What does Northeastern women’s hockey standout Florence Schelling have in common with the likes of professional sports superstars Tiger Woods, Paul Pierce and Ben Roethlisberger?

Each has been featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” for their spectacular amateur athletic achievements.

The 5-foot-8-inch freshman goalie, with four wins in six games, a stingy 1.15 goals against average and a nation-leading .964 save percentage, was honored in this week’s edition of the popular sports magazine. In her first season with the Huskies, Schelling has been named Hockey East Rookie of the Month, Rookie of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week.

“It’s really an honor to be one of the ‘Faces in the Crowd, ’” Schelling said. “It tells me that I am doing something right and that I am on the right track … On the other hand, I have not reached the peak of my performance; there are always improvements to make.”

Schelling played goalie on the Swiss national team for the previous five seasons and competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, as well as in three World Championships. She is a two-time Swiss MVP and was named 2007 Swiss Woman of the Year.

She calls playing goalie at Northeastern a “completely different” and incomparable experience to playing on the Swiss national team.

“On the national team I was more aware of how the other teams played; I knew many of the players and their strengths. As a freshman at Northeastern I have never played against any of the teams before and everything is totally new,” she said.

Getting used to playing at the collegiate level, though, has not hurt her performance.
“My season started very well, and I am very happy having won so many games,” she added.

By Jason Kornwitz