Lisa Joan Pittaro (; born May 22, 1965) is an American former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, making twelve appearances for the United States women's national team.

Career

Raised in

Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Hamilton Township is a township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is the largest suburb of Trenton, the state's capital, which is located to the township's west. The township is within the New York metropolitan area as defined ...

, Gmitter-Pittaro played for the Steinert Spartans in high school, where she was a three-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n and set the school career record with 177 goals. She also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

while at Steinert. In college, she played for the

George Mason Patriots The George Mason Patriots are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing George Mason University (GMU), located in Fairfax, Virginia. The Patriots compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of th ...

from 1983 to 1986, helping the team to win the 1985 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. In total, she scored 64 goals and recorded 18 assists in 84 appearances for the Patriots. Her career goal tally ranks second in school history, while her career points (goals and assists) of 146 ranks third. She was an

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 30 ...

All-American in all four seasons, being included in the first team in 1983, 1985, and 1986, and the third team in 1984. She was also an NSCAA First-Team All-Region in all four seasons, and was ''Soccer America'' Player of the Year in 1985. She was included in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

All-Tournament Team in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, where she was chosen as the offensive MVP, the championship-winning 1985 tournament, and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. Gmitter-Pittaro made her international debut for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on July 7, 1986 in the 1986 North American Cup

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

tournament against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In total, she made twelve appearances for the U.S. and scored three goals, earning her final cap on December 20, 1987 in a friendly match against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

. In 1990, she also appeared for the United States B team in the North American Cup, scoring one goal in a 2–3 loss against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. She played club soccer for the New Jersey Wildcats and Maryland Pride. However, her career was sidelined due to injury. Gmitter-Pittaro later coached youth soccer, including the boys' junior varsity team at Steinert High School. She was inducted into Steinert's Hall of Fame in 2006, and is a member of the Mercer County Athletic Hall of Fame and Mercer County Soccer Hall of Fame. She was also included in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer 25th Anniversary Team in 2006.

Personal life

Gmitter-Pittaro has worked as a teacher in the

Hamilton Township School District The Hamilton Township School District is a comprehensive community public school district, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Hamilton Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The district consists of ...

, and is married to former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player

Chris Pittaro Christopher Francis Pittaro (born September 16, 1961) is an American former professional baseball infielder. Pittaro played during three seasons in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins from 1985 through 1987. Prior to ...

. She has two children with Chris, as well as a stepdaughter. Her daughter Giana played soccer for the

Yale Bulldogs The Yale Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two NCAA national championships in women's fencing, four in ...

, while her son C.J. is college baseball player at Penn State.

Career statistics

International

International goals

Honors

United States * 1986 North American Cup

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gmitter-Pittaro, Lisa 1965 births Living people People from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Soccer players from Mercer County, New Jersey American women's soccer players American women's soccer coaches United States women's international soccer players Women's association football forwards Steinert High School alumni George Mason Patriots women's soccer players New Jersey Wildcats players