It ended with a loss, but the Penn State women's soccer season was not lost.
Thanks to an incredible run in the NCAA tournament to the College Cup, the Nittany Lions (19-4-1, 9-1-0) season was a success. The season was full of momentum swings and just when it looked like the Lions would hit their stride or fall apart -- they usually did the exact opposite. Early in the season, a loss to Southern California was followed by an upset victory over then No. 2 UCLA. After a letdown in a tie to Boston College the Lions ran off five straight victories. They then were thumped in Michigan 4-0, but responded to that loss with eight straight wins to win the Big Ten regular season title.
"The key is consistency and we became more consistent as the season went on," Penn State women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins said. "It's a credit to the leaders who were responsible for the success."
The team then went on to blow a 3-0 lead against Illinois and got bounced out in the first round of the tournament for the first time since the team's inception. The Lions still qualified for their eighth-straight NCAA tournament appearance. That's when the magic began for the Lions. They went into the tournament with four legitimate threats to score and didn't bear much of a resemblance to the team last season that relied on Welsh for scoring the ball all of the time.
After taking care of Princeton and Maryland, in their only home game of the tournament they sent off the senior class in style with a 3-0 romp of Virginia.
They then went on to face No. 4 seed Connecticut in Storrs. This game was no different than the rest of the season as the game had major momentum swings. The Huskies came out and scored first, but the Lions' resilience showed and Leigh Hamilton's first career goal sent them to the College Cup. The Lions made their second appearance in the College Cup and their season ended when they fell to Portland 2-0.
Welsh Era Ends
The loss to Portland in the College Cup signaled the end of the Christie Welsh era. She leaves Penn State as the most decorated soccer player ever. Wilkins credits Welsh for putting the Lions on the map.
"Before I came to Penn State I wanted to help Penn State become a known school in women's soccer," Welsh said. "I think we have done well to keep the program moving in that direction."
Welsh did not have her normal 20 goal-plus season, but she reached such elite clubs as the 200-point club and 50-goals-50-assists. She led the team in points at 39 and assists with 13. While her stats may not have been up to her standards, it was her presence on the field that Wilkins said is immeasurable. She was hampered all season by a foot ailment, plantar fasciatis, but the injury was never used as an excuse.
"She definitely helped to put this program on the national radar," Wilkins said. "She helped this program by making it successful her freshman year and she attracted other good players."
Life after Welsh
The lack of reliance on Welsh may have been a blessing in disguise as players like juniors Heidi Drummond and Joanna Lohman and freshman Tiffany Weimer often stepped up to pick-up the slack on offense.
With fifth-year senior Gillian Samuel graduating, the Lions will need to make up for her presence. The defense along with freshman goaltender Amanda Brown posted nine shutouts. Hamilton will return for her senior season and will lead an otherwise young defense. Brown looks to have established herself as the goaltender of the future.
"At the beginning of the season she was a little inconsistent, but she was one of the reasons for the successful run," Wilkins said. "She is going to build on this season and in the off-season get better and do fine."
The Lions will probably start four seniors next season in Lohman, Drummond, Smith and Hamilton.
The Lions started two seniors this season in Welsh and Samuel. A team laden in leadership could help them go a long way again.
"I definitely think we can carry this [momentum] over to next year," Weimer said "We have a really strong junior class which is a big positive for us."
Welsh believes that this season's run to the College Cup will help the younger players remember what it was like and how much they want to get back there. She said that the College Cup in 1999 helped her and other seniors push the other players this year to get back to the College Cup.
