Many people around Stacy Gilburg seem pretty surprised by how incredibly well things have turned out for her, including Gilburg herself. But in the meantime, she has also made quite a few people very proud.

The senior defender for the field hockey team has pulled most of her surprises this season. After going three full seasons with the No. 2 Lady Lions without scoring a goal, Gilburg finished the 1991 regular season Sunday with 12 goals in 19 games, third on the team behind forward Eleanor Stone and midfielder Christine McGinley. Gilburg scored most of those goals off of huge blasts on penalty corner shots.

"If someone came up to me her freshmen year," Coach Charlene Morett said, "and paid me a million bucks to think that she would be shooting penalty corners this year, I'd be rich. But I never thought that she would be our penalty stroker. She could barely flick the ball freshman year."

Gilburg, though, has been one of the most consistent performers Morett has had. She has played in every game the last three years, and has been a mainstay on defense for the Lady Lions, including this year, being part of a defense that has allowed a mere three goals in 12 games on its home turf next to Holuba Hall.

"Stacy definitely leads us," fellow backfielder Becca Main said. "She's the core of our defense. I play a lot off of what she does."

But Gilburg had to make a big switch from offense to defense when she came to Penn State. Gilburg played forward at Manheim Township High School, just outside of Lancaster. But Morett moved her to defense not long after she arrived here.

"It was hard," Gilburg said. "It was a huge adjustment, not only playing at a top level but going from offense to defense. It was a pretty big change for me."

She's had plenty of help making the change. Gilburg's field hockey teammate since eighth grade has been Lady Lion goalie Michele Brennan, and Brennan has been a big part of getting through the adjustment.

"We knew each other even before that," Brennan said. "We used to swim together. We've known each other for so long, and we understand each other. And it's great having her on defense."

Was there any talk back then about playing together in college?

"Not a word," Gilburg said, "up until our senior year. I was thinking about going to Syracuse or James Madison, but when Michele made her recruiting trip, she knew right away that she wanted to come here. It took a little longer for me to make my decision, but I think I made the right choice."

And Gilburg might be staying around a little bit longer. Gilburg is majoring in arts education, and after graduation in May she plans to come back to Penn State to take classes for certification for one semester, then return to Lancaster to do her student-teaching for one semester. There has also been talk of her staying involved with the team as a graduate assistant.

"I haven't decided when I'm coming yet," Gilburg said, "whether I'm taking classes in the summer and teaching in the fall, or classes in the fall and teaching next spring. If I stay here in the fall, hopefully I'll coach here. I've talked to Char about it. I really would like to coach."

It must run in the family. Gilburg's father Tom played football at Syracuse University from 1958-60, with the Baltimore Colts from 1961-65, and has been head football coach at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster since 1975.

"I always wanted to coach," Tom Gilburg said, "and I encouraged my children to do the things they wanted to do. (Stacy's) very special. She's worked very hard to get to the level she's at now.

"I tell my players all the time that if they worked as hard as she did, they'd be something. She has an incredible work ethic."

"He loves it (there)," his daughter said. "Last year was his first losing season."

And Gilburg's father has been a major factor in her success.

"It's amazing how knowledgeable he is, not just in football, but every sport I did, because I was in track and swimming in high school as well," she said. "When I talk to him on the phone he always has something to say (about field hockey). He's been such a positive influence on and off the field."

So has Morett.

"I can't imagine being at another school," Gilburg said, "or being coached by any other coach in the nation. (Morett) knows what she's talking about, and she's such a great person, too. I think that combination can take the team anywhere. That's how we got to where we are now."

Which is probably headed to the NCAA playoffs, starting next week. Unfortunately, every game in the playoffs could be Gilburg's last as a player.

"I've been trying to put it off (thinking about it)," Gilburg said. "It's going to be an emotional time.

"I just want to make the most of it."