UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Big Ten Offense Player of the Week, Big Ten Freshman of the Week, NFHCA National Offensive Player of the Week and First Team All-Big Ten are just a few of the honors freshman Sophia Gladieux has already earned in her first season at Penn State, not to mention the 11 goals she has accumulated in the regular season.
Gladieux has been impressive on and off the field since her arrival to Penn State. As a first-year student in the middle of a pandemic it has had its challenges, along with having the season postponed. She has kept her focus and been determined to show her skills throughout those tough months.
Gladieux now calls Penn State home, but it was not her only possibility when looking for schools. She had been recruited from an early age because of her impressive skills and high school field hockey career at Oley Valley in Oley, Pa. Gladieux knew Penn State was the right place for her when she got to talk to head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss, as well as assistant coaches Lisa Bervinchak-Love and Stuart Smith.
"I had a great connection with them, and they made me feel like field hockey wasn't just the only thing they cared about or asked about. That was really refreshing because field hockey has been my life since I was very young and it did take up a lot of my childhood," Gladieux said.
"When I saw her as a ninth or tenth grader, we knew she had a special talent. Her speed, stick skills and shooting abilities are really at an elite level," Morett-Curtiss said.
Gladieux felt she was prepared to play at a college level coming into the season because of how she was coached by her high school coaching staff, but she had to transition when it came to the amount of practice, workouts and schoolwork she now manages in a week.
"In the fall when the season was postponed, we were all able to transition to college level courses while still practicing. We were able to take things a little slower and know what works best for us," Gladieux said.
Before each game weekend there is always preparation to be done for the team and to assess their strengths and weaknesses as well as their opponents. Gladieux tends to prepare for games both by herself as well as with the team.
"I watch film by myself personally to just see what I need to do but I try not to overthink it because when I do over think things, I'm my biggest challenger at that point," Gladieux said. "When I am in my head too much, that is when things start to fall apart so I just try to tell myself let second nature take over — 'I've been here, I've done this, I know what to do,'" Gladieux said.
Morett-Curtiss said Gladieux has grown this season and has the skills to develop over the next four years.
"One of her biggest attributes is that she is very coachable and willing to learn, comes in to watch film every week, wants to be better and I think that a tribute to her not sitting back and just going through her daily routine.... there is a lot for her to learn because she has so many gifted natural abilities, but I think she still needs to learn the game and how she can get more touches on the ball, how she can set up her teammates and how to find the open spaces to make the midfield cuts and receptions. She improves every week," Morett-Curtiss said.
The 13-game regular season recently ended and Gladieux has proven to be a threat in each outing. The game that seemed to be where she exceled the most was on March 19 against Michigan State. Penn State was down 2-0 starting the second half when Gladieux scored four goals, including three straight to put the Nittany Lions ahead. Her last goal was scored with just under two minutes left in the game and Penn State took home the 5-2 win.
"I think I got hungrier, and I knew we shouldn't tolerate being down two, that wasn't okay...we all brought it in and kind of said let's go, let's go do what we need to do," Gladieux said. "After scoring that second goal it just motivated me to work harder, I was trying to be a work force on the field at that point.
"In the Michigan State game, I let loose a little bit and stopped being so hard on myself because in the first half I was overthinking, being so hard on myself, and putting myself down but when I put all of that on the backburner, I noticed I was able to do so well. I feel like that was a big learning moment for me."
With her first regular season ending, Gladieux is ready to go into the Big Ten Tournament with her team, starting April 21, to win a conference title, one of her biggest goals she wants to achieve while she is a Nittany Lion.
"The Big Ten Tournament is totally different than the regular season. Everyone is there to compete. I think everyone is really excited to go and showcase what we have and hopefully win," Gladieux said.
Gladieux has shown her capability on the field as a college athlete in the 2020 season and is looking forward to all that is in store for her in the next seasons to come as well as this year's Big Ten Tournament. She is concentered and committed to finding ways to better herself as a player, teammate and student.
"I want to always be open and know there is always room for improvement...to be accepting and wanting to learn more. That will help me become a better athlete and person in general," Gladieux said.