2016-17 HOCKEY HUMANITARIAN AWARD NOMINEE
2016-17 CHA ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
2016-17 ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
2015-16 ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
2015-16 ALL-CHA ACADEMIC TEAM
2014-15 ALL-CHA ACADEMIC TEAM
2014-15 ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
2013-14 ALL-CHA ACADEMIC TEAM
NITTANY LION CAREER
2016-17
Nominated for the Hockey Humanitarian Award...Played in all 35 games during her senior year...Tallied seven points on two goals and five assists...Recorded her first point of the season on an assist in a 4-2 loss at UConn (10/22)...Posted an assist in a 5-5 tie at Princeton (12/31)...Recorded an assist in back-to-back games against RIT (1/21-22)...Scored her first goal of the season on an empty net goal in a 4-1 win at Lindenwood (2/10)...Tallied her second goal of the 2016-17 campaign in a 3-2 win at No. 8 Robert Morris (2/17).
2015-16
Played in all 37 games during her junior season...Netted three points (3a) on the year...Netted a season-best two assists in a 3-2 win at Ohio State (1/3)...Tallied her first assist of the year in Penn State’s 5-3 victory over No. 7/8 Boston University (10/9)...Recorded 45 shots on the year, which ranked seventh-best on the team in 2015-16...Tallied a season-best five shot attempts in a 2-2 tie against Robert Morris (1/23)...Posted a season-best +2 rating twice (Robert Morris 11/14, Ohio State 1/3)...Skated in her 100th game with Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen against RIT (1/29).
2014-15
Appeared in all 37 games, scoring three goals and two assists for five points...Two-point game in the series finale at New Hampshire (1/24)...Dished out an assist in the following game, against Syracuse (1/30)...Took 53 shots, taking a season-best four in four contests...Blocked 34 shots, including a six-block performance against Quinnipiac (10/12).
2013-14
Played in all 36 games at center, tallying six points on a goal and five assists...Opened collegiate career with a three-game point streak by tallying four assists: two at Vermont (10/4), one at Vermont (10/5) and one at Quinnipiac (10/11)...Scored first collegiate goal against New Hampshire (10/26).
BEFORE PENN STATE
Member of two-time Minnesota High School AA runner-up Edina High School (2010-11), while leading the team to the AA semifinals junior year...Has tallied career totals of 200 points from 72 goals and 126 assists in four years of high school hockey...Helped lead Edina to three section titles in 2010-12...Named All-Lake Conference four times and to the State All-Tournament team in 2011...Participated in the USA Hockey Developmental Camp in 2011...Played in the Minnesota Elite League in 2011 and 2012...Played club hockey for the Minnesota Ice Cats 2009-13.
PERSONAL
Sarah Frances Nielsen was born December 2, 1994, in Des Moines, Iowa, to Chris and Kathy Nielsen, who played volleyball at Iowa State...Has an older brother, Zach, an older sister, Emily, and a younger sister, Kate...Grandfather, Dave Nielsen, graduated from Penn State in 1974...Nutrition major.