Penn State women’s soccer has had seven straight promising and successful seasons. The goal of this program year in and year out is to win the AMCC Championship and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Seven years in a row the Lady Lions have successfully captured the AMCC Title. However, last season they captured this feat without the anchor of their midfield, Catherine Eichenlaub.

​

Eichenlaub was coming off of a tremendous sophomore season for the Lady Lions, but unfortunately missed the entirety of the 2017 campaign due to a broken leg, which she suffered in the preseason. She is “...hopeful to get back to where she was as a sophomore...” in terms of her individual goals for the 2018 season. But as for the team, they are hopeful to make it eight straight AMCC Championships and also want to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. While we know the hopes Eichenlaub has for the upcoming season, let us take a journey down memory lane to understand how she became a college soccer player and who is responsible for helping her in her journey to and through Behrend.

​

Her parents Nancy and Dave Eichenlaub are the two people who came to mind when she recalled who has been supportive of her from her early days growing up in Pittsburgh and going to Pine-Richland High School. “My parents are to thank for continually pushing me to do my best as well as supporting me from my childhood to today,” Eichenlaub said.

​

Women’s soccer head coach Patrick O’Driscoll is one person who has had a great impact on Eichenlaub’s Behrend soccer career. “He really cares about all the players and makes sure everyone is doing well, not just in soccer, but in school as well. He always asks about how we are doing and if there is anything we need help with or if we have been struggling with anything. He cares so much about soccer and puts so much time into it and as a team we see that and appreciate it,” she stated of O’Driscoll. These people have paved the way and opened doors for her both in and off of the soccer field. While soccer was not kind to Eichenlaub in 2017, she has had a tremendous career overall, both in high school and college.

​

Eichenlaub was a two time all section and all WPIAL selection in her time at Pine Richland. At Behrend, she has won two letters, was selected All AMCC Third Team, and started nearly every game at center midfield, which is a position which takes an array of skills to play. “Center midfield is my favorite because you are involved in both the offensive and defensive sides of the game. I love disrupting the other teams flow of play, but also getting to contribute on the attacking side.” Center midfield is a position that controls the tempo and pace of the game because they both distribute the ball to the forwards and prevent the opposing attack from scoring on their side. While her favorite position is center midfield, her favorite soccer player is Sergio Ramos who is a defensive back. When speaking about Ramos, she said“He is a fearless player and a great leader. He has a crazy side to him which makes him fun to watch.“ Now that we know what Eichenlaub can accomplish on the pitch, we can now focus on more of her interests.

​

Eichenlaub is a senior studying project and supply chain management. This area of study is something she is passionate about because she enjoys learning how to make processes more efficient and problem solving. She just finished an internship in the logistics field which will likely serve her well. Two of her teammates, Tessa Munshower and Laura Schaefer, are two friends she mentioned for their unselfishness and positive attitude around her over the last year especially, but also the previous two at Behrend. She is hopeful to continue her involvement in soccer after college by coaching youth soccer, which is something she has done before.

​

Eichenlaub has a lot of memories from the game of soccer, but her favorite college memory actually comes from a game she never played a minute in. Winning the 2017 AMCC Championship as Ashlyn Whipple sealed the deal in penalty kicks was her favorite memory of her career, which speaks to the unselfishness and team-first mentality of both Eichenlaub and the Behrend Lady Lions soccer team. When speaking about why this program is continually one of the best in the AMCC, Eichenlaub said “One thing that makes Behrend special is that we continue to recruit good and dedicated players year after year. A lot of that has to do with our coaches Patrick O’Driscoll and Shelby Lloyd. They spend a lot of time recruiting the right players by going to games and brining the players to Behrend for a visit. By bringing in these players, it easy to form friendships because you have the same interests and work ethic.” While recruiting is sometimes easier said than done, the Lady Lions seem to know the formula to success.

​

Eichenlaub has two more years left to play the game she loves because of the NCAA Medical Redshirt she received. She has been a key asset to Behrend women’s soccer both on and off the field since the moment she set foot on the campus. She will hopefully continue to distribute, score and defend at a high level this upcoming season, much similarly to her previous two seasons in 2015 and 2016. Hopefully 2018 is much kinder than 2017 to the always humble and positive Catherine Eichenlaub!