A tall, long legged No. 10 races down the field with her head down and her blonde ponytail flailing in the wind. She slows, gathers a pass from her teammate in the corner and shoots it by the diving goalkeeper. As the plastic ball thuds into the back of the goal, she stretches her arms out and runs to her teammates in jubilation.

This has become a common occurrence for Penn State field hockey junior forward Timarie Legel.

"She is a girl that can break free," Penn State field hockey coach Charlene Morett said. "She has breakaway speed and she fights through little things."

Legel, who hails from Morgantown, has made her mark as the go-to player on the team.

"She is a girl we look to, to get the ball to our attack," Morett said.

She has earned this respect from her coach and team by establishing herself as a dominating player over the years.

After being redshirted during her 1999 season, Legel broke out for a great first season in 2000. She tallied her first career goal against St. Joseph's and went on to finish the season with 11 goals and two assists. That year she was also 12th in the Big Ten in scoring with 24 points.

Last year, Legel had a phenomenal season. She led the team in goals with 14, good enough to tie her for 16th in the country in goals and 14th in goals per game. Besides this, she added many accolades to her natural abilities by being named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad, the Academic All-Big Ten, the Mideast Regional All-America 1st Team, the STX/NFHCA Div. I All-America 2nd Team, and the All-Big Ten 2nd Team.

All of this has been achieved by Legel's hard work and determination.

"I come out here every day and work hard," she said. "I am harder on myself than anybody and I expect a lot out of myself, so I get frustrated when I don't play my best."

This season, Legel has not let her guard down. She is currently second on the team in goals with 13, while tallying five assists in 18 games. She trails only senior Heather Conroy, who has registered 16 goals and five assists on the season.

"I hustle and try to get as many goals," Legel said. "I just try to put the ball in the cage."

Although this concept sounds simple, it takes a tremendous amount of discipline and self-sacrifice to get to this level. Furthermore, Legel has learned a few lessons playing this sport over the years.

"Definitely I learned work ethic," she said, smiling. "I also learned that I can do a lot more than I thought I could and put my body through a lot more than I thought was possible."

Even though she pushes herself to the limits, she has also matured as one of the leaders on the team this season.

"I have definitely stepped up more into a leadership position," Legel said.

Besides being a leader on the team, she feels that she has really improved some of the aspects of her game this season.

"I have a lot more confidence in using my stick skills in the circle and on doing corners," she said.

All of this can be contributed to her willingness to win and her sense of camaraderie.

"I really want to win and I love this team," she said smiling. "So I do my best every day."

Legel will be looking to add to her goals and the team's success at the Big Ten Tournament this weekend.

"We are looking to win the Big Ten Tournament," she said, "And hopefully get a home bid for the NCAA Tournament ... We are definitely looking to get to the Final Four, that is our goal that we set at the beginning of the season."

With her dominating presence on the field and her ability to find openings to score, Legel is destined to even more success throughout the postseason and into next season.

However, next year, she will have to teach her secrets of success to someone special to her.

"My sister [Annelise, a star at Twin Valley H.S.] is coming here next year so that is awesome," she said. "I am looking forward to get to play with her, but we will get to that when it comes."