by TIFFANY WEIMER
GoPSUsports.com
Don??t let the ribbon in her hair fool you. Or her tiny puppy, Tyson. Or the fact that her favorite color is pink. Junior defender Denay Riley is not prissy. In fact, she is far from anything of the kind when she is on that field. It??s obvious too.
She seems to have taken some style tips from the likes of a Natalie Jacobs or Leigh Hamilton, if you can remember back that far. The types of defenders who forwards dread playing against.
Riley, a second team All-Big Ten selection this year, has proven to be one of the elite defenders in the country, but off the field it??s not easy to assume that.
??Denay on the field is a winner,?? said assistant coach Michael Coll. ??She's totally capable of shutting down an opponent??s best player when she has to.??
Off the field though, Riley doesn??t have the typical athlete aura to her.
??She's not your regular, sweats-wearing undergrad that you can pick out a mile away,?? said Coll. ??I would bet that most people would have no idea that she is a top class soccer player if they bumped into her on campus.??
This is something that Riley doesn??t have an issue with. She has always been this way and it is part of her that she takes pride in.
??Usually when you see me off the field you wouldn??t think it was me,?? said Riley. ??I??m your New York, stiletto-wearing girl?? I love my heels, I love shoes. I love pocketbooks. I shop like three times a week and I get manicures and pedicures every two weeks, those are the things that make me happy.??
Keep in mind that these traits have no bearing on how she is on the field, at all. Riley is one of the hardest defenders on the team. She is not someone you want to get tangled up with.
??She sets the tone for the game,?? said senior defender Jean Rettig. ??She dominates in the air and is willing to sacrifice her body to win tackles.??
By looking at Riley on the field, one would not think to be scared of her. She wears ribbons in her hair...sometimes, even pink ones.
??Honestly I wear a ribbon in my hair when I??m in a good mood and I also wear ribbons so you can differeniate me,?? said Riley. ??And I believe in looking pretty when you play?? plus people think I??m really sweet and innocent and then I surprise them when I am actually a really hard player.??
Although pink may be Riley??s favorite color, she doesn??t always get the okay for wearing it from the people who make and interpret the rules.
??I went to Dick's and saw a really cute pink Nike headband,?? said Riley. ??So I called Paula to see if I could wear it in the game and she told me I couldn??t because it didn??t match the uniforms.??
Penn State??s colors were once pink and black, but that was a long, long time ago. Today, pink just doesn??t match with blue and white, though that doesn??t make her any less proud to be a Nittany Lion.
??I learned from players like Natalie (Jacobs) and Lindsay (Bach) that you have to work just as hard in practice as you do in games,?? said Riley. ??You have to make other people better as well as myself, of course. I??m aggressive. I love playing defense and I love going 1-v-1 with someone. I??m very competitive, but I also love a good challenge and I love playing against a good player.??
With the NCAA quarterfinals this weekend, the Lions only have one game before a possible College Cup appearance. Regardless of what Riley has going on in her life, she never loses focus of what??s important.
??Everyone has their role on the team and it is going to take everyone to win a game,?? said Riley. ??I??m really confident with our team. We haven??t had a season like this before?? but we have progressed so much over the season and we are all on the same page with the same mentality. I know can do it.??