Dec. 19, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Six Penn State women's soccer players were named to Top Drawer Soccer's Women's Top 100 lists, with three freshmen named among the top-10 first years in the country and three upperclassmen listed as the nation's top-100 female soccer players.
Emily Ogle (Strongsville, Ohio), Frannie Crouse (Greensburg, Pa.) and Maddie Elliston (Omaha, Neb.) were ranked second, fourth and sixth respectively, the most from one school in the top-10 of the Women's Freshmen Top-100 list.
Ogle, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and an NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region second team honoree, ranks second on the list. She logged 1,922 minutes and started every Penn State match. The midfielder scored a trio of goals and posted six assists with four of her helpers coming in Big Ten play.
All-Big Ten second and freshman team honoree Crouse sits fourth. She earned three Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards and her 22 points on the season were tied atop the Nittany Lions' points list. She scored a team-high 10 goals on 55 shots and appearing in all 24 of Penn State's matches.
Elliston is sixth on the list after capturing All-Big Ten Freshmen Team honors. The defender logged the second-most minutes on the Nittany Lions with 2,085, assisting on a pair of goals and helping Penn State to nine shutouts.
Appearing on the Women's National Top-100 list was Whitney Church (Ashburn, Va.), Mallory Weber (Novi, Mich.) and Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica).
Church clocked in at 29th. She directed one of the nation's top defenses, which allowed more than one goal just twice and recorded nine clean sheets. She was named an NSCAA All-America first team selection, a MAC Hermann Trophy Award semifinalist and was the Big Ten Defender of the Year.
Weber stands at 51st after scoring 22 points, tied for the team-high. She netted eight goals, including three game-winners, on a career-best 50 shots.
The 2014 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, an NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region first team pick and an NSCAA Scholar All-America second team honoree, Rodriguez finished in the 80th spot. The Costa Rican Women's National Team member tallied a career-high seven goals and took 37 shots in 18 games played.
The Nittany Lions concluded the 2014 campaign with the 10th Elite Eight match in program history during Penn State's 20th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance at Texas A&M on Nov. 29. Putting up its seventh 20-win season, the Blue and White won its 16th conference title in 17 years, a record unmatched by any Division I program.