June 30, 2010
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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Three Penn State connections wrapped up stellar weeks at the USA Field Hockey Women's National Championship on Sunday, leading their respective Team PA squads to first and second place finishes. Incoming freshman goalkeeper Kylie Licata (Mountain Top, Pa.) played in the first-ever juniors tournament which was won by the Keystone State while rising sophomore Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.) and alum Jen Long (Doylestown, Pa.) helped their senior group advance all the way to the championship game.
This marked the first year of a solely Pennsylvania squad. In the past, it was paired with players from California to form a team. Some of the nation's best players, including those from the national team, participated in a competitive week of field hockey.
Licata started (and won) Pennsylvania's first two games of the tournament in goal, beating New England (6-3) and the Mid-Atlantic (2-1). Penn State assistant coach Annie Zinkavich was an assistant on the squad that went on to beat the Mid-Atlantic, 2-1 in the juniors championship. Overall, Team PA went undefeated with four wins and a tie on the week.
Meanwhile, the Senior PA squad went 2-1-2 with the lone loss coming by a slim 1-0 margin against New Jersey in the finals. Both Amy and Long played key roles in the team's success.
See what Licata and Amy had to say about their experiences:
Kylie Licata
"I was really honored to be there. Annie [Zinkavich] was a great coach too. It was a new experience for me because it was based off a collegiate level, so it was different than futures and regional rumble. It was competitive play and I learned a lot too. I think it got me ready to come here in the fall. It was really cool winning the inaugural juniors tournament."
Kelsey Amy
"It was a great experience. This was the first year that Pennsylvania had a team at the nationals, so it was a good representation of our state to make it to the finals. We got to play with the girls on the national team. It was cool playing at such a high level and getting to see a different style of play I guess you would say. It was [a challenge] to play at such a high level. Instead of just going through the motions, you tried to keep up with them."
For complete information on the National Championship, click here.
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