Montclair, NJ (9/22/09) – It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for senior forward Liza Offreda (East Rutherford, NJ / Midland Park) and she has a piece of hardware to show for it.

Offreda helped her United States squad capture the gold medal as the recently completed 21st Summer Deaflympics, which took place in Taipei Taiwan from September 5-15.

The three-year letterwinner started all four games as the Americans went unbeaten, allowing just one goal. Team USA opened the tournament with a 4-0 victory against Germany on September 5 with Offreda scoring once in the win. A 7-0 triumph versus Denmark (September 7) put the United States into the semifinals where it knocked off Great Britain, 2-1 on September 11

It was on to the gold medal match where Team USA would meet Germany on September 14 for a second time. And just like the opening contest, Offreda would come up with a goal as the United States cruised to the gold medal with a 4-0 victory.

Offreda was selected to the team in April as the U.S. Deaf Sports Federation (USADSF) announced it final roster which consisted of 144 athletes (64 females and 80 males) and 54 team officials (five different categories: coach/assistant coach, delegate, interpreter, medical, leader/director/manager).

Offreda came to Montclair State prior to the 2007 campaign and made an immediate impact helping MSU to the NJAC Championship Game. The team's fourth-leading scorer that season, Offreda scored five goals and added two assists while being named All-NJAC Honorable Mention. Last season Offreda tallied four goals and was third on the team in points scored as Montclair advanced to the semifinals of both the NJAC and ECAC Metro Tournaments.

The appearance in the Deaflympics caused Offreda to miss Montclair’s first five contests, however she did rejoin the team for the Red Hawks’ NJAC opener against defending conference champion and No. 22 ranked Rowan University.

Read an article about Offreda and The Leader.