Sports
Goal Oriented
Although soccer season ended in November, Penn State Altoona senior goalkeeper Tim Wassell was still collecting plenty of hardware into the spring, including being named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's East Region Academic All-American team. Only 111 soccer players from Division I, II, III, and NAIA were selected to receive this honor. With many more than 20,000 college soccer players eligible, this Hollidaysburg Area High School graduate is keeping some rather elite company.
The selection committee considers both on-field performance as well as academic achievements. Wassell, the only male athlete selected from the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, joins soccer players from schools including Louisville, Maryland, and Buffalo on the East Region team.
A business major with a 3.72 GPA, Wassell also is involved in many campus clubs and organizations. He serves on the college's Student Athlete Advisory Council, which helps plan projects, organize community service events, and give feedback to the college's athletic department and the AMCC. Wassell also finds time to give back to the game that has given him so much by coaching and refereeing area youth. Last holiday season, Wassell collected money from his teammates to help buy holiday gifts for children for the "Adopt-A-Wish" program of Family Services of Blair County.
On the soccer field, Wassell's accomplishments are remarkable. After transferring back home from East Stroudsburg University, he was named the AMCC Goalkeeper of the Week eight times and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Goalkeeper of the Week three times. With Wassell in goal, the 2004 Lions were undefeated in AMCC play and advanced to the conference championship. The 2005 squad finished third in the ten-team conference and then went on to the ECAC tournament, nearly pulling an upset over number two seed Johns Hopkins University.
For Penn State Altoona Head Coach John Parente, no one is more deserving of this award than Tim Wassell.
"One of the things I'll never forget is how he took 27 credits in the spring and summer to be eligible to play after he transferred," remarks Parente. "You could tell he really wanted to be a part of this program. He's been a positive role model for his teammates and the community, and it's been a privilege to have him as part of the Penn State Altoona soccer program."
"As a Division III athlete, I feel it's just as important to concentrate on academics as it is the athletic component. Personally, I take great pride in my accomplishments both in the classroom and on the field."
~ Tim Wassell