March 10, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State field hockey coach Charlene Morett has announced the addition of three newcomers to the Penn State field hockey program. Hayley Kerstetter, Bethany Mink and Ally Lauth will all make their debuts in the blue and white this upcoming fall. Mink and Lauth have already enrolled at Penn State this semester.
Mink comes from a very strong club program, WC Eagles, where she was their high scorer and most experienced player. A graduate of Allentown High School, Mink was also a standout for their high school team. She attended Penn State camps since she was in eighth grade and always had the dream of one day becoming a Penn State Nittany Lion.
"Beth has an extremely dangerous shot, both backhand, forehand and drag flick," said Morett. "She also can play a number of positions on the field. We primarily see her as a forward for her keen scoring ability but would not hesitate to use her in the backfield to help with transferring the ball."
Mink is one of the two mid-semester "gray shirts", as she began taking classes this January. Her parents are John Mink and Dawn Fridirici. Her brother Nate just recently graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. Her sister Gabby Mink played field hockey at Towson Unversity.
A standout player at State College, Lauth was very committed to improving her field hockey by training with East Coast Field Hockey Club in Harrisburg. According to Morett, she has really improved her stick skills to go along with her speed. Lauth is very hungry around the cage and can be very dangerous when she has the ball in the circle with a deceptive backhand shot.
"Ally's decision to come in mid-year was really a factor of improving her game to best prepare for the fall season," said Morett. "I have coached Ally since she was in third grade in our Youth Field Hockey program. Ally has natural speed, which makes her an immediate threat when she has the ball. We see her as a pure forward with great scoring potential."
"I have tremendous respect for both Beth and Ally to come out of high school early and to take on the challenges of a strong academic university and athletic program," said Morett.
Kerstetter was a center midfielder and a back standout from Selinsgrove High School, the same high school as current teammate Ashtin Klingler.
"Hayley is such a tenacious defender. You notice her right away as she is always around the ball," said Morett. "She has great vision and is always looking to start the play out of the backfield. We are very excited about her joining our program."
For the first time since 1998, Penn State was crowned the Big Ten Tournament champions, after defeating the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 6 in the tournament championship game. The Big Ten champion Nittany Lions finished the season with a 17-6 overall record and also earned an NCAA First Round victory over the Northeastern Huskies. Check back to GoPSUsports.com for continued updates throughout the offseason. Follow Penn State field hockey on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PennStateFH or www.twitter.com/GoPSUGreg.