If you’ve watched, or read about Penn State field hockey lately, you have probably heard the name Aby Deverka.
The freshman starter goalie leads the Big Ten Conference with 33 saves in fives games. She has started in all but one of the Nittany Lions’ games so far this season. And, she is 13th in the entire nation in saves per game at 6.60. She was recently named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time in the 2024 Fall season.
“It’s so exciting to be named Big Ten freshman of the week,” Deverka told FAN. “It’s something going into the season that I wanted to achieve and to have done that week one is incredible.”
Not only is she playing a huge role for field hockey, but she’s also enjoying her free time. She said she attends other Penn State events having been to both men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and women’s basketball.
When she’s in the cage, it’s hard not to notice that she handles one-on-one’s with confidence. She said that her technical training has helped her.
It doesn’t hurt that her background includes playing for the Texas Pride club, which its U-19 squad is currently ranked No. 3 nationally by USA Field Hockey standards. She also played for the Kinkaid School, which in 2024 is currently ranked No. 5 nationally by MAX Field Hockey.
“We try to break down the simple skills first before moving onto specific things that we think we might see against specific teams going into game days,” Deverka said.
She likes to pregame prep by downing an omelet or acai bowl. And, her favorite warm-up song is the pulsating ‘Kernkraft 400,’ by Zombie Nation – something every Penn State sports fan should easily recognize.
Deverka didn’t choose Penn State because of its wildly popular culinary scene, but you might find her nibbling at Carter’s Table and the Naked Egg Cafe. Her dad and aunt, they too are Nittany Lions, however, she said that didn’t influence her choice, either.
“I chose Penn State because of the competitive field hockey program and the impressive agricultural sciences college,” Deverka said. “Every time I was on campus during my recruitment process, I knew I wanted to come here.”
Her resume begged attention from many coaches from across the country. But, one thing she said she was drawn to was the help she received transitioning from high school to college. Most notably, through Penn State’s longtime head coach Char Morett-Curtiss, who founded, “Teammates for Life.”
“Char’s program has made my transition into college athletics way easier because I knew there would always be other female student athletes supporting me every step of the way,” Deverka said.
Staying on the topic of being a female athlete, USA Field Hockey goalie Kelsey Bing and USA Soccer’s Trinity Rodman are two Deverka said she looks up to.
“My family is super excited that I’m doing well as a student-athlete,” she said. “Of course, performing well means the world to them as well as it does to me, but they’re also just happy that I’m happy at school.”
Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Follow us on our social media pages or reach us at [email protected] with a story idea.
Photo: Penn State Athletics
By FAN – US
