UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Despite falling to the No. 2 ranked UCLA Bruins 2-1 Saturday afternoon at Jeffery Field, No. 3 Penn State and the 2,899 fans in attendance still had plenty to cheer for. Penn State women's soccer celebrated its 25th season as a varsity program and held a ceremony at halftime to commemorate its former players and coaches.
"It's really special to have that group back with us," head coach Erica Dambach said of the alumnae. "Their support is unconditional. We feel their support throughout the course of the year and it's what makes this place a family and makes Penn State soccer so special."
One of the alumna who came back to cheer on the Nittany Lions is 2003 graduate Christie Welsh, the first Penn State women's soccer player to receive the prestigious Hermann Trophy award, given annually to the top collegiate soccer players.
"It was a fantastic turnout for us," Welsh said of the alumnae ceremony. "We're obviously hitting our twenty-fifth year and for a while we just didn't have the depth of alumnae. We're finally forming a small army and it is fantastic to see."
Welsh, who started 93 games over the course of her four-year career for the Blue and White and is the program's all-time leader in points with 216, praised the 2018 team and current student-athletes.
"It's really cool now that I'm older and have stepped away from (Penn State), to see these players and how gracious and humble they are. That's a testament to Erica (Dambach) and her staff and how well they're doing here."
Another former Nittany Lion who was part of the halftime ceremony at Jeffery Field was Langhorne, Pennsylvania, native Megan Schafer. A member of the 2015 national championship team and a 2018 Penn State grad, Schafer started 77 games in four years at Penn State and tallied 78 total points. She talked about what it means to her to return to Happy Valley, even after a short time away.
"The last time I was on the other side of the stands (at Jeffery Field) was my official visit here my senior year (of high school). It was a little emotional for me, but it was awesome to see all the girls out there," Schafer said.
Schafer continued: "It was really cool to see how over 25 years this program has come together and everybody made it happen. They had people from the club soccer team before it became an official varsity program 25 years ago. I thought that was cool because they honored them and gave them a Varsity S."
Schafer mentioned one of her favorite parts of the day was reminiscing with her former teammates and alumnae who helped her as a student.
"It was a lot of emotions, but it was really nice to see them out there with smiling faces," the former co-team captain said. "From my four years of experience, the alumnae were always rooting for us and reaching out to us, and now I'm on the other side."
Although Welsh, Schafer, and the other alumnae would have most certainly liked to see the Nittany Lions come up on top vs. No. 2 UCLA, they can once again cheer on the 2018 team as they travel to Harrisonburg, Virginia, for a matchup with James Madison this Thursday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m.
