Aug. 3, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's soccer officially opened the 2011 training season on Wednesday under rainy skies in Happy Valley. Head coach Erica Walsh welcomed the squad and opened the morning with fitness tests.
"Overall there's a really good energy out here and an excitement for what's ahead," Coach Walsh said. "You get the feeling of the returning players turning into upper classmen, who will take on some added leadership, as well as the freshmen in search of their place on the team."
The Nittany Lion squad opened the first of two training sessions on the day with a fitness and conditioning test at the multisport facility before moving onto other drills. Wednesday was the first day for teams around the nation to begin their soccer campaigns.
Overall, 19 letterwinners return to a Penn State team that won its 13th straight Big Ten title, a co-championship with College Cup participant Ohio State. Penn State looks for its 14th straight Big Ten championship, which would once again be a new women's record for consecutive titles by a Big Ten program as the current Northwestern tennis team is also at 13.
Helping lead that charge are eight returning starters from a year ago that led Penn State to an NCAA Second Round appearance. On the captain front, the Nittany Lions will be led by second-year skipper Emma Thomson (Nottinghamshire, England) and a fellow defender in Lexi Marton (Aurora, Ontario). Also returning to the fold is NSCAA All-American midfielder and U.S. U-23 National Team member Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.). Nairn recently spent time with the D.C. United Women's squad in the W-League along with fellow Maryland native Bri Hovington (Lothian, Md.). Poised for another great year, redshirt-sophomore Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii) is Penn State's returning scorer from 2010 (9 goals, 5 assists, 23 points).
As for newcomers, 10 Nittany Lions reported to camp for the first time including graduate student Erin McNulty (Winnipeg, Manitoba), a goalkeeper who graduated from Florida State in 2010. Other top newcomers include Kori Chapic (Novelty, Ohio), who starred on the U.S. U-20 National Team with current Penn State forward Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) as well as freshman Whitney Church (Auburn, Va.), a top-rated defender out of northern Virginia.
Members of the Nittany Lion squad will be appearing and signing autographs at the Penn State 8v8 Kicks for Kids Tournament on Saturday. Fans are encouraged to meet and greet with the Penn State squad from 1-2 p.m. at the IM Fields on Park Avenue. Proceeds from the tournament benefit The Second Mile, Easter Seals and United Way.
Penn State men's and women's soccer have also teamed up for another community event on Saturday, Aug. 13. The women's team will scrimmage at Jeffrey Field at 4:00 p.m. and the men will play at 5:00 p.m. in the second annual Blue/White Game. Following the conclusion of the two scrimmages, a free youth clinic will be conducted on Little Jeffrey Field at 6:00 p.m. with an autograph session to follow at 7:00 p.m. More info on that event will be made available next week when Penn State releases its promotional schedule for the season.
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
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--NITTANY LIONS--