The group of four moves down the gravel driveway as a single unit. A mother, father, grandfather and soccer player huddle close together after another game at Penn State's Jeffrey Field.

Allie Long has just tossed her bag over her back, exhausted from another match anchoring Penn State's midfield. Her parents, Barbara and Jamie Long, have traveled a lengthy distance, much like they do each week from Northport, N.Y., to watch their only daughter play the game she loves, a game they knew she'd be good at. Barbara's father, who has also never missed a game, accompanies them.

Three generations have been connected through sports, and it is this family unity that makes Allie Long both the intimidating athlete and the kind, confident person she is today.

As soon as Long stepped onto the field in a Nittany Lions uniform, she became an integral part of the women's soccer team. As a freshman, she started 22 of 25 games for the record-setting 2005 squad that lost in the Final Four of the NCAA National Tournament. She scored four goals throughout the season, and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.

However, her performance in the Final Four earned her the greatest accolade on her soccer résumé. Her play in the NCAA tournament caught the eye of Tim Schultz, head coach of the Under-20 National Women's Soccer Team. He gave her a spot on the 2006 national team roster. Even though she shared playing time with another central midfielder, Long took advantage of her chances on the field. In the highlight of her international tour, Long scored a goal in a 4-1 win against Argentina on Aug. 21.

"It was really exciting," Long said. "I totally loved every second of it."

No surprise, her three biggest fans were there to see it all.

Sports were a part of the Long family even before Allie was born. Jamie Long played football and lacrosse in college and recently retired from rugby. Barbara still plays on a women's club soccer team, which she has been involved with since she was 12 years old.

As the couple raised Allie, their enthusiasm for sports rubbed off on the young girl. After running in the backyard with her young daughter, Allie's mother would offer encouragement as the two regained their breath.

"When she was little, I used to beat her in a race," Barbara said. "I told her, 'Don't worry. One day you'll beat me, and I'll never be able to beat you again.'

"I'm happy for her going as far as she's going, and she has chances that I didn't have."

This close family connection influenced Long's decision to play soccer for Penn State. As her high school career drew to a close, top Division I schools from Texas to Florida and Wisconsin to Maryland sought her. According to her father, she was recruited by every Big Ten and ACC school, yet she chose Penn State to thank her parents for their constant dedication.

"What made me choose Penn State was that it was closest to home," Allie said. "My parents could come and watch me whenever they wanted. They spent their whole life paying for me to go here and there, and finally, I wanted to let them watch me."

By putting on the Blue and White, Long is continuing her family legacy in Penn State soccer. Her great uncle, John Pinezich, played here from 1951-1954. As a captain and an All-America forward, he led his team to a national title during his senior year.

"My great uncle won a national championship so I want to win one just so I can be like 'I was here, too,' " Long said.

Pinezich is excited to see Long following in his footsteps.

"I was thrilled that she was going to go to Penn State," Pinezich said. "I encouraged her parents to send her there. I'm very proud of her."

***

The 20,000-seat stadium, although not filled to capacity, is still an intimidating structure. The stands loom high above the turf, much higher than the aluminum bleachers along the sidelines at Jeffrey Field. It was in this arena, and other stadiums around the globe, where Long reached the pinnacle of her soccer career. Playing internationally for the Under-20 National Team was truly an invaluable experience.

"It was fun playing against the different countries," Long said. "They made it so much harder for you to play so you had to find a way to get by them and play your game. It's totally different than any competition in college so it was exciting. I learned a lot of new things."

After Penn State's postseason run to the national semifinals ended last December against Portland, Long barely had time to rest before she joined the national team for its camp in January. The World Cup season lasted eight months, as the team traveled to seven different countries. Ironically, the team's quest for the cup ended in a penalty kick loss in the semifinal game against China, much like the end to last year's Penn State season.

The competition is much different than what Long faces at the collegiate level. Even more than the actual play on the field, international players take a much different mental approach to the game.

"[They] are really, really intense and competitive," Long said. "Here it's really competitive, too, but the way they go in for tackles, they are dirtier. A lot of teams will do anything they can to make you play worse.

"One instance, against China for the semifinals, every five minutes a Chinese girl would go down pretending that she was injured, like she had a calf cramp. It stopped the flow of our game. Their strategy worked. Stretchers would come out. You'd never see that around here."

If anything, playing with a team that traveled to three foreign continents has vastly improved her ability.

"I learned a lot," Long said. "I'm definitely a lot more aggressive. I learned to play dirtier. I'm smarter. I pick up my head way more than I used to. I always used to have my head down at my feet, but now I'm always looking around, always wanting the ball, always knowing where I'm gonna play next."

Before her return to Penn State, she spent 24 days in Russia for the World Cup finals. Despite having to readjust her sleeping habits from an eight-hour time zone difference, she was also physically exhausted. She had been playing with a broken ankle since July, which still was causing some pain.

However, the knowledge she gained from playing overseas will far outweigh the detriments of exhaustion.

"She is very experienced," Penn State assistant coach Michael Coll said. "When you think of an international player getting back into the college game, that will just make the rest of us elevate our game."

After rejoining Penn State the week before the West Virginia game on Sept. 8, she brought this newfound talent to a team looking for leaders. Against Michigan last Sunday, Long scored her first goal of the season after single-handily beating two defenders and the goalie.

Besides physical ability, one personal quality that has contributed most to Long's success is her competitive attitude.

"Whenever I'm out there, I give all I can," Long said. "When I work so hard, and we lose, it's like, 'What did I get out of it? Nothing.' But when we win, it's such a reward for working so hard and just loving the game."

Even though she is intense on the field, she is described as a fun and caring person off of it.

"She's crazy," Lions' captain Ali Krieger said. "She's an awesome person and a great teammate. She's always upbeat and willing to have a good time. She's never really down, and she brings the team up. It's great to have her back."

***

When George Clooney was filming the movie One Fine Day, the last thing on his mind was the talent of the girls' soccer team used as extras for a scene. Long and her sixth grade club soccer team, the Northport Mustangs, were those extras. The girls got a chance to meet Clooney after their day on the set, and Clooney singled out Long to tell her she was a good soccer player.

Whether Clooney had an eye for soccer talent or he just made a lucky guess, he was not the only one who noticed Long's ability at an early age. Both of her parents knew she was special as soon as she stepped onto the soccer field.

"The day she started playing, she was ahead of everybody," Jamie, said. "She knew exactly what to do with the ball. She was in a co-ed league with little boys and little girls...She was the only one going the right direction, the only one who knew that the ball had to go through these two posts. Everyone else was picking grass and talking to each other and chatting, and she had it down. We knew it then. We both said this kid is going to be something else."

Her natural athletic ability made her a standout athlete in four sports when she was young. Long also played lacrosse, volleyball and won the MVP award for her basketball team one season.

Even though Long excelled in several sports, soccer was the game where she found the most success. She received first team All-State honors her junior and senior years at Northport High School and made the All-County team all four years. In a truly amazing display of talent, she once scored three goals in the final 10 minutes of a game to capture the win.

When Long was named to the national team in January, her parents were not surprised at how far she had come. They knew from the very beginning that she was capable of achieving tremendous things.

"She was natural from the day she stepped on the field," Jamie said. "She's got a God-given gift for athleticism. My brother was a basketball player in college, and he's one of those visionary leaders, kinda like one of those extremely talented athletes. She reminds me a lot of him. She sees things happen before they happen, and that's what makes her so great."