UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. November 22, 2004 - Penn State's Amanda Eckert (Lititz, Pa.) was named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association/STX All-American first team, while Bekah Hostetler (Hershey, Pa.) snagged second-team honors. It was the first national honor for Hostetler and Eckert, who both were also selected to the first-team All-Mideast Region and All-Big Ten squads earlier this year. Eckert was also named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association North Senior All-Star Team, and played in the NFHCA North-South Senior All-Star Game on Nov. 20 at Wake Forest University.

Eckert was a full-time starter at midfield for the Nittany Lions, who finished the year 10-10 after falling to Ohio State, 3-2, in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Nov. 5. Eckert tallied one assist and no goals on the year, but her contributions came in anchoring the Penn State midfield, and assisting on the Penn State defense that ranked second in the Big Ten in goals allowed with just 26 over the 20 contests this season.

Eckert was a first team All-Mideast and second team All-Big Ten selection in 2003 after receiving second team All-Mideast honors in 2002. She has also received Academic All-Big Ten recognition the last two years. Hostetler also tallied one assist on the year as she played both in the midfield and defense. Last year she was named to the All-Mideast Region second team, and is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.