At the Women's United Soccer Association draft, held February 2, Massapequa Park's Christie Welsh was selected in the first round (second overall pick) by the New York Power.

"I'm so excited," Welsh exclaimed just a few minutes after the Power selected her. "It's just great. I'm really excited to go back home."

The Penn State forward's return to the Long Island area will supply the Power with some much-needed energy to their offense.

"We were looking to add an attacking type of a player with the first pick," said Power coach Tom Sermanni. Welsh, who will be teamed up with Tiffeny Milbrett, the WUSA's all-time leading scorer, should provide one of the strongest one-two scoring punches in the league.

After winning a state championship for Massapequa High School, Welsh spent the last four seasons rewriting the Pac-10 scoring records. In 2001, Welsh won prestigious Hermann Trophy, collegiate soccer's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, and M.A.C. Player of the Year award given to the nation's top women's soccer player.

Welsh leaves Penn State as the Big Ten's career leader in every offensive category. She collected 82 goals, 52 assists, 216 points and 27 game-winning goals over her four seasons. A member of the US National Team, Welsh is the first woman player named All-American four consecutive years and is the 14th player in NCAA history to reach 200 career points.

This past season, Welsh closed out her Penn State career by helping the Nittany Lions reach its second NCAA Women's College Cup appearance in four years. In the semi-finals, Penn State lost to the tournament champions from the University of Portland. The Power used their second round pick to select defender Lauren Orlandos, a 5'10" two-time All-American from that Portland team.

Welsh will make her debut in Atlanta on April 5 and will play in the Power home opener against San Diego on April 19. The game will feature Welsh against midfielder Aly Wagner, who was selected as the first overall pick in the draft. Wagner, the 2002 Hermann Trophy winner, and Welsh will look to turn around their team's misfortunes from last season. One can't help but wonder if this season will be a showcase for two talented girls who deserve a place on the 2004 Olympic Squad.