STATE COLLEGE, Pa., January 12, 2002 ¡ª The Penn State women¡¯s soccer team voted sophomore Joanna Lohman (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) as its Most Valuable Player which was announced at the annual team banquet on Saturday. Also earning recognition at the end of the year celebration were sophomore Heidi Drummond (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield) picked Outstanding Offensive Player, senior Bonnie Young (Spring, Texas/Klein) selected Outstanding Defensive Player and freshman Lindsay Bach (Rochester, N.Y./Aquinas Institute) as the team¡¯s Most Improved Player. Junior goalkeeper Alison Weimer (McKeesport, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) was named Unsung Hero, an award chosen and presented by the seniors.
Lohman was second in the Big Ten and on the team in assists (14) and third in scoring (32), while ranking 21st in the nation with 0.54 assists per game. A two-time first team All-Big Ten pick, she was named first team NSCAA All-American this season. Also a Honda Sports Award finalist, she broke the Penn State sophomore class record for assists in a season. Lohman was also chosen NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region twice and was named the Big Ten¡¯s Freshman of the Year in 2000. Drummond also rewrote the Nittany Lion record books. She set a new team record with 43 points by a sophomore. Second in the Big Ten in scoring and goals (18), she was named first team All-Big Ten and second team NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region. Young earns Outstanding Defensive Player recognition for the second-straight year. Second in the NCAA and Penn State¡¯s career leader with 104 games played, she began her career as a Nittany Lion as forward and was moved to defense two years ago. She anchored a defense that ranked 29th in the nation in scoring defense during the 2001 campaign. Ranked fifth in career goals (31), fourth in points (82), fifth in assists (20) and fifth in game-winning goals (11) in the Nittany Lion annals, Young is a two-time first team All-Big Ten performer and a first team NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region honoree. Bach played in 20 games this year in the midfield and on defense while starting in 13 before injuring herself in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Villanova. She made her first-collegiate start at North Carolina on September 19 and attempted four shots on the season. Weimer played 94:50 minutes over the course of three games this year. She made four saves while playing the entire second half in the 9-2 record-setting win over Bucknell. The Nittany Lions¡¯ four seniors were also recognized for their accomplishments over the four seasons. Oleksiuk, Young, Megan Mills (Bay Shore, N.Y./St. Anthony¡¯s) and Colleen Kaufold (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) were honored and presented with gifts. The class of 2002 compiled an 85-15-3 record while winning four-consecutive Big Ten regular season titles and three conference tournament crowns. They have also made four-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament quaterfinals and one NCAA College Cup appearance (1999). The 2001 women¡¯s soccer team was 21-4-1 and was led by first-year head coach and Co-Big Ten Coach of the Year Paula Willkins.
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