Lady booter duo, coach play with nation’s best

By JOHN GIBLIN
Collegian Staff Writer

While most students were ringing in the New Year with family and friends, three members of the Penn State women's soccer team broke in 1999 in an untraditional way.

On New Year's Day, freshmen Megan Mills and Emily Oleksiuk headed to the warm climate of Florida to participate in the U.S. Youth Soccer Association Interregional Event, part of the United States Olympic Developmental Program. The event, held in Seminole County, Fla., took place from Jan. 1-5.

As members of the Under-19 East Regional team, the duo competed with and against some of the top athletes in the country. In addition to Mills and Oleksiuk, players such as Virginia's Darci Borski, Syracuse's Tracy Stalker, Florida's Abby Wambach, and the Connecticut trio of Lauren Molinaro, Mary Frances Monroe and Casey Zimney were showcased.

"I had a great time," Mills said. "We didn't train all that much -- we just started playing."

Also making the journey to the Sunshine State was Penn State coach Pat Farmer, who served as an assistant for the Under-19 team during the five day event. The East Regional squad stayed at the Homewood Suites Hotel in Lake Mary, Fla., while the practice and training facilities were located at the Seminole County Sports Training Center in Seminole, Fla.

While Mills and Farmer returned to Penn State after the camp ended, Oleksiuk did not. As a goalkeeper for the regional team, Oleksiuk participated in individual goalkeeping sessions as well as playing with the entire team. It was there, in her sessions with goalkeeping coaches Charlotte Moran and Chris Ducar -- whose wife Tracy plays for the U.S. National team -- where she was selected to play with the National Under-21 team. Only three other players from the camp were selected in addition to Oleksiuk for the team -- UConn's Monroe, Stanford's Marsha Wallis, and high school phenom Christie Welch.

Oleksiuk and the national team played inter-squad games against each other for the next few days, preparing for upcoming camps and tournaments.

"They were pleased with how I played," Oleksiuk said. "Now that I'm in the mix of things, I'm better prepared for the national team system."

This is a huge accomplishment for someone who just turned 18 this season. As the first women's soccer player in school history to be selected for the national squad, Oleksiuk will be battling with fellow keepers Keisha Been of Notre Dame and All-American Siri Mullinix of North Carolina for a starting position.

"Our goalkeeping is generally better than average when compared to the rest of the world," said U.S. Women's National Team coach Tony DiCicco in a press release before the tournament. "Our keepers are more athletic and have a wonderful attitude towards training and hard work."

Oleksiuk now advances to the Girls International Event, held Feb. 12-21 at the Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla. As a member of the USYSA All-Stars, consisting of players from the Under-19 and Under-18 squads, she will face the Under-16 and Under-18 national teams as well as the Under-18 national teams from China, Japan, Sweden and Germany. The event is sponsored by USYSA and Adidas and is considered the premier international event for women's soccer in 1999.

"This is probably the farthest step anyone has taken here at Penn State," Farmer said. "I think she played better than anyone expected."

If Oleksiuk performs well at the national level, she may be considered for the Under-21 National Team that travels to Norway for the Nordic Cup Tournament -- the world championship of women's soccer. Right now, however, Oleksiuk isn't worried about that.

"You're always being watched," Oleksiuk said. "With these events, there's always people there. You should always try to do good."

One of the duo's teammates at the camp will also be playing at Penn State in the fall. Welch, who represented eastern New York in the Under-19 Pool, was actively recruited by Farmer and has verbally agreed to play soccer in Happy Valley next year, according to players on the Under-19 team.