Nov. 20, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Five Nittany Lions were selected to the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association's Division I All-Mideast Region teams, organization officials announced Wednesday.
Seniors Jen Beaumont (Chalfont, Pa.), Jen Long (Doylestown, Pa.) and Allie Scola (Hummelstown, Pa.) were each named to the Mideast Region's first team.
Representing the Penn State field hockey squad on the second team all-region were Brooke Hoffsmith (Annville, Pa.) and Bethany Marvel (Newtown, Pa.).
Penn State has the second most regional players behind Final Four representative Syracuse, which had seven players on the listing. The Orange defeated Princeton, who knocked Penn State out of this year's tournament, 3-2, in overtime. Connecticut also had five players make the regional team. The Mideast Region consists of teams from Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut.
Iowa, which made the Final Four by eliminating Michigan State in a game Monday that was suspended because of inclement weather, led the Big Ten with six players on the West Region team. Penn State is the only conference team not in the West region.
Beaumont played 95 percent of the season in net for a goalkeeping corps that led the nation in save percentage. Individually, Beaumont stopped 81.9 percent of shots faced this season. She allowed 1.11 goals per game, tops in the Big Ten, and accounted for nine team shutouts this season, which were second-best in Division I. Beaumont became the program's first goalkeeper to be selected onto the Big Ten's first team and her performance at the conference tournament earned her a spot on the All-Tournament team. She took National Player of the Week honors after shutting out Michigan and Indiana en route to a Big Ten regular season championship. Beaumont made the first team in her sophomore season.
For the third consecutive season, Long finds herself on the All-Region first team. Long, who became the first Nittany Lion since 2003 with 10 more assists in a season, had a career-high 12 assists on the season. The Big Ten, for the second consecutive year, named the senior back its Defensive Player of the Year. She was part of a defense that held opponents to 1.11 goals per game. Again a finalist for the Honda Award, Long was a first-team NFHCA All-American in 2007 and has potential to earn her third All-American nomination in the coming weeks.
Scola tabbed her second first-team All-Region election. Scola led the Nittany Lions in points (27) and assists (13). The senior from Hummelstown, Pa. shared the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year award with Ohio State's Linda Hausseneur. She was named National Player of the Week earlier this season when she had a hand in each Nittany Lion goal scored against then-No. 4 Iowa and -No. 10 Virginia. Scola was a catalyst for the Penn State offense throughout the season, earning penalty corner opportunities with her aggressive play inside the circle. Upon moving from the shooter to the pusher role, she earned points in eight consecutive games during the Nittany Lions' nine-game winning streak.
Making her first appearance to the All-Region team is Hoffsmith, who was key in the backfield for the Nittany Lions. The junior from Annville, Pa. earned her first two points of the season as she assisted on two of the team's goals. Hoffsmith led the team with two defensive saves. Her performance at the Big Ten Championships against Ohio State was good enough to give herself a spot on the All-Tournament team.
Marvel also makes an appearance on the second-team All-Region. The junior midfielder led the team with three game-winning goals this season, including a redirection tally against Ohio State. Marvel emerged as an all-around threat, scoring four goals and two assists. She scored on 25 percent of her shots. Her performance during conference season, despite missing several games due to injury, was honored by the Big Ten as it named her to its second team, as well.