Jan. 28, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's soccer will be well represented in the 2012 Summer Olympics after the United States and Canadian Women's National Teams qualified for the London games on Friday night in Vancouver, B.C. Head coach Erica Walsh will assist the U.S. efforts for the second straight games, while Erin McLeod and Carmelina Moscato are members of the Canadian team.
Last night, two trips to the Olympics were on the line in the form of the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The United States defeated a pesky Costa Rican side, 3-0, to lift the Americans to the Olympics. While Walsh has served as an assistant for the national team since 2008, the U.S. was missing former Nittany Lion and World Cup star Ali Krieger, who suffered a torn ACL in the first game of the tournament. The United States rolled through group play, out-scoring the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Mexico by a combined 31-0. The Americans are two-time Olympic gold medalists.
For the Canadians, they defeated regional rival Mexico, 3-1, to earn their ticket to London. McLeod, an NSCAA All-American for the Nittany Lions in 2004 and 2005, has been a stabilizing force in net for Canada for several years, starting two of the three games in the 2011 World Cup this past summer. Also on the team is Moscato, who was a reserve for the World Cup and in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Canada and the United States will face off in the championship game tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. from B.C. Place in Vancouver. The game will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, please visit GoPSUsports.com.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Twitter: @PSUWomensSoccer.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Facebook: Facebook.com/PSUWomensSoccer.
Check Penn State's YouTube page: YouTube/GoPSUTV.
--NITTANY LIONS--