Dec. 17, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State's sophomore dynamos Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) and Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) have been named NSCAA Women's Soccer All-Americans after standout seasons for the 10-time reigning Big Ten Champions. Their selection pushes the number of Penn State individual All-America honorees to 11 all-time in 14 years, while the number of all-time honors earned by the group stands at 22 overall.
|
Second team All-American Katie Schoepfer |
Penn State was one of 15 schools with one or more players on the 2007 All-America teams. This season marks the ninth time that more then one Nittany Lion from the same squad earned All-America honors. Penn State has placed at least two players on the All-America squads each year since 1999, including three players in 2001, 2004 and 2005.
Naeher's first All-America honor cements her position as the nation's top goalkeeper after only her sophomore campaign. The Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year, she finished the year with a 0.62 goals per game average (best ever by a PSU sophomore and 18th nationally), including a tiny 0.39 goals against mark in conference play. Naeher came up with the big saves when Penn State needed them, tallying 103 stops and posting a 0.873 save percentage, which was 12th in the nation. A two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, she also earned Soccer America Team of the Week this year and was an academic All-District selection by ESPN the Magazine. Naeher was honored as a first team All-Big Ten pick, marking her second all-conference award after being named to the league's second team last year. She is Penn State's third goalkeeper to earn All-America honors as Emily Oleksiuk (1999, 2000 and 2001) and Erin McLeod (2004- third team, 2005) both previously earned All-America nods at the position.
A first-time All-American, Schoepfer was a second team pick for the Nittany Lions after leading the team in scoring during its Big Ten championship run. First team All-Great Lakes Region selection Schoepfer led the Nittany Lion offense with 15 goals and five assists for 35 points on the year. Seven of her goals came during Big Ten play and Schoepfer also added seven game-winning goals, including three in conference play, en route to first team All-Big Ten honors. Schoepfer was 35th nationally in goals per game, scoring 0.625 a match, and was tops in the Big Ten in points per game (1.46) and goals per game (0.62). She had the game-winning or game-tying goals vs. then-No. 4 Texas A&M, and down the Big Ten stretch vs. Indiana and Ohio State. Schoepfer also assisted on the game-winning goal vs. Northwestern. Schoepfer joins a distinguished list of Nittany Lion forwards to be honored as All-Americans, which includes fellow Connecticut native Tiffany Weimer (2003, 2004, 2005) and Penn State's only four-time honoree and Hermann Trophy winner Christie Welsh (1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002- second team).
Finishing 12th in the NSCAA poll, Penn State had another outstanding year in 2007 and made its 13th-straight NCAA appearance. The No. 1 seeded Nittany Lions went all the way to the third round of the Tournament and captured a 10th consecutive Big Ten title.
Penn State's All-Time All-Americans (First Team Unless Otherwise Indicated)
Kelly Convey, 1998
Sheree Gray, 2006
Natalie Jacobs, 2004
Ali Krieger, 2005, 2006
Joanna Lohman, 2001, 2002, 2003
Erin McLeod, 2004 (third team), 2005
Alyssa Naeher, 2007
Emily Olelsiuk, 1999, 2000, 2001
Katie Schoepfer, 2007
Tiffany Weimer, 2003, 2004, 2005
Christie Welsh, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 (second team)
2007 NSCAA/adidas NCAA Women's Division I All-America Team
First Team
Pos., Name, Class, School, Hometown
K, Alyssa Naeher , So., Penn State, Seymour, Conn.
D, Nikki Krzysik, Jr., Virginia, Clifton, N.J.
D, Stephanie Lopez **, Sr., Portland, Elk Grove, Calif.
D, Becky Sauerbrunn *, Sr., Virginia, St. Louis, Mo.
D, Brittany Taylor, Jr., Connecticut, Campbell Hall, N.Y.
M, Yael Averbuch *, Jr., North Carolina, Upper Montclair, N.J.
M, Tobin Heath, So., North Carolina, Basking Ridge, N.J.
M, Meghan Schnur, Sr., Connecticut, Butler, Pa.
F, Brittany Bock, Jr., Notre Dame, Naperville, Ill.
F, Lauren Cheney *, So., UCLA, Indianapolis, Ind.
F, Parrissa Eyorokon, Sr., Purdue, West Chester, Ohio
F, Kerri Hanks **, Jr., Notre Dame, Allen, Texas
Second Team
K, Kristin Olsen, So., USC, Orange, Calif.
D, Greer Barnes, Jr., West Virginia, Rye, N.Y.
D, Melanie Booth, Sr., Florida, Burlington, Ont.
D, Rachel Buehler *, Sr., Stanford, Del Mar, Calif.
M, Amanda Cicchini, Jr., West Virginia, Oakville, Ont.
M, Christina DiMartino *, Jr., UCLA, Massapequa Park, N.Y.
M, Ashley Nick, Jr., USC, Monrovia, Calif.
M, Ingrid Wells, Fr., Georgetown, Upper Montclair, N.J.
F, Annie Lowry, Sr., James Madison, Butler, Pa.
F, Kelley O'Hara, So., Stanford, Fayetteville, Ga.
F, Carrie Patterson, So., Georgia, Atlanta, Ga.
F, Katie Schoepfer, So., Penn State, Waterford, Conn.
Third Team
K, Jaimel Johnson, Jr., Tennessee, Springboro, Ohio
D, Kira Bilecky, Sr., Purdue, Washington, D.C.
D, Lauren Hyde, So., Florida, Carmel, Ind.
D, Jessica Maxwell *, Sr., North Carolina, Colleyville, Texas
D, Kasey Moore *, Jr., Texas, Mission Viejo, Calif.
D, Sue Weber, Sr., Hofstra, Islip, N.Y.
M, Danesha Adams **, Sr., UCLA, Shaker Heights, Ohio
M, Danielle Collins, Jr., William & Mary, Cream Ridge, N.J.
M, Kimmy Germain, Jr., James Madison, McLean, Va.
M, Angie Woznuk, Sr., Portland, El Cajon, Calif.
F, Ashley Banks, Sr., West Virginia, Annandale, Va.
F, Brooke DeRosa, Sr., Hofstra, Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
F, Katie Larkin *, Jr., Brigham Young, Draper, Utah
F, Ashlee Pistorius *, Sr., Texas A&M, Bloomington, Ill.
F, Claire Zimmeck, Jr., William & Mary, Fairfax, Va.
--NITTANY LIONS--