Oct. 7, 2008
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Former women's soccer standouts Ali Krieger ('06), Joanna Lohman ('03) and Christie Welsh ('02) have all been drafted to professional teams in Women's Professional Soccer. Welsh was a second round draft pick to Los Angeles, Lohman was a fourth round pick to St. Louis and Krieger was allocated to return to the Washington Freedom.
Welsh was a four-time All-American as a forward and remains Penn State's only M.A.C. Hermann Trophy recipient. Her name still remains among the top three spots in the Big Ten record book, most notably for goals, assists and points. Throughout her career with the Nittany Lions, Walsh amassed 431 shots, 82 goals, 52 assists, 216 points and 27 game winning goals. She was the winner of the Suzy Favor Award for Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year in 2002 and was the first women's soccer player to receive the honor. In addition, she was an alternate for the Olympic Team in 2000. Welsh joined the U.S. National Team in 2002 after stints with the U-21 national team, which included wins of the Australia Cup, Pacific Cup, Nike U.S. Cup and Mexican Tour. She also trained with the U.S. National Team as they prepared for the FIFA World Cup. Walsh was previously drafted to the New York Power as the second overall pick in 2003 and has played for the Washington Freedom.
Midfielder Joanna Lohman was a three-time All-American and 2003 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy runner-up. Throughout her career as a Nittany Lion, she has tallied 347 shots, 41 goals, 37 assists, 119 points and 15 game winning goals. Lohman attended the U.S. National Team training camp from 2004-08 and also spent time on the U.S. U-21 and U.S. U-18 National Teams. Throughout her career with US Soccer, Lohman has collected the Queen Peace Cup in South Korea, the Nordic Cup in Finland and the Algarve Cup in Portugal. In addition, she trained with the U.S. Women's National Team as they prepared for the 2007 FIFA World Cup.
Krieger is the only player in the history of Penn State women's soccer to be named an All-American for two different positions as a midfielder and a defender. Throughout her career as a Nittany Lion she took 129 shots, scored12 goals and 19 assists for 43 points and had five game winning goals. After graduating, Krieger moved on to win the Nordic Cup in Finland on both the U.S. U-21 National team and the U.S. National Team. She also played in the Four Nations Tournament in China in January and was an alternate for the Olympic team this summer. Krieger is currently playing in Germany for professional club team FFC Frankfurt , and won the Women's UEFA Cup this summer.
Other Nittany Lions previously drafted into the ranks of professional soccer in the WUSA are Rachel Hoffman (New York Power), Emily Oleksiuk (Carolina Courage) and Bonnie Young (New York Power). Former head coach Pat Farmer was the head coach of the New York Power from 2000-02, and current assistant coach Ann Cook was the 25th overall pick in the inaugural draft to the Bay Area CyberRays.
The WUSA suspended operations in 2003, but league "Festivals" were held during the summer of 2004. The league is preparing to resume full operation this season as Women's Professional Soccer (WPS).