Erin Kehoe’s first night at Penn State in the fall of 2011 didn’t quite resemble the State College, Pa., campus’ “Happy Valley” moniker.

“I was so scared when I first got here,” said Kehoe, a women’s soccer athlete who transferred from Loyola after the 2010 season. “I didn’t know who anybody was. Girls were asking me to go out to dinner, and I just sat in my room.”

This fall, the Prairie Ridge graduate admits she now has nearly 30 “best friends” while helping the Lions (21-4-2) to their first national championship game in school history, a 4-1 loss Sunday to North Carolina.