Christie Renee Welsh (born February 27, 1981) is an American former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. She previously played for the

New York Power The New York Power was an American professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional soccer league for women in the United States. The team played at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondal ...

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first Women's association football, women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000 in sports, 2000, the league began its first se ...

(WUSA) as well as the

Los Angeles Sol The Los Angeles Sol was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The team was co-owned and operated by Blue Star, LLC and AEG, a subsidia ...

Saint Louis Athletica Saint Louis Athletica was an American professional soccer club that was based in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. Athletica started the 2009 season playing its home games at Ralph Korte S ...

, and

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Germantown, Maryland, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's Uni ...

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

(WPS). She is also a former member of the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...

Early life

Born in

Massapequa Park Massapequa Park is a village and hamlet located within the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 17,008 at the 2010 census. Areas south and east of the village bo ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Welsh attended

Massapequa High School Massapequa High School is a public high school located in Massapequa, New York, United States, for students in grades 10 through 12. As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,825 students and 142.4 classroom teachers (on an ...

on Long Island in

Massapequa, New York Massapequa (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Massapequa area. The p ...

. She was a two-time Parade All-American and a 1999 NSCAA All-American. Welsh was the 1998 Gatorade Circle of Champions National High School Girls' Soccer Player of the Year. She led Massapequa to the 1997 New York State Championship. Welsh played club soccer with the Northport Cow Harbor Piranha where she won two national titles.

Penn State University

Welsh attended Penn State University and ended her collegiate career as one of the most decorated athletes in the school's history. In her freshman campaign, Welsh piloted the Lions to their first ever Final Four, 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 Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

, the sport's most prestigious award given to the nation's top player. She was also honored with the 2001

Missouri Athletic Club The Missouri Athletic Club (often referred to as the MAC), founded in 1903, is a private city and athletic club with two locations. The Downtown Clubhouse is in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA and the West Clubhouse is located in the St. L ...

Player of the Year award. 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 at Penn State. Welsh ended her collegiate career at Penn State with 82 goals and 52 assists plus 27 game-winning goals which are all Big 10 records.

Playing career

New York Power

Welsh was drafted second overall by the New York Power of the now-defunct WUSA professional league. She scored six goals in 12 games during her rookie season.

Los Angeles Sol & Saint Louis Athletica

In 2009, Welsh was selected with the 5th pick of the second round (12th overall) by the Los Angeles Sol in the WPS General Player Draft. She appeared in three games for Los Angeles before being traded to the Saint Louis Athletica on May 9, 2009. She finished the 2009 season with three goals in 11 games for St. Louis.

Washington Freedom

Welsh was acquired by the Washington Freedom before the start of the 2010 season.

D.C. United

After the Freedom was moved to Florida under new ownership for the 2011 season, Welsh joined

D.C. United Women D.C. United Women was an American soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competed in the USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States. The team was an affiliate of Major League Soccer club, D.C. United but operated i ...

originally as an assistant coach, but has attained a second role as a substitute forward.

International

Amidst top U.S. players out for wage boycotts after their 1999 World Cup the national team called up the Nittany Lion striker for the

Australian Cup The Australian Cup is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, held under Weight for Age conditions, over a distance of 2000 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in March du ...

. In January 2000 Welsh made her National Team debut scoring against the Czech Republic in a 8-1 rout in Melbourne, Australia. Welsh took a leave of absence from school and college soccer to establish a residency with the United States Women's National Team in Florida to train. Welsh scored 11 goals in 15 games for the United States in her first significant season with the full national team. She scored 10 goals faster than any other player in American soccer history. In 2004, Welsh was a member of the U.S. Olympic Residency Training Camp. In 2005, Welsh won the Golden Boot Award as top scorer in the prestigious

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

tournament with five goals, including the game-winning goal in the championship match against Germany.

Coaching career

Welsh is currently an assistant coach at

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. She previously served as a volunteer assistant coach for Penn State from 2004–2006 and Wisconsin in 2011. She is also head coach and director of the U16 FC Bucks Revolution club team.

References

External links

*
US Soccer player profile

Washington Freedom player profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welsh, Christie Washington Freedom players Los Angeles Sol players Saint Louis Athletica players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' soccer) Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer players 1981 births Living people Expatriate women's footballers in France Olympique Lyonnais Féminin players Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden USL W-League (1995–2015) players D.C. United Women players New York Power players People from Massapequa, New York People from Massapequa Park, New York Damallsvenskan players KIF Örebro DFF players American expatriates in Sweden American expatriates in France New Jersey Wildcats players Division 1 Féminine players Women's association football forwards American women's soccer players Hermann Trophy women's winners Massapequa High School alumni United States women's international soccer players Big Ten Athlete of the Year winners Hampton Roads Piranhas players Women's Professional Soccer players Long Island Rough Riders (USL W League) players Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer coaches Wisconsin Badgers women's soccer coaches Saint Joseph's Hawks coaches Saint Joseph's Hawks soccer Oregon Ducks women's soccer coaches High school soccer coaches in the United States Women's United Soccer Association players