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ADMINISTRATION Heck hired to spearhead facilities master plan Penn State has hired former Butler administrator Carl Heck as senior as- sociate athletic director for capital, events and facilities, and named Herb Combs associate athletic director for facilities management and operations. Athletic director Sandy Barbour an- nounced the moves in December. "I'm thrilled that Carl Heck will be joining our Penn State athletics family," Barbour said. "During his time at But- ler, Carl developed an extensive back- ground in capital projects, facilities and events, which will bene=t us as we con- tinue to move forward with our facili- ties master plan." Combs, she said, "has been a tireless and dedicated teammate for this ath- letics department for the last 13-plus MEN'S SOCCER Molloy to Portland in MLS draft Penn State mid=elder Aaron Molloy was selected 16th overall by the Portland Tim- bers in the =rst round of the 2020 Major League Soccer SuperDra@ on Jan. 9. "I'm thrilled to be given an opportunity by such an extraordinary club," Molloy said. "I'm excited to get started and show everyone what I can do." Molloy, a native of Dublin, Ireland, be- came the 15th Nittany Lion to be selected in the MLS dra@ and is the second-highest dra@ee in program his- tory a@er Corey Hert- zog was chosen 13th in the 2011 dra@. He is the =rst Penn State player to go to the big leagues since Con- nor Maloney and Robby Sagel were se- lected in the 2017 dra@. "This is a great day for Aaron," head coach Je? Cook said. "We are absolutely delighted for him, as he has worked tremendously hard to earn this opportu- nity. He has been an inspirational =gure in our soccer program and a model stu- dent-athlete at Penn State. We are so ex- cited to support Aaron and watch him >ourish as he begins his professional ca- reer with the Portland Timbers." Molloy played in 50 games in three sea- sons for the Nittany Lions, totaling 36 points on 14 goals and eight assists. The two-time team captain netted nine goals and added six assists for 24 points during his senior campaign, earning Big Ten Mid=elder of the Year honors. He was a MAC Hermann Trophy semi=nalist and a United Soccer Coaches second-team All- American. In December, Molloy was invited to the 2019 adidas MLS College Showcase, a three-day event held in conjunction with the NCAA Men's College Cup. The event gave technical sta?s from every MLS club an opportunity to scout the top collegiate prospects in the nation, including players with remaining NCAA eligibility. ■ MOLLOY WOMEN'S SOCCER Dambach named USWNT assistant Penn State's Erica Dambach was named by head coach Vlatko Andonovski as an assistant for the U.S. Women's National Team's Olympic Qualifying Training Camp Jan. 5-15 in Tampa. Dambach is continuing her duties with the Nittany Lions, as the defending Big Ten tournament champions prepare for spring practice and the upcoming 2020 women's soccer season – her 14th as head coach. The USWNT training camp was aimed at preparing the two-time defending World Cup champions for the CONCA- CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tour- nament Jan. 28-Feb. 9. The United States will be seeking to secure a spot in this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo. Dambach previously served as an assis- tant coach for the USWNT during the 2012 Olympic qualifying stage and won a gold medal as an assistant coach with the U.S. in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. Andonovski recently released his 28- player roster, which included Penn State alumnae Alyssa Naeher and Ali Krieger. Both were members of the 2019 Women's World Cup team. Dambach coached Nae- her from 2007-09 at Penn State and coached Krieger during the 2008 Olympic Games. In 2019, Dambach led Penn State to its eighth Big Ten tournament championship and seventh NCAA Round of 16 appear- ance in the past nine seasons. She has won 219 games as the head coach of the Nittany Lions. ■ ACADEMICS Penn State athletes honored by Big Ten Ninety-four student-athletes from Penn State's fall sports teams earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2019. The 94 fall selections equal the number of honorees the Nittany Lions earned in the fall of 2018 and rank as the third-highest total since 1991-92, Penn State's =rst year of competition in the Big Ten. Eleni Prodes (=eld hockey), Blake Gillikin (football), Julia Pa- ternain (women's cross country/track and =eld) and Kerry Abello (women's soccer) each own perfect 4.0 grade-point averages. Abello and Gillikin earned =rst-team CoSIDA Aca- demic All-America honors, in addition to their Academic All- Conference recognition. ■

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