By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/27/09
Stanford senior midfielder Bess Siegfried says she is following her heart while making her career choices.
“I want to stay involved in athletics, that’s my passion. I’d like to go into sports 
management,” said the Agnes Irwin School graduate and the season’s first honoree of the Wapner, Newman, Wigrizer & Brecher Collegiate Scholar-Athlete of the Week. “I may be giving up being an elite athlete, but I’m not ready to give up being involved every day in athletics
“I am going to link my career with my passion for sports.”
Although she will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Stanford this spring, Siegfried has one year of eligibility remaining due to a knee injury that wiped out her freshman year. Fortunately, she was accepted into the Master’s program at Stanford in Sociology.
That will allow her to play one more season for the Cardinal, currently ranked 16th in the nation in Division I with a 4-1 record.
Siegfried has enjoyed equal success on and off the first at Stanford. Academically, she has earned All-Academic honors in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) the past two years, Her GPA is 3.6 and she has been on the Dean’s List every year while also earning Stanford Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.
On the field, Siegfried is a key starter at midfield, having collected five goals and three assists this year. Last season she had 13 goals and 16 assists for a team that went 12-8 and won its fourth straight MPSF title.
This year’s team has lost only to No. 3 Syracuse, 15-10 on Feb. 20. The Cardinal face a stern test tomorrow at No. 12 Notre Dame. The most challenging game could be May 2 when Siegfried comes home to Philadelphia with Stanford to Franklin Field to play No. 6 Penn
“In my years here, this team definitely has the most chemistry and the most potential,” Siegfried said. “Our game is different than in the past. We are really quick and very fast. Our passing and ability to know each other’s tendencies and talents are fantastic.’
Siegfried also has enjoyed playing at Stanford with a large group of Phillly women – juniors Julie Christy (Conestoga) and Amanda Schwab (Harriton) and sophomore Ashley Aruffo (Episcopal Academy). Also, first-year Stanford coach Amy Bokker is a Phoenixville grad.
“I played against a few of them in high school, and I think I went to church with Julie Christy when I was really little,” Siegfried said. “I had mutual friends with Amanda Schwab. That’s been really fun. When I go home, it’s nice to have them there. It’s nice to have people know what you’re talking about when you mention WaWa.”
Photo courtesy of Hector Garcia-Molina, Stanford University athletics
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