By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, posted 9/15/10
Villa Maria Academy senior defender Catherine Layne has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at Penn State University.
Layne was a First Team Athletic Association of Catholic Academies (AACA) pick
for the Hurricanes, who finished 11-8 and reached the league finals while also advancing to the District 1 playoffs. Layne, who plays club lacrosse for PA Express, also played for the Philly team in the Under Armour Underclassmen Games and played for Philly 2 at the National tournament in May.
Layne, who plans to study communications, originally committed to Towson University in the spring. But Layne decided to look at Penn State for the first time this summer when Missy Doherty – who recruited her to Towson – left to take the job at State College.
“I had never even thought about Penn State, but Missy’s presence at Towson served as about 50 percent of my decision,” she said. “The way she coaches with the players on and off the field played a big role.
“I was excited to go to Towson, but when she switched i decided to go to Penn State, and the opportunity came. Coming from the Philadelphia area, everyone knows Penn State. I went to visit once when Missy was settled and I loved everything about the school.”
Layne is the second Villa Maria senior to commit to a Division I college; attack Elise Bendinelli has committed to Villanova.
Layne is confident the Hurricanes will again challenge in the AACA. The team typically battles Merion Mercy (two-time defending champion) for the league crown.
“We have a lot of seniors back and a lot of strong juniors,” Layne said. “We’ll definitely be competitive within the league.”
