Danielle Toney

Classroom

Danielle Toney is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2008 & 2009) while maintaining a 3.25 cumulative GPA.  This spring, Toney will graduate with a degree in business marketing.  She hopes to play professional soccer after her graduation but intends to work in the marketing profession.

Character

Last season, Toney had her most successful season in the Blue and White on and off the field. Toney helped PSU Women’s Soccer to second place in the group dance at THON, Penn State’s Dance Marathon. She was the front woman as she and her teammates came up with a routine that wowed the 15,000 in attendance.  Toney has always been a team player and as one of the two seniors on the team is looked upon to guide the young members of the squad. Dani, as she is better known by her friends and teammates, helps the newcomers by giving them rides to the grocery stores or even helping the freshmen open bank accounts to get started during preseason training. She attends and coordinates team dinners and helps with on-field instruction, lending her knowledge of the college game to the younger teammates.

Community

Toney has been active in many charity works around State College and Penn State. She’s been a volunteer at the State College Food Bank during her three-plus years in Happy Valley and volunteers regularly for the Student-Athletes Advisory Board (SAAB).  SAAB is one of the key helping groups of THON, the Penn State Dance Marathon in which millions of dollars are raised for pediatric cancer research during a 48-hour dance marathon.  Additionally, Toney helps with Special Olympics, which has been hosted at Penn State for over two decades.

Competition

Toney, a 2010 Hermann Trophy candidate, is one of the fastest players in the country and her speed has seen her become one of the most dynamic scorers in the game. Last season Toney had a superb follow up to her breakout season of 2008 (10 goals, 7 assists, 27 points) in which she grabbed Big Ten Tournament Offensive MVP honors and was named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Third Team. In 2009, Toney scored 13 times while adding six assists for a total of 32 points, a career best and second on the Penn State team. She notched four game-winning goals and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team for the first time in her career. Toney earned two Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week distinctions, while being named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes First Team and the Philly Soccer News Player of the Year.  Her exciting year was capped by a College Second Team honor by TopDrawerSoccer.com, positioning herself to be one of the finest returning attackers in college soccer in 2010.  Entering the season, Toney is 10th all-time in goals at Penn State with 30, while she is tied for eighth in game-winning goals (11).  She ranks ninth in shots (188) and is just five points from cracking the school’s top 10 in that category as well. Another solid season by Toney and her teammates will give them a chance to win the team’s 13th straight Big Ten title, breaking the all-time women’s Big Ten record for consecutive championships, which would be Toney’s fourth.