Penn State, Greensburg Central Catholic grad Frannie Crouse makes N.C. Courage roster

When Frannie Crouse was selected 10th in the National Women's Soccer League Draft in January, she knew nothing was guaranteed.

She knew she still had to show coaches with the North Carolina Courage, up close and personally, that she could play professional soccer.

The tryout and grind of being a rookie again must have gone off without a hitch. The former scoring sensation from Greensburg Central Catholic made the Courage's opening day roster.

Crouse, a Penn State graduate, will suit up Saturday afternoon when the Courage hosts the Portland Thorns at 3:30 p.m.

“It definitely feels great,” Crouse said in a team release. “It's something I've been working towards my whole life. It's definitely a dream come true and being able to work with the Courage has been something that I've been really privileged to be a part of, and it's an honor to be able to sign with the team.”

Crouse played in 92 games at Penn State, starting 83 of them. She ended her college career ranked 10th in the program in goals (37) and 12th in points (91).

She scored a then-state-record 230 goals in high school. She was an All-Big Ten Conference first-teamer in 2016, when she led the league with 12 goals, and she made the conference's all-freshman team in 2014.

Crouse made the U.S. U-23 Women's National Team camp last summer.

Penn State will have 11 players in the NWSL. The others are: Elizabeth Ball, Whitney Church, Britt Eckerstrom, Ali Krieger, Joanna Lohman, Alyssa Naeher, Christine Nairn, Raquel Rodriguez, Mallory Weber, and Tiffany Weimer.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.