UNIVERSITY PARK — With collegiate sports coming to a close, outside of spring athletics, Nittany Lions are still making headlines in their respective sports.
The first of the headlines was Rocky Rodríguez, a former Penn State women’s soccer standout. The San José, Costa Rica native recently made her 150th appearance in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
Rodríguez plays for the Kansas City Current, where she has made three appearances in the 2025 season. Prior to the Current the midfielder played four seasons for the Gotham FC, then the Sky Blue FC and the Portland Thorns.
She made 76 appearances for Gotham scoring eight goals and five assists. While with Portland, she played 52 games on her way to winning the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, the 2021 NWSL Shield and the 2022 NWSL Championship.
In Happy Valley, Rodríguez dominated college soccer, scoring 23 goals and 28 assists in 92 appearances from the midfield. She helped guide the Nittany Lions to their first and only national championship in 2015. She was rewarded for her efforts with the Mac Hermann Trophy, college soccer’s equivalent to the Heisman, NSCAA Scholar Player of the Year and consensus first team All-American. She was also nominated for the Best Female Athlete of the Year in the ESPYs.
Now, moving over to the men’s team alumni, Andrew Privett scored his first career MLS goal on Saturday, April 19, in a 3-0 win against San Diego FC.
Privett joined Charlotte in 2023, improving his numbers every season. In 2023, the center back made just 12 league appearances, a number he far surpassed the following season with 30.
While with Penn State, Privett made 68 appearances and was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten his junior season.
Moving from the field to the ice, current Penn State women’s hockey star Tessa Janecke scored the golden goal for Team USA against Canada in the IIHF Women’s World Championships.
The goal came 17:06 minutes into overtime in the championship game. It was Janecke’s third goal of the tournament, taking place in České Budějovice, Croatia.
“There’s nothing like it. Just so much fun,” Janecke told TSN. “It shows how strong we are as a group and how much we can persevere. I wouldn’t want to do it with any other group.”
Janecke is a junior at Penn State and already one of the most accomplished skaters in Nittany Lions history. In 2024, she became the Penn State ice hockey (men’s and women’s) all-time leader with 153 career points.
“We are proud of Tessa. She is dedicated to being the best,” Head Coach Jeff Kampersal said. “No one I’ve been around has worked harder at her craft than Tessa. I’m happy that all her winter morning hours have paid off in another championship moment.”
