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Ingrid Wells will spend this fall with the U.S. Under-20 World Cup team.

The Hoyas will lose the crown jewel of their attack this season, as sophomore midfielder Ingrid Wells takes a break from college soccer to represent the United States in the FIFA Women’s Under-21 World Cup.

Wells concluded her debut season with Georgetown as Big East Rookie of the Year and became Georgetown’s first ever NSCAA/Adidas National all-American.

Wells, even at 19 years of age, is no stranger to international experience. The New Jersey native, who traveled to the Mediterranean shores of Cyprus for an international tournament in her second semester and scored her first international goal in late June in a 4-0 routing of Costa Rica in the FIFA 2008 U-20 World Cup qualifiers, has enough talent to compete at the top of the roster with the rest of her international counterparts.

But Wells’ international exploits come at a price. “Not playing in matches for the Hoyas this fall is going to be very tough,” Wells said. “Just watching the scrimmages so far this fall has been torture.”

Head Coach Dave Nolan, who shared the conference stage with Wells as Big East Coach of the Year, has on numerous occasions referred to his number nine as “The Little Midfield General,” and it is in her capacity as the team’s leading playmaker that the Hoya attack will miss her the most.

“It certainly affects you when you lose an all-American and a player who’s a driving force of your team,” said Nolan of Wells, who wowed crowds at North Kehoe last year with her trickery and speed, starting every one of the 22 games played and becoming the team’s leading point-scorer with her six goals and 13 assists. Wells had three game-winning goals as she led Georgetown to its first-ever NCAA appearance.

Nolan did, however, highlight the silver lining in the dark cloud of Wells’ departure – the fact that Georgetown will become more appealing for recruits now that it can boast of producing international quality players. “It certainly sucks in the short term,” Nolan said, “but in the long term, it’s great for the program because it now puts us on a different playing field than we were at before.”

The high standards are not just limited to incoming recruits, according to the coach. He expressed optimism in the motivation of individuals within the team itself to step up their level of play to fill in the surprisingly big shoes left behind by the 5-foot-2 playmaker. “As much as it is a huge loss, it’s going to be exciting to see what others bring to the table,” he said. “Sometimes it energizes teams. Sometimes other people manage to step up to the plate more.”

Nolan also spoke about what a great opportunity it is for Wells.

“It’s the ultimate honor for any athlete to represent their country in a major world championship, whether it be the Olympics or the World Cup,” Nolan said. “Obviously, with the Olympics, patriotism is rampant. It’s a fantastic chance for her – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And we’re all very excited for her.”

Wells’s own excitement for what she calls “a dream come true” can hardly be contained: “It’s awesome to play at such a high level with players who enjoy and have as much passion about the game as yourself,” she said. “I am not sure it has really hit me that I am going to be competing for the United States in a World Championship . It is something I have wanted for so long and I am so thankful for being given the opportunity.”

– Hoya Staff Writer Kevin Wessel contributed to this report.

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