Taylor commitment cementsPennsbury's bond at Quinnipiac

By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor
It’s decided.
The first of 13 Pennsbury seniors has made her college commitment.
While there are bound to be several more to go down this road for the orange and black this school year, midfielder Jennalise Taylor is the first field hockey player to make an agreement to jump to the NCAA.
Taylor made a verbal agreement toward the end of the summer that never was. She’ll attend Quinnipiac University, a Division I program located near New Haven, Connecticut.
Jennalise also considered the University of Vermont, Northeastern and Temple. But Quinnipiac was the first school visited by Taylor and also the first to present an incentive.
“They offered a scholarship and also I love the school--it’s my number one choice,” stated Taylor. “Going to a good school was important to me and this school is expensive so...”
While Taylor’s second choice was Temple, she would have had to try to make the Owls as a walk-on recruit. In the end, it never came down to that.
“It just worked out so well,” stated Taylor. “I’m really excited to go there.”
While Jennalise did not reach the scoring column in any of the Falcons’ six league wins, she is a leader on and off the field say her coaches and that’s probably the number one reason she was chosen among this large group of seniors to be one of three Pennsbury co-captains.
“She makes sure she gets the most out of herself and her teammates everyday,” stated Pennsbury volunteer assistant coach Tracey Arndt.
“She does whatever it takes to win.”
The Bobcats are guided by none other than Becca Kohli, a native of Yardley and graduate of Pennsbury High School where she was a three-sport athlete who played basketball and track in addition to field hockey. Kohli was inducted into the Pennsbury Athletic Hall of Fame in October 2006.
After establishing the program at Quinnipiac from scratch 13 years ago, Kohli has built the Bobcats into an annual Northeast Conference (NEC) power and a formidable regional opponent.
In 10 seasons in the league, Quinnipiac has registered a 57-23 mark against NEC opponents in regular-season play and has owned at least a share of seven conference titles.
The Bobcats last went to the NEC tournament finals in 2006. Quinnipiac won the league finale in 2003, defeating Rider, 2-1, in the title tilt and earning its second trip to the NCAA tournament in three seasons.
The Bobcats have punched their ticket to the conference championship in eight of their last nine campaigns.
“She’s a really, really good person and a great coach,” stated Taylor of Kohli. “She’s really easy to get along with and really serious at the same time.”
Both Kohli (nee Main) and Arndt (nee Larson) played collegiate hockey at Penn State and both have played the sport on an international level with Becca helping Team USA to a bronze medal as a member of the U.S. National Elite Team in the 1994 World Cup.
A 1994 graduate of PSU, Kohli preceded Arndt playing field hockey for the Nittany Lions. Still, Arndt said Kohli served as a mentor to her playing the sport at Penn State from 1996 to ’99.
As recently as 2006, both Arndt and Kohli have been named coaches of the US Field Hockey Association. Arndt says she enjoys the relationship Pennsbury has with the collegiate coach.
“It’s been really nice to have someone in the Division I realm that knows what Pennsbury’s like, knows what the girls who come out of here are like and be able to create a relationship between Pennsbury and Quinnipiac,” stated Arndt.
It’s also nice to know that Taylor will be coached by a former Falcon, said Arndt.
“It’s cool,” said Coach Tracey.
***
NOTES: Pennsbury pushed its record to 7-2 overall, 6-0 in the SOL National Conference with a 5-0 win over Truman on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at home. The Falcons also hold wins over Council Rock North (1-0) and CR South (3-2)