Jan. 28, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Three former Nittany Lion women's soccer players are heading to the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on Feb. 1 to take part in the next U.S. Women's National Team training camp. All-Americans Joanna Lohman (Silver Spring, Md.), Tiffany Weimer (North Haven, Conn.) and Christie Welsh (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) will all take part in the early February training camp. For Weimer and Welsh, it will be the first training camp under head coach Pia Sundhage.
Penn State will be one of five schools with three or more alumnae at this Women's National Team Training Camp.
Welsh is no stranger to the Women's National Team, having earned 39 caps and scored 20 goals in her career. Welsh's four-year career at Penn State is the most decorated in the school's history. In her freshman campaign, Welsh piloted the Lions to their first ever College Cup, led the team and was tied nationally for goals scored (27), and earned Penn State's first College Cup All-Tournament honor. Her junior year, Welsh's received the Hermann Trophy, the sport's most prestigious award given to the nation's top player. The 2001 Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year, she was also honored as the 2001-02 Suzy Favor Award Winner as the Big Ten's Female Athlete of the Year. She finished her career amassing four NSCAA All-America honors, three consecutive Soccer America Collegiate MVP's, and three Big Ten Player of the Year honors. She is still the Big Ten's leading scorer and was part of four Big Ten title teams and two College Cup squads during her time in Happy Valley.
Tiffany Weimer |
A midfielder, Lohman has earned nine caps with the Women's National Team. The M.A.C. Hermann Trophy runner-up in 2003, Lohman was a three-time NSCAA All-American at Penn State as well as a four-time first team All-Big Ten selection. Lohman earned back-to-back Soccer America Collegiate MVP's in 2002 and '03, and was the conference's Player of the Year in 2003. A member of four Big Ten championship teams, she was on Penn State's 2002 College Cup squad and earned College Cup All-Tournament recognition. She graduated Penn State with a 3.98 GPA earning an NCAA postgraduate scholarship and winning the Big Ten's prestigious Medal of Honor.
A two-time M.A.C. Hermann Trophy runner-up, Weimer is the Big Ten's all-time leading goal scorer with 91. A three-time first team NSCAA All-American, she was the 2004 and 2005 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. The 2005-06 Big Ten Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year, Weimer led the Nittany Lions to the 2005 NCAA College Cup Semifinals with her Big Ten record 32 goals that season. She saw her teams to three NCAA quarterfinal appearances overall. Weimer tallied 27 game-winning goals in her career, which tied Welsh's Big Ten record, and finished with 214 career points, just two shy of Welsh's Big Ten record for points. Weimer was a three-time first team All-Big Ten award winner and holds a share of the NCAA record for consecutive games with at least one goal (17 in 2005). She is among the Top 10 in NCAA history in goals in a season and career goals.
After starting two-out-od-three games as a defender to help the U.S. Team to its Four Nation's Tournament victory, All-American Ali Krieger (Dumfries, Pa.) has returned to Germany to play for her club team FFC Frankfurt and will not be in camp.
Joanna Lohman |
Penn State head coach Erica Walsh remains with the U.S. Women's National Team an Assistant Coach for Sundhage.
About this camp (from U.S. Soccer.com)
This Women's National Team Training Camp is part of preparations for the CONCACAF Olympic Women's Qualifying Tournament, being held April 2-13 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
After a week of training and evaluation, Sundhage will release some players and focus on the remainder of the group to pick a 20-player roster for the 2008 Algarve Cup, which will be held from March 5-12 in Portugal.
At the annual tournament staged in March for the past 14 years in the south of Portugal, the USA will face China (March 5), Norway (March 7) and Italy (March 10) in Group B play. Group A is made up of Women's World Cup champion Germany, Sweden, and Finland. The placement matches will be held on March 12. Venues and kickoff times have yet to be confirmed.
For the first week, Sundhage will split the 37 players into two groups, a larger one consisting of younger players and the other made up of veterans, who will focus primarily on fitness and strength training with new fitness coach Helena Andersson. On Feb. 9, the remaining players from the first group will come together with the veterans for a week of training before Sundhage chooses the Algarve Cup roster.
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