Aug. 2, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's soccer officially opened the 2012 training season on Wednesday in Happy Valley. Head coach Erica Walsh welcomed the squad and opened the morning with fitness tests.
The Nittany Lion squad opened the first of two training sessions on the day with a fitness and conditioning test at Holuba Hall before moving onto other drills. Wednesday was the first day for teams around the nation to begin their soccer campaigns.
The 14-time defending Big Ten champion women's team will open the 2012 regular season on Fri., August 17 when it travels to ACC-power Virginia. One week later, on Fri., August 24, the Lions will host defending National Champion Stanford at Jeffrey Field at 7:30 p.m.
Penn State returns the majority of its scoring from last year's Sweet Sixteen squad as MAC Hermann Trophy Finalist Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.), two-time NSCAA All-American Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.), Emily Hurd (Sammamish, Wash.) and Taylor Schram (Canonsburg, Pa.) tallied 52 goals and 38 assists (142 points) lead the Lion offense.
Check out video footage from Wednesday's practice sessions and interviews with Erica Walsh and senior captain Maddy Evans.