July 28, 2004
Chad Severs faces challenges in final year at Penn State
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
One of South Jersey’s greatest soccer players and Ocean City High School’s all-time leader will get more
challenges this fall in the final season of his career at Penn State.
Chad Severs led OCHS scoring four straight years and his 159 career goals is still the school record. After
his record-breaking high school career was over, Severs was awarded the first Flagship Award as the top
senior male athlete in the Cape-Atlantic League.
He has also had success at the college level. He will enter his senior year with the Nittany Lions having
started all 64 games – a 39-23-2 record during his first three years in the tough Big 10.
In last year’s 9-10-1 season, Severs scored seven goals (two game-winners) and had three assists while
struggling with some nagging injuries.
As a sophomore, the Lions were 16-8 and Severs scored 17 goals, including seven game-winners, and
added three assists. He was named All-Big 10 and led Penn State into the NCAA’s Elite 11, losing at
UCLA in the quarterfinals.
He was the Big 10 Freshman of the Year in 2001, scoring five goals and getting five assists. Penn State
was 14-5-1 that year and Severs was named to the Big 10’s second team.
He will enter his final year with 29 goals, 11 assists, 11 game-winning goals.
This year, Severs and the Penn State men's soccer team will play in four tournaments and face 10 teams
that reached the 2003 NCAA Tournament. They will open their season on Sept. 3 against North Carolina
and will start the season by playing eight of their first 10 games against those teams that made last year's
NCAA Tournament, including national runner-up St. Johns and defending national champion Indiana.
Penn State will play the Tar Heels and Wake Forest at the Ohio State Tournament. Penn State then
travels to College Park MD, where it will do battle with Georgetown and St. Johns at the University of
Maryland Tournament.
The Nittany Lions will open their home schedule at the newly renovated Jeffrey Field when they play host
to the Penn State Nike Classic. The Nittany Lions will take on Virginia Tech and Akron.
Penn State will play in its final regular season tournament Sept. 24 and 26 when it plays Tulsa and
Southern Methodist in the Tulsa University Tournament.
The closest Severs will get to home will be on Nov. 3, when the Nittany Lions visit Villanova, and on Nov. 7
when they travel to Lehigh.
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