Eleanor Stone and Michele Brennan didn't want their field hockey careers to end on the sour note of two Final Four losses.

But now they might end with a gold medal in hand.

Stone, Brennan and junior Jen Stewart were chosen for the 22-member U.S. National Team, to be coached by Old Dominion's Beth Anders. Stone was a repeat selection.

In addition, six team members and two Lady Lion recruits qualified for the Under-21 National squad.

"It feels really good," Brennan said. "It's good to know when you work really hard, you can accomplish something."

"It's good now that I can make the choice (when to quit)," Stone added.

Unfortunately, the national team did not qualify for this year's Olympic games, finishing ninth in the qualifying tournament. Only the top five teams will make the trip to Barcelona this summer.

In the meantime, the U.S. team will look to make the top six at the 1993 Intercontinental Cup, Anders said. It will take on Great Britain in April at Old Dominion, and will spend the summer in Europe, Brennan said.

"In January we played Canada," Anders said. "Canada was in touch with Great Britain, (and) we're the ones they want to play."

Anders' Old Dominion squad went undefeated in winning last season's national championship.

"Our philosophy is basically simple," she said. "Those who perform will play -- it will come down to those who are performing."

Stone said Anders' personality differs from that of Coach Charlene Morett.

"Char's a lot more personable," Stone said. "(But Anders) knows the game better than anyone I've ever been coached by."

Morett said Brennan and Stone, who completed their eligibility last fall on Penn State's fourth-ranked 18-3-1 squad, have the advantage of being able to commit themselves completely to the team.

"It's a good time for them, being out of school," she said. "It's generally the route you take at this point -- you make a commitment to go to the Olympics."

For Brennan, things were complicated when she broke her leg on Jan. 2. Brennan was going down to make a save when her foot got caught on the turf. Brennan is out of her cast and in rehabilitation, and will start playing April 1.

For Stewart, the advantages are different.

"With Jen, she has the structured practice program and the facilities . . . to stay competitive," Morett said.

But the pressures of school and international play can collide, Stone said. The Cheshire, Conn., native got so far behind in her studies after trips to New Zealand and Australia last year that she has to stay in school for another year.

"It's hard. It's even harder that Jen has a season (left at Penn State)," Stone said.

Stone's international experience may put her a step ahead of the game, however.

"She's already been on the tour," Anders said of Penn State's second-leading all-time goal scorer. "The more mature you get, the better you get."

Anders said when the players get older, she puts them in teaching situations to help breed maturity.

One other factor that Anders weighs heavily is improvement.

"You can tell an awful lot about a person by the way they've improved," she said. "It depends on how much they've learned and how they've progressed."

But for those who haven't quite progressed to the highest level, the Under-21 squad exists. Its 46-person roster is peppered with eight Lady Lions, including active players Stewart, sophomores Kirt Benedict and Sharon Kuntz, freshman Jill Pearsall and senior Amy Stairs. The final cuts have yet to made before the 1992 Junior World Cup Qualifier in September.

"The experience is great for the under-21 kids," Morett said.

Anders said she is having difficulty getting foreign teams to commit to that team's schedule.