Freshman Laura Freigang will miss Penn State’s upcoming NCAA Tournament run to play for her native Germany in the U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Freigang Named to German U-20 Women’s National Team https://t.co/dDKhzCuBop ?? pic.twitter.com/jDbz29dbU8

— Penn State WSOC (@PennStateWSOC) November 2, 2016

Freigang, who hails from Oppenheim, will join fellow Nittany Lions Emily Ogle, Kaleigh Riehl, Maddie Elliston, Ellie Jean, and Rose Chandler in Papua New Guinea. They already missed the 2016 season in order to train and eventually find themselves on the final U.S. roster, making Penn State the most-represented program on the team.

“Our Nittany Lion family wants to wish Laura the best of luck as she heads off to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea,” head coach Erica Dambach said in a statement. “She has been a wonderful addition to our program this year and we can’t wait to see her perform on the world stage.

Freigang made a splash in her collegiate debut, scoring Penn State’s first goal of the season in a 1-1 draw with now-No. 1 West Virginia. The versatile midfielder/forward earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for her performance against the Mountaineers. Freigang also spurred a 2-0 Nittany Lion victory over Ohio State to claim a share of the Big Ten regular-season title thanks to a beautiful header to break things open. They fell to Rutgers 2-0 in the conference quarterfinals last Sunday.

She played in 15 matches for the Nittany Lions this fall (two starts) and has ample experience with the German youth national teams. It often looks like Freigang has the ball on a string, as the Big Ten All-Freshman selection showed outstanding touch and composure during her first season on campus.

Germany will open Group D play against Venezuela on Nov. 14, with the tournament running through Dec. 3. The U.S. will start its World Cup on the same day against France in Group C.