Tami Worley Kirby was a star at Marple Newtown High in the Philadelphia suburbs, but she was nervous about what was ahead.

The youngest of six children, she was the only one to go away to college when she chose to continue to play field hockey and lacrosse at Penn State.

“I was nervous to leave home,” Worley Kirby said. “I would get homesick. I’d sleep across the street and I’d get homesick and have to leave in the middle of the night.”

Playing both sports may have been the best thing that could have happened for Worley Kirby’s transition to college. The field hockey players — many of whom also played lacrosse — had to report early for preseason training.

“They took me under their wing,” Worley Kirby said. “As soon as I walked on campus and met my teammates for field hockey and lacrosse, it was a family. I knew that’s where I would be. That made me feel more comfortable.”

After finding her comfort zone, she blossomed into a two-sport All-American. She loved playing whatever was in season. Worley Kirby excelled in field hockey with a trip to the national championship in her first year and she was fourth in career goals at her graduation.

“I just loved whatever season I was in,” Worley Kirby said.

She stood out even more in lacrosse. Worley Kirby still sits third in program history with 289 points and 230 goals, and she led the Nittany Lions in scoring in her junior and senior years. As a senior in 1989, she had 94 points and her 78 goals led the nation.

“It was never about one person scoring,” Worley Kirby said. “We won as one team, not because of this person scoring or something. I give all my goals’ credit to my team. They’re the ones that work hard to get you the ball so you can’t do it without them. I give a lot of credit to my teammates. They made me better for sure.”

Worley Kirby was highly honored as a four-time All-American, but it’s the team’s success that resonates most among her memories. She played in four straight national championships, helping Penn State win in 1987 and 1989. In 1989, she scored three goals in the semifinal win and added two more in the 8-7 championship win over Harvard.

 “I loved to win,” Worley Kirby said. “I don’t know if you’re born with that instinct. I was fortunate to be surrounded by awesome teammates and players and they made it easier for the girls that scored goals. They could get you the ball anytime, anywhere.”

Worley Kirby, a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team program for six years and an alternate on the 1993 U.S. team that won in Edinburgh, Scotland, will be inducted in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame with the Class of 2018 on Sept. 29 at the Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md.

“She was a great all-around athlete,” said MaryAnn Foley Schiller, who will present her at the ceremony. “In terms of a lacrosse player, she was the same kind of player in high school that she was in college. She was steadfast. She never wavered. She was tough all the time, and she was a go-to person. She always got the job done.”

Schiller and Worley Kirby were neighbors growing up, but felt more like sisters after playing field hockey, basketball and lacrosse all through middle school and high school, then reuniting at Penn State for two sports. Worley Kirby had four boys, works as a full-time nurse, coaches middle school field hockey and volunteers as a high school lacrosse coach.

“She has a charisma about her, a spirit, she has a heart that is really pure and honest so she gives in her daily life and she would give on the field,” Schiller said. “She worked hard and it looked effortless. She was always the first. She would never say die. She raised the bar that way. All-around, she’s a winner.”

Worley Kirby was a lacrosse starter as a freshman, something she never expected. But she came in with a drive that carried her to stardom.

“I was always competitive,” she said. “Even growing up. Being the youngest of six, my brothers all played football, my dad coached football, so I would always go to their games. It wasn’t driven into us, but it was part of our lifestyle. We all played sports and it flowed naturally. I was always hanging out with my brothers, and whatever they did I wanted to do. I think a lot of my competitiveness and aggression came from my brothers. We were always roughhousing and playing. We always challenged each other. You grow up like that. It’s easy to be competitive at that level because that’s how we grew up.”