lions fell 1-0 to eventual national champion, Salisbury, in 2003.
Acknowledged as one of the premier field hockey coaches in Division III, Pfluger became TCNJ’s all-time winningest coach in the sport in less than six full years at her alma mater, moving ahead of Melissa Magee, her predecessor and head coach during the early ‘80s. Her teams have earned 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. Pfluger notched her 350th career win with an overtime victory over Messiah on October 21, 2003.
Since the inception of the NJAC in 1985, her squads have won 15 of 19 possible NJAC titles. Pfluger has been tapped as the NJAC Coach of the Year four times, with selections in 1989, 1995, 1999 and 2001. Three times, she has coached squads to consecutive national championships. First, from the fall of 1990 to the spring of 1992, Pfluger earned four titles. Then she followed that up with four more from the 1995 women’s lacrosse title to the 1996 field hockey title. Pfluger picked up two more rings as the 1999 field hockey and 2000 women’s lacrosse teams were victorious.
She is a member of the NFHCA Hall of Fame Class of 2003 which was inducted on January 10, 2004 at the NFHCA Awards Luncheon in Baltimore, MD. The Class of 2003 was only the fourth group of inductees to be honored by the NFHCA Awards & Hall of Fame Committee.
Over the course of her career, Pfluger has received other numerous honors. She received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the March of Dimes in 1990, while the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association cited her with the Outstanding Achievement Award in both 1991 and 1992. During the 1991 NCAA Division I and III Women’s Lacrosse Championships, Pfluger was the recipient of the NCAA 10th Anniversary Outstanding Service Award for her accomplishments in women’s lacrosse. On November 15, 1992, Pfluger became the first woman honored by the Trenton Select Committee. She has also served on the NCAA Field Hockey Regional Ranking Committee. Pfluger is one of just two female coaches (Pat Summitt being the other) featured in the NCAA Hall of Champions’ Legends of the Game display located in Indianapolis, IN.
She was an assistant coach at Drew University in 1982 for field hockey and in 1984 for lacrosse, and the head field hockey coach at Kean College (4-8-3) in 1983 and at Montclair State College (5-11-1) in 1984, prior to her return to her alma mater. Pfluger lives with her three children – Augie, 9, Jonah, 7, and Kileigh, 3 – in Hopewell Township, NJ.
