Kirt Benedict put some fear into her field hockey competitors this summer.

The senior forward and three of her Penn State teammates participated this past July in the U.S. Olympic Festival in San Antonio.

"It was serious competition, but it was a lot of fun," Benedict said. "The other teams know we're going to be good. I think we scared them."

Benedict and senior defender Becca Main were on the East team which won the bronze medal with a 2-0 victory over the South. Junior defender Jill Pearsall and senior forward Sharon Kuntz were part of the gold medal-winning West team.

The four were selected to play in the Festival by trying out during a camp at Rutgers University last December.

"It was incredible -- the whole experience was fun," Kuntz said. "Everyone was there to play, and the coaches were great. I don't even know if I can compare it to anything."

Kuntz said most of the drills they did were less strenuous and more fun as well, and that the Festival provided a great chance for the Lady Lions to size up their competition.

"Anytime you get a chance to play against your competition and see what they're like is a good opportunity," she said. "Even though we were competing against each other, we were still there as Penn State."

More importantly, the Festival was a vehicle for the Lady Lions to show the rest of the nation how strong they will be this season.

"The four of us played at a very high level," Main said. "I know we left a lot of people nervous about the season -- knowing how well we played."

Although the four had to play against each other, Main said they didn't give away any Penn State secrets to their inquiring Festival teammates from other schools.

All of the players said the Festival was a fun experience. Benedict said they were able to meet and watch many athletes from different sports -- including those they usually don't get to see, like men's field hockey.

For Pearsall, the Festival was much more than fun -- she provided the gold medal-winning goal for the West team.

"It was an intense time," she said. "It was a great way to prepare myself and my teammates for our season. We're really looking forward to playing now."

Pearsall's goal was off a penalty stroke in the last two minutes of the game, and was the only score of the 1-0 win over the North team.

"It was a good opportunity for when I take penalty strokes for Penn State," she said. "It was good for me to take it with the pressure so I could get used to it."

The Lady Lions open their season at home against Syracuse Sept. 10.