Shippensburg University field hockey goalkeeper Ally Mooney was named the 2018 Amanda K. Strous Memorial Scholarship recipient on Sunday, per SU’s field hockey Twitter account. Mooney will wear the No. 22 for the Raiders throughout the 2018 season.

The scholarship was created following the 2016 season that ended with SU’s second national championship in school history and a year following the murder in June of 2016 of former SU field hockey player and assistant coach Strous. The team dedicated its 2016 season to Strous’ memory, carrying her jersey on the sidelines to each game to allow the legacy she left at SU to live on. Mooney receives the award after senior Brooke Sheibley, who was the inaugural recipient in 2017.

Strous helped guide the 2013 Raiders to their first national championship in school history on the sidelines alongside SU Hall of Fame coach Bertie Landes. Strous wore a Raider uniform from 2007-2011, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in art. 

Field hockey was Amanda’s passion, as well as something that was a guiding force in her life. To her, it was about more than just being an athlete and an assistant coach. In an assignment she wrote for one of her classes, Strous described what being a part of SU field hockey meant to her, according to shipraiders.com.

Strous wrote: “Ship hockey was some of the best times of my life and it always held a special place in my heart. This program shaped me into a better person. Ship Field Hockey is more than a team, it’s family. I was proud to be a Lady Raider and that will never change. I love my best friend Ship Hockey. Please continue to find passion and meaning in your life, for without those two things, life in meaningless.”

In an effort to preserve her legacy at SU, Amanda’s parents, Eric and Crystal Strous, started the memorial scholarship to honor a special senior on the SU field hockey team who meets the following criteria, per shipraiders.com:

The recipient will be selected in the spring of the student-athlete’s junior year and must be a member in good standing of the SU field hockey team.

The player must also exemplify the following characteristics: an ability and desire to improve their field hockey skills and be a positive team player, a willingness to help others on and off the field and a strong bond of love for family and the SU field hockey family.

Mooney’s selection of the award does not come as much of a surprise, as the goalie is beloved by her teammates and is often received with chants of her name from teammates as she takes the field or makes a save in goal. 

The goalie has excelled on the field, winning 49 games as a member of the Raiders while leading SU to two national championship victories. Mooney has been nothing short of a brick wall in the net for SU, registering 244 saves while only allowing 51 goals in 61 career games. Mooney registered a career-high 96 saves last season.

With the departure of 12 seniors from the 2017 national championship team, Mooney’s presence will be instrumental to the success of the team in 2018. With her excellence in leadership on and off the field, Mooney looks to lead SU, while honoring the legacy of Strous in the process.

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