Olivia Borgen is Penn State-bound. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Whitman-Hanson Regional High junior Olivia Borgen will take her talents to Penn State University.

Her decision is in. 

Whitman-Hanson Regional High junior Olivia Borgen has committed to play soccer at Division 1 Penn State University. 

“Penn State has a very competitive soccer program and I definitely want to be challenged and improve my soccer game and I feel that Penn State will help me get to the next level,” said the Hanson native. “They are a very big sports school and I love that about Penn State.” 

An All-New England first-team selection this fall, Borgen also considered Boston College and Clemson. Ironically enough, Penn State is the only one of those schools she never visited. But, she didn’t need to. 

“My cousin, Lindsay, went there and she absolutely loved the school,” Borgen said. “I was at the 2015 [D1 NCAA women’s soccer] championship game in North Carolina, when they won and because it was in North Carolina, almost everyone was cheering for Duke, but I was definitely cheering for Penn State.”

Borgen said the first time Penn State saw her on the pitch was this past February at the Penn Fusion Showcase in Pennsylvania. She followed up with an email and asked them to watch her in game action.

“I’m glad I did because apparently, they liked what they saw,” Borgen said. 

How could you not? The Patriot League All-Star has netted 39 goals and dished out 25 assists over her first three seasons at W-H. She credited her high school head coach David Floeck for helping her become a goal scorer.

“When I came in as a freshman, I would always look to pass first, which in some cases is definitely the right move, but he always encouraged me to shoot when the opportunity was there and it really helped grow as an attacking-minded player,” said the speedy Borgen, who holds the W-H girls’ outdoor track 100-meter dash school record of 12.44. “That definitely helped my game.”

But despite her success so far, Borgen knows she has work to do as she gears up for her collegiate career. 

“I’m planning on getting stronger mentally and physically before I head to Happy Valley,” Borgen said,  “So, a lot of strength and conditioning and mental training to try and bring my game to the next level.”