Oct. 28, 2016
ROSEMONT, Ill. - Eight members of the Penn State women's soccer team have received postseason honors from the Big Ten, as announced by the conference office Friday afternoon.
Three Nittany Lions led the way with All-Big Ten First Team honors, while two Nittany Lions received All-Big Ten Third Team honors. Along with the five all-conference honorees, two Nittany Lions were named to the All-Freshman Team and one Nittany Lion received the Sportsmanship Award.
Elizabeth Ball (Richmond, Va.), Frannie Crouse (Greensburg, Pa.) and Nickolette Driesse (Wayne, N.J.) received All-Big Ten First Team honors. In program history, the Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in First Team selections with 66. Wisconsin ranks second in Big Ten history with 28 selections.
Ball, a junior defender, has been a mainstay on the Nittany Lion backline in 2016. Ball has started all 18 matches this season, recorded five points on two goals and one assist. On the year, Ball has played in 1,541 minutes, which is fourth-best on the team. Ball and the Nittany Lion defense have tallied eight shutouts during the 2016 season.
Crouse, a junior forward, finished the regular season with 25 points on 12 goals and one assist. Her 12 goals this season lead the Nittany Lions and Big Ten, while her 25 points are a team-best and rank third in the conference. Crouse closed out the regular season with at least one goal in five of the last seven matches.
Driesse, a senior midfielder, has started all 18 matches in 2016, played in 1,460 minutes and leads the team with six assists. In Penn State's 3-0 win at Maryland on Oct. 9, Driesse tied a career-best day with two assists.
Megan Schafer (Langhorne, Pa.) and Charlotte Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) brought home All-Big Ten Third Team honors.
Schafer, a junior forward, has netted 14 points on five goals and four assists during the 2016 season. She ranks second on the team in points (14), goals (five) and is tied for second in assists (four).
Williams, a sophomore midfielder, has recorded 12 points on four goals and four assists. On the team, Williams is tied for second in assists (four), ranks third in goals (four) and points (12). Williams was named to the 2015 Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Amanda Dennis (San Diego, Calif.) and Laura Freigang (Oppenheim, Germany) were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, while Isabelle Clauss (Clarks Summit, Pa.) was named the Sportsmanship Award honoree for Penn State.
During her freshman season Dennis has tallied a record of 11-3-4, recorded a goals against average of .80, made 48 saves, recorded a save percentage of .762 and posted seven solo shutouts.
Freigang, a midfielder, recorded two goals during her first season donning the Blue and White. Most recently, Freigang scored the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win against Ohio State (Oct. 26) to help the Nittany Lions clinch a share of their 18th Big Ten regular season title.
Clauss, a 2015 Academic All-Big Ten honoree, has made appearances in two games in 2016 as a defender.
The Big Ten Tournament begins for the No. 2 seed Nittany Lions with the No. 7 seed Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 1 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.