Feb. 29, 2012
PANAMA CITY, Panama - Penn State women's soccer sophomore sensation Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) is in Panama preparing for the beginning of U-20 CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Qualifying for the World Cup. Hayes is one of 20 players in Panama City that open qualifying on Friday against Guatemala at 5:00 p.m. ET.
This is the second go-around for Hayes with the U-20s during the World Cup process. She was a reserve player during the 2010 qualifying tournament with teammate Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) as the Americans won the CONCACAF region. That team finished in the quarterfinals or the World Cup hosted by Germany. This year's World Cup will be hosted by Japan in August.
Hayes tallied an assist in the 2010 World Cup as one of the youngest players on that team. This time, Hayes represents as one of the most veteran leaders on the squad. She is one of four members from the 2010 squad repeating their time through the U-20s joined by UNC's Crystal Dunn, Sam Mewis of UCLA and Duke's Mollie Pathman.
Hayes led the nation in scoring last year with 31 goals and 70 points, while earning a trip to St. Louis as a Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Finalist. Hayes was the only underclassman invited to St. Louis and the first Penn Stater to be a finalist since Tiffany Weimer in 2005. The U-20s recently played in the La Manga Cup in Spain last month and look to repeat as CONCACAF champions.
Following the Guatemala match on Friday, the U.S. takes on Cuba on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. ET The Americans wrap up Group B play against host Panama at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The semifinal matches will be hosted March 9 and the championship match will be hosted on Sunday the 11th.
GoPSUsports.com will have recaps following each match to track Hayes's progress with the United States U-20 team in Panama.
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
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