July 25, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Sophomore goalie Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) managed a huge save on a penalty kick to help the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team to a victory Monday night at the Pan-Am games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team beat the full Canadian National Team 2-1, in a semifinal match. The USA will take on host Brazil on Thursday, July 26, in the gold medal game.
Penn State's rising-sophomore starter Naeher also managed a huge save for the U.S. late in the match when Canada's Christine Sinclair sent the ball her way on a penalty kick and Naeher dove to her right for the save ball. Strong play by teammates combined with a total of eight saves for Naeher and sealed the victory for the USA.
Naeher started most of her freshman campaign with the Nittany Lions. A shoulder injury knocked her out of the action early but Naeher was back to full health by the time she headed to camp with the U-20 team. Naeher was a 2006 second team All-Big Ten Selection and was named Big Ten All-Freshman goalkeeper.
Naeher was part of the Penn State regular season and 2006 tournament championship squad. The Nittany Lions, who are nine-time Big Ten Champs, will be looking to defend its title this fall and make their 13th NCAA tournament appearance. Penn State finished No. 7 in the NSCAA's final poll, marking their 10th consecutive year finishing ranked in the top 10.
-NITTANY LIONS-