June 29, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Recently graduated field hockey All-American Allison Scola (Hummelstown, Pa.) has been named to the USA Field Hockey's Women's Development Team as announced at the conclusion of the Women's National Championship on Saturday. Scola will work with the development team in hopes of making the National Team, which is striving to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Olympics.
Scola was joined at the National Championship by recently graduated Jen Long (Doylestown, Pa.), redshirt freshman Hannah Allison (Mifflinburg, Pa.), and sophomore Jessica Longstreth (Richboro, Pa.) in the week-long competition that concluded on Saturday.
"Alli had an outstanding tournament and showed great versatility in playing a number of different positions effectively," Penn State Head Coach Charlene Morett said. "I am very proud of the way she played and represented Penn State as did all of our players over the week at Virginia Beach."
Scola finished her stellar four year career last season in leading the Nittany Lions with 27 points on seven goals and 13 assists to earn her second All-American honor.
The native of Hummelstown, Pa. has played for the U.S. Under-21 Team in 2005, 2006, and 2007 and looks to take the next step, which is the U.S. National Team. The last Nittany Lion to crack the U.S. National Team was Tracey Larson in 2001. The program has seen 39 selections to the team, which includes seven consecutive selections from current head coach, Morett.
Here is an excerpt from the USA Field Hockey Release:
The selections were announced at the conclusion of the 2009 Women's National Championship in Virginia Beach, VA. The competition is a round-robin tournament featuring the top athletes from USA Field Hockey's six regional High Performance Centers. Beginning in the early spring, High Performance Centers serving seven regions conduct open trials for college-age and older athletes. Once selected to a Center, athletes receive elite-level training from some of the nation's top coaches over the course of the spring. At the conclusion of the program, each Center selects a team to represent its region at the National Championships. Athletes competing in the tournament have the opportunity for selection to the U.S. National Squad.
Head Coach Lee Bodimeade has been a steady increase in the level of talent at the Women's National Championship.
"Overall, the skill level was lifted significantly from previous years," said Bodimeade. "What the athletes bring to the group overall is a greater skill level, a greater competency in executing basic skills at a higher speed under great pressure. We're getting the benefit of that now."
The first international competition for the Women's National Team is a visit from 2008 Olympic bronze medalists Argentina. Las Leonas will visit the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA for a five game test series in November.
"That will be the first real test for the group," said Bodimeade. "In September we learn where our World Cup qualifier will be held early next year. That will be critical to our success as we go forward."
2009-2010 Women's Developmental Team:Melanie Brill North Carolina Oley, PAMaureen Daniel American Clifton Park, NYBrianna Davies Maryland Annville, PAKelly Dostal Wake Forest Monterey, CACamille Ghandi Stanford London, EnglandMelissa Gonzalez Connecticut Mohegan Lake, NYJaclyn Kintzer North Carolina Chapel Hill, NCMia Link Virginia Jenkintown, PAMarta Malmberg Marathon HS Marathon, NYJulia Reinprecht Princeton North Wales, PAAllison Scola Penn State Harrisburg, PAPaige Selenski Virginia Shavertown, PAPamela Speuhler Boston Sudbury, MAShannon Taylor Syracuse Midlothian, PAMeghan Wheeler Connecticut Canton, MAAlesha Widdall Massachusetts Whitney Point, NY