From Boyertown to the history books: Putting a bow on Sophia Gladieux's prestigious Penn State career

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - One of the most dominant Penn State athlete careers in all of school history came to an end on Friday, Nov. 1, as the Penn State field hockey team lost by a score of 4-2 to the Maryland Terrapins.

Sophia “Phia” Gladieux, who was one of three team captains in her fifth and final season for the blue and white, put up a 20-goal season, hitting that mark for three consecutive years. This would be enough for her third-best season under her 23-goal junior year.

The Boyertown, Pa. native would spend three seasons under legendary head coach Char Morett-Curtiss before her retirement, and her final two years under head coach Lisa Love.

Before the 2024 Penn State field hockey campaign, Gladieux was playing in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics for Team USA and even scored a goal in the 1-1 draw against Spain. This would be the fourth time a Nittany Lion field hockey player would be in the Olympic Games.

Gladiuex achieved many milestones in her “grandma” year, becoming Penn State field hockey’s all-time leader in goals and overall career points.

In the Nittany Lions' 7-2 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Ill., Gladieux scored both Penn State goals for her 90th and 91st career goals which put her past, class of 1981 Candy Finn (90).

In Penn State’s final road game in its late-season four-game road trip, the Nittany Lions would be victorious by a score of 5-0 over the Ohio University Bobcats in Athens, Ohio.

Gladieux would tally two goals and an assist in the Buckeye State putting her at 200 career points which was good enough to pass ‘81 Candy Finn once again at (196).

Gladieux’s final goal of her career would be the 1-1 tying goal off of a penalty corner in the eventual loss and final game of the season against Maryland at home.

Gladieux’s career would end at 202 points, split up between 94 goals and 14 assists. A tall order for any Nittany Lions in the future that have the ability to take her place.

At the conclusion of the Big Ten regular season, Gladieux would receive First-Team All-Big Ten honors for the fifth straight time in her illustrious career.

For those who don’t know, Gladieux has also gained a decent social media following throughout her time at Penn State. Having roughly 17,600 followers on Instagram and 57,300 on TikTok at the time of this article.

Gladieux has become a role model, especially for young female athletes looking to play field hockey in not just the Keystone State, but throughout the country as well.

Some of her fans on social media have been calling for the Penn State Field Hockey program to retire No. 3, which is the number Gladieux has sported her entire career in the blue and white. Gladieux has even been liking some of those comments herself.

If Penn State makes that happen you could only imagine the “boom” it would have for female athletics.

Throughout her five years as a Nittany Lion, Gladieux has certainly left an impact that Happy Valley will not soon forget, she was the 2022-23 Penn State Female Athlete of the Year, a two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, and the 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year.

One of, if not the most dominant collegiate career by anyone has concluded and Gladieux will always be cemented in the history books.

Chris Machado is a fifth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email chrismachadobroadcast@gmail.com.