Blue White Illustrated

M aya Hayes needs a minute to pick a favorite goal from her sophomore season. There was that sublime chip over the Northwestern goalkeep- er under the lights at Jeffrey Field back in September, or maybe the opening goal against Wake Forest in the NCAA Sweet 16, when she intercepted a back pass from a Deacon defender, outpaced the backline and gave Penn State an early lead. Finally, she settled on her choice: the long, volleyed pass that she one-timed perfectly to beat the Illinois keeper in the first half of the Big Ten title game. "I think that's the one," she said, and who could blame her if she were only mostly certain? When you find the back of the net 31 times in a 26-game season, the goals have a way of blend- ing together. Hayes was simply unstoppable as a Nittany Lion sophomore, leading the nation in scoring and breaking the school and Big Ten records for points (70, thanks to her eight assists) in a single season. The West Orange, N.J. native fell just one shy of Tiffany Weimer's Penn State single-season record of 32 goals, set in 2005, and authored a thorough rewrite of the school's sophomore scoring records. A consensus first-team All-Ameri- can and a semifinalist for the Her- mann Trophy, which goes to college soccer's top player, Hayes was the easy choice as BWI's Female Athlete of the Year. Such success wouldn't have been easy to predict this time last year. Hayes put together a decent freshman season – five goals and an assist in 21 appearances – but was behind senior Danielle Toney and fellow freshman Tani Costa in the offensive pecking or- der. But Toney graduated last fall, and Costa missed the 2011 season with a knee injury, meaning more would be expected of Hayes. Turns out that pres- sure was exactly what she needed. "I think it came down to knowing that it was kind of on me now," Hayes said. "With Danielle gone, it was just being comfortable with what was expected of me. I'm not sure if it was freshman jit- ters or what, but even last year dur- ing spring practice, I just felt more comfortable. Then, it was just not tak- ing anything for granted." R Y A N J O N E S | B L U E W H I T E C O N T R I B U T O R Specifically, that meant realizing she was now her teammates' No. 1 tar- get up front, and performing like it. The 5-foot-7 Hayes focused on improving her movement without the ball, the better to create space for herself among opposing defenses. The Nittany Lions' talented midfield, led by U.S. na- tional team member Christine Nairn, had no trouble finding her. "Without them last season," Hayes said, "there's no me." She gave them good reason to keep finding her. Hayes displayed a com- plete offensive game, beating defend- ers with her pace to create her own shot, or displaying the cold-blooded touch of a finisher after her teammates did the dirty work. Nine of her goals were game-winners for the Nittany Li- ons, who finished 21-5 overall and reached the third round of the NCAA tournament before falling on the road to Wake Forest. Hayes scored both Penn State goals in that 4-2 loss, a fin- ish that was at once disappointing and promising. "I think we had all the pieces last sea- son, but we had key players in key po- sitions hurt," she said. "Still, I think it was us getting over the hump. Two sea- sons before that, we didn't get past the second round. The Sweet 16 is not where we wanted it to end, but I think we can look forward to this season." Indeed, Penn State returns most of its starters in 2012, although Hayes won't be one of them—at least, not right away. She's tied up this summer with the U.S. U20 national team, which will compete in the U20 World Cup in Japan starting Aug. 19. Hayes HONOR ROLL KELSEY AMY FIELD HOCKEY A first-team All-Big Ten and All- America selection, Amy led the Nit- tany Lions to their first conference tournament crown in 14 years, claiming tourney MVP honors in the process. The junior from Sweet Val- ley, Pa., finished her season tied for first in the Big Ten with 25 goals and 57 points. Heading into her senior season this fall, she has 52 career goals to rank eighth in Penn State history. CASSIDY BELL SOFTBALL Despite missing 18 games early in the year due to an emergency ap- pendectomy, Bell broke a 24-year- old single-season school record by compiling a .423 batting average. A junior from Bakersfield, Calif., she was named to the National Fast- pitch Coaches Association All-Great Lakes first-team squad, becoming Penn State's first first-team All-Re- gion honoree since the 2007 sea- son. Bell scored a team-high 23 runs, with six doubles, a triple and W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M a team-leading nine home runs, all in the final two months of the sea- son. CAITLIN LANE CROSS COUNTRY Lane, the Big Ten Athlete of the Year in her sport, led the Nittany Li- ons to a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Champi- onships in November. It was the best performance by any Big Ten team and the best by a Penn State women's squad since 1996. The senior from Greenwich, N.Y., who also won the conference crown in October, covered Indiana State's 6,000-meter course in 20 minutes, 3 seconds – good enough for a 16th-place finish and All-America laurels. MAGGIE LUCAS BASKETBALL Capping a sophomore season in which she finished third in the Big Ten in scoring at 19.5 points per game, Lucas garnered honorable mention Associated Press All-Ameri- ca accolades and was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree. A graduate of Germantown Academy in Narbeth, Pa., she became only the fourth Lady Lion to score more than 600 points in a season and only the third player in school history to reach 1,000 points by her sopho- more year. Her 88.6 percent mark from the free throw line was the third-best single-season percentage in school history. DEJA MCCLENDON VOLLEYBALL For the second season in a row, McClendon received All-America recognition from the American Vol- leyball Coaches Association. This time, however, the sophomore from Louisville, Ky., earned a first-team nod. Also a first-team All-Big Ten honoree, McClendon was named to the Lexington Regional All-Tourna- ment team, started all 33 matches at outside hitter and led Penn State with 432 kills. She also ranked 10th in the conference with an average 3.54 kills per set and was third on the team in digs with 245, an average of 2.01 digs per set. – T.O. A U G U S T 2 1 , 2 0 1 2 27 led the U.S. team in scoring during qualifying, and she said her work with the national team has helped her greatly improve her defensive skills. The good news is that Hayes should re- turn to Happy Valley in the fall a more complete player. The bad news: She'll miss Penn State's entire nonconference schedule. Missing nearly a third of the Lions' regular-season games means Hayes won't likely match her prolific scoring output from 2011. Maybe that'll be a good thing – an excuse not to dwell on statistics and focus on wins and losses. That said, if last season is any indication, Hayes has no problem ig- noring her numbers, even as she com- piles them at a record pace. "There were moments when I'd think about it, but not too much," she said. "I knew at the end of the day, the only way I got to that position was not thinking about it."

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