Penn State soccer rising among international ranks

UNIVERSITY PARK (WTAJ) — When Penn State football teams roll up to Beaver Stadium on Saturday construction will be all around. But most won’t have a lot to do with the school’s $700 million renovation project. But for the other football teams on campus.

Lying northwest of Beaver Stadium is Jeffery Field, and the home of Penn State soccer. A program that’s marked on the international stage continues to shine.

Penn State alumni have played in five straight Olympic games, two were in the starting 11 this year when the Americans took home gold.

“Watching Sam Coffey and watching Alyssa Naeher with our team in the gold medal game and just watching how big their eyes were. All you wanted to say to these student-athletes, they were in your shoes just a few years ago and you got to dream it to believe it,” Head Coach Erica Dambach said. “And that was exactly what Sam Coffey and Alyssa did.”

Dambach is in her 18th season leading Penn State. She’s won more than 240 games and ten Big Ten regular season titles. In 2015 Penn State won a National Championship.

That success on the college pitch is bleeding onto the international stage. Sam Coffey and Alyssa Naeher were both in the starting 11 when Team USA took gold at the Paris Olympics. For Naeher, it was her third game with the women’s national team. Coffey was playing in her first.

“For me, especially to see someone come from here and who I trained with and everything I actually get that opportunity is so cool to kind of see like a dream turned reality type of thing,” Kaitlyn MacBean, a senior forward said.

“All I could think about was their journey when I watched them,” Dambach added. “Just the the ups and the downs of their years during their college years. Because it’s hard, right? College athletics are hard. But the way that they weathered that storm and the way they continue to through being on the big stage, it just incredibly proud of both of them.”

One of the most notable Penn State soccer alumni is Ali Krieger. She won two World Cups with the USWNT and is on the Board of Trustees. She visited with the team in August.

“My goal is to play pro after college, which is why I looked to transfer here,” Senior Jordan Fusco said. “I think that’s huge, especially for players coming in. A lot of them that is also their goal. So just seeing the role models from Penn State at the levels above makes a huge difference.”

Get the latest Penn State sports updates with the Nittany Nation Newsletter or through the Nittany Nation App .

Penn State’s growth on the pitch is being rewarded with two construction projects at Jeffery Field. The projects total $30 million and bring an indoor training bubble, and a new office and locker room facility to the field. Dambach said the upgrades are well deserved.

“Both (teams) have been successful on the national level for many, many years,” said Dambach. “Both competing for national championships and to have the quality of a facility to match the quality of the student-athletes coming through these programs is appropriate and they’ve earned it.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com.