Sept. 2, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Moira Putsch (Media, Pa.), the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year for field hockey, has joined the Penn State squad, Nittany Lions head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss announced Wednesday.
Putsch, a forward, started 22 of 23 games as a freshman last season with Maryland, totaling 33 points on 12 goals and nine assists. She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week four times before earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year and NFHCA All-Region first team honors at the conclusion of the regular season.
Putsch was also recently named to the U.S. Under-21 team in August. She will be eligible to play for the Nittany Lions this season.
"We are excited to have Moira and her family join the Penn State field hockey program," said Morett-Curtiss. "Moira brings a lot of positive attributes to the team. She is a very skilled and speedy player. Her game sense around the goal is very unselfish as her first look is always to set up her teammates. Moira easily transitioned onto our team during preseason with her strong work ethic and supportiveness of her new teammates."
Putsch's international experience includes competing for the U.S. National Under-19 team for the 2012-13 season and the Under-21 team in June, 2013, 2014 and 2015. She competed with the U.S. in a tour of Holland in 2015 with the U-21 team and back in 2013 with the U-19 team.
The U.S. U-21 Women's National Team has a full schedule in the coming months in preparation for the Junior Pan American Championship, March 29 - April, 10 2016 in Trinidad & Tobago. Training Camp weekends will be held in November, February and March, with two of those consisting of games against college teams in their spring seasons. The team will host Great Britain's U-21 team for a five game test series January 4-12, 2016 at Spooky Nook Sports in Lancaster, Pa. before heading to the Junior Pan American Championship, a qualification for the 2016 Junior World Cup in November.
In high school at the Academy of Notre Dame (Villanova, Pa.), Putsch was a two-time All-American who set school and Delaware County career and single-season scoring records. She found the back of the cage 140 times with 79 assists in 89 career games, and capped her career as a four-year starter with 54 goals and 29 assists while serving as team captain in her senior season.