Feb. 2, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Future Nittany Lion Tatum Coffey has been selected to the final 18-player roster for the U.S. Under-19 Women's National Team that will travel to Hannover, Germany, for the 2011 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) U-19 World Championship in August. Coffey was a key member of a star-studded recruiting class that committed to Penn State late last year and will enroll at the University Park campus in the fall of 2011.
Coffey has emerged as a prolific point scorer over the course of her three years as a starting midfielder at Toms River (N.J.) North High School, helping the Mariners to 51 wins. In her junior season of 2010, she scored 115 goals, tying for the most in the state, and tallied 84 assists, receiving Shore Conference Player of the Year, First Team All-Shore, All-State, and US Lacrosse All-America honors. An all-around standout athlete, Coffey has also played four years of varsity soccer, one year of basketball, and three years of boys' ice hockey.
Team USA has won 20 consecutive games in U-19 international play dating back to 1999 and claimed three consecutive gold medals, including a dominating 18-3 victory versus Australia in the 2007 FIL Championship game in Peterborough, Ontario. The U.S. has not fallen in international play since the 1995 final, its lone defeat in 27 games.
The current U.S. U-19 team will gather from May 28-29 at Stony Brook University in New York for the US Lacrosse Women's National Tournament before moving onto the FIL World Championship, which is scheduled for Aug. 3-14 in Hannover.