UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; June 15, 2007 ¡ª Bringing a wealth of prep and club experience, coupled with a year at North Carolina, sophomore midfielder Melissa Hayes (Cave Creek, Ariz.) will join the Nittany Lion women's soccer team this fall as the squad pursues its 10th-consecutive Big Ten championship.
¡°I am thrilled to have Melissa joining our Penn State family,¡± said first year Penn State head coach Erica Walsh. ¡°Her skill and poise on the ball combined with her winning mentality make her one of the best central midfielders in the country. In addition, she is one of the best leaders I have come across in my years of coaching and for all of these reasons I expect her to make an immediate impact on our program.¡±
Hayes played in 15 games for the National Champion Tar Heels last fall, scoring one goal and adding two assists with four of her six shots on goal. Her goal came against Navy (11/12) in the NCAA Tournament Second Round, while her assists were recorded vs. SMU (8/27) and Miami, Fla. (9/24).
One of Soccer Buzz's Top 25 recruits in 2006 when she joined the Tar Heels, Hayes was a Parade All-American and NSCAA Youth All-American before college. Has played on several U.S. Youth National Teams over her career including the Under-14 team (2002), the Under-16 team (2003-04) and the Under-17 team (2004-05). Hayes helped carry the U-16 National Team to the 2003 Ballymena International Tournament Championship. She served as an Under-16 team in 2004 and the U-17 team in 2005. Led U-17 team to the 2005 U.S. adidas Cup Championship.
A USYS National Championships finalist in 2003, she had a decade-long stint as a center midfielder for Sereno White (1997-2006) and served as team captain. Her club was six-time Arizona state champions, Hayes played on Region IV finalist squads in 2002 and 2004, and won a Region IV championship in 2003. She was part of the Region IV ODP team from 2002-05 and was the Club's Female Player of the Year in 2005.
A graduate of Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek, Ariz., she did not play high school soccer, choosing to continue play with her club team through the high school season and concentrate on that aspect of her game. She has three years of eligibility remaining.
Hayes joins a Nittany Lion squad that has won nine straight Big Ten championships, which is one of the longest Big Ten women's championships streaks. Penn State was a 2005 College Cup participant marking the team's third appearance, and in 2006 made its eight NCAA quarterfinal appearance in the last nine years.