Penn State women’s soccer head coach Erica Dambach selected Maddie Elliston as this year’s team captain.

Elliston, a redshirt senior defender from Omaha, NE, will serve as Penn State’s lone captain this season. Last year, Elizabeth Ball and Brittany Basinger held the position for the Nittany Lions.

Elliston is one of several Penn State players who are spending their summer training in the WPSL rather than taking classes on campus. She and teammate Emily Ogle are suiting up for the Cleveland Ambassadors.

Elliston has been a mainstay on Penn State’s back line since her freshman season, playing in all 24 matches last fall as the Nittany Lions made their way to the Elite Eight.

She was among a group of five players who redshirted the 2016 season to represent the U.S. at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea. Elliston’s five assists for the Nittany Lions in 2017 ranked second on the team.

The nutrition major is the 38th player in program history to earn a captaincy role. Elliston was a two-time Gatorade Nebraska player of the year honoree in high school.

“She has done an exceptional job building relationships over the past few seasons and will represent our program well on the field, in the classroom, and in the community,” Dambach said in a release. “Most importantly, Maddie is a very thoughtful teammate that always puts the team before herself.”

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