April 21, 2008
University Park, Pa. - Three Nittany Lion women's soccer standouts will compete at the highest level of soccer play as teammates of the SoccerPlus Connecticut Reds, the returning USASA U23 champions. Connecticut natives, Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) and Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) will be returning Reds-players and will be joined by Nittany Lion teammate, Zoey Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.).
SoccerPlus Connecticut Reds soccer team, coached by Tony DiCicco, will enter its second season in the WPSL (women's premier soccer league), a national women's soccer league known to be one of the top leagues in the world, providing the highest level of women's soccer competition. In the 2007 season the Reds won the USASA U23 National Championship and the Bronze medal in the USASA Open Cup.
The 2007 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Naeher will return to the Reds for her second season as she finishes up her sophomore with the Nittany Lions. With her outstanding play, Naeher earned All-America honors last season placing herself among the top goalkeepers in the nation. With a 0.62 goals against average, she holds the Penn State single season record in that category. In 2007, Naeher gained first team All-America honors along with the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-Big Ten accolades. Naeher also earned two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and Soccer America Team of the Week. Her first team All-Big Ten selection was the second of her career. Naeher also is a member of the US U20 National Team, coached by Reds' head coach, Tony DiCicco.
All-American sophomore striker Schoepfer returns to the Reds for her second year and is one of Penn State's key forwards. Her 2007 season with the Nittany Lions was a success as she led the team in scoring during its Big Ten playoff run. The first team all-conference honoree netted seven of her goals during Big Ten play and had seven game-winning goals in the 2007 campaign, including three in conference action. 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. Her all-region selection was the first of her young career.
Zoe Bouchelle will join the Reds' roster for the first time hoping to continue her outstanding play from her 2007 season with the Nittany Lions. Bouchelle was a key component in the midfield and had her best season to date after avoiding injury for the first time in her college career. Bouchelle played solidly all fall for the Nittany Lions, but really came alive during the Big Ten slate. All of Bouchelle's points came in the conference season, including a six-point weekend vs. Michigan and Michigan State that grabbed her national honors from Soccer America and Soccer Buzz in addition to Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week accolades. Bouchelle was a first team All-Big Ten selection this year and is receiving her first all-region accolade. She also received second team Academic All-America honors this fall after maintaining a 3.87 grade point average as an economics major.
Penn State finished ranked 12th in the final NSCAA poll released at the beginning of the week after another outstanding campaign. Making their 13th-straight NCAA appearance, the No. 1 seeded Nittany Lions went all the way to the third round of the Tournament.
--NITTANY LIONS--