Ashley Myers, at 5-foot-5-inches, and Katie Schoepfer at 5-foot-8-inches, may look and play much differently on the soccer field, but both have taken similar paths to find success this season.
The two freshman forwards have accounted for over 31 percent of the team's offense, scoring 15 of 47 goals. Schoepfer has added five assists. Myers has scored four goals in postseason play, including two in the 3-1 defeat of Niagara last Friday. Schoepfer and Myers are second and third on the team in goals scored, respectively, behind only first team All-Big Ten forward Aubrey Aden-Buie.
Head coach Paula Wilkins uses the tandem interchangeably to complement Aden-Buie up top. Even though their stats are similar, Wilkins said Myers and Schoepfer are two very different players. Myers finds success when she holds onto the ball and connects passes with other players, whereas Schoepfer is better when she runs toward defenders and beats them physically.
Despite these differences, neither player has enjoyed a smooth road to success.
Myers developed patella tendonitis in both knees in April 2005, her senior year of high school. It was a nagging injury that was especially painful, and not until August when she joined the Penn State squad was she able to find medical treatment that finally calmed the pain. She wasn't able to step on the field again until the beginning of November 2005. Taking a medical redshirt and sitting on the sidelines all of last season was especially frustrating for her.
"Last year was a big challenge for me," Myers said. "In high school I always immersed myself in soccer. It was really hard for me to step away from being on the field."
During her recovery time, Myers developed a goal-scorer's mentality from watching exceptional forwards like Penn State's all-time leading scorer Tiffany Weimer and learned leadership and work ethic from other standouts like defender Lindsay Bach and current team captain Ali Krieger. However, sitting on the sidelines was also a personal struggle, too.
"I learned a lot last year not only about a lot of players, but I learned a lot about myself and who I am as a person," Myers said. "Since I was injured I really learned for me that what's meant to be will be. Everything's in God's hands. Throughout the season it was a little rough at times to find my place on the team and find out how I can help the team. Once I handed it over to God, everything started to work out."
Her humility and strong faith are evident when she speaks. When asked about the goals she scored at post-game press conferences, she first gives her teammates credit and then says that she does "all things through Jesus Christ." The personal lessons she learned last year as an injured reserve were the cornerstones to her successful return this season.
Schoepfer's first season saw its share of obstacles, too. As any freshman entering a college program, first adjusting to the higher level of play is a challenge. To complicate this transition, she missed the last weekend of the regular season with mononucleosis, and has scored only one goal since Oct. 15. For a player who set the Connecticut state record of 157 goals in high school, she has the potential to be a top-notch goal-scorer, and time off was not helping her progress.
"It definitely [hurt me] play-wise," Schoepfer said. "I was getting tired a lot easier, and I was out for two weeks not doing any activity. Now that it's over, hopefully I'll be able to get back into how I was playing in the beginning of the year."
Even though their seasons have not been perfect, both Myers and Schoepfer are glimpses of Penn State's promising future. Contributions from younger players are not new ingredients to team success.
"In past, we had [contributions] from Tiffany [Weimer] and Christie [Welsh] when they were freshmen," Wilkins said. As they get older, you expect more from them. They learn the responsibility to continue on and that's how the program continues."
