Feb. 8, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) is waking up in Chile this morning as part if the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team that is continuing preparations for the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, to be held in Chile Nov. 20-Dec. 7. Naeher and the team are in La Serena, Chile, to play three matches against other U-20 teams, taking on England on Feb. 11, Norway on Feb. 13 and host Chile on Feb. 15. All three opponents have already qualified for the U-20 Women's World Cup, meaning the Americans will get three excellent matches as a preview to possible matches in the WWC.
Being named to the U-20 WNT continues an incredible academic year for Naeher. This year, Naeher was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, earned first team NSCAA All-America, first team All-Great Lakes Region, and first team All-Big Ten honors. Most recently, Naeher earned second team MVP honors from Soccer America and was named Team MVP at the annual Penn State soccer banquet.
Naeher finished the year with 103 saves, a 0.62 goals against average (ranked 18th nationally) and a 0.39 goals against average in conference.
Penn State won their 10th consecutive Big Ten championship this year and finished ranked 12th in the final NSCAA poll. As the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, the Nittany Lions made their 13-straight appearance making it all the way to the third round.
-Nittany Lions-
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