People that regularly attend Penn State women's soccer games have seen it.

Christie Welsh scowling, looking dour, giving her best Allen Iverson mug to refs after she's absorbed yet another bruise or felt a few more stitches give way in her jersey. They saw her toss a cup of Gatorade after a disappointing first half against Bucknell in the Nov. 19 opening round of the NCAA tournament.

"If people looked at me just on the soccer field they would think I'm weird, crazy," said Welsh. "You can say a million things, nasty. . .There are times when I'm saying stuff or yelling stuff, you can tell but that's when the game takes over me."

For Welsh, this athletic possession has worked out well. The forward has led the Big Ten in scoring in all three of her seasons while piling up 69 goals in 73 games, an almost unprecedented pace. With yet another season remaining in her collegiate career, Welsh already owns all school and conference offensive records.

For many elite players, this progression to almost demigod status doesn't begin until they reach high school, when their ability begins to really stand out. However Welsh showed glimpses of what was to come from the first time she stepped on the field at age five, when she scored four goals.

"When her older brothers scored, we would take them out for ice cream," said Welsh's mother, Nancy. "That would happen maybe twice a year. With Christie it was a lot more."

The Dairy Queen in Massapequa Park, N.Y., must have done a booming business over the next few years as the young booter began to garner attention from local club teams. As she became more experienced, it became only a matter of time before Welsh would come into contact with the U.S. National Team. Sure enough, two years later, she found herself invited into an under-21 camp. She found the time eye opening.

"The first time going into camp with the Mias (Hamm) and the Brandis (Chastain), we were in a room and there were a lot of new people, younger people my age," Welsh said. "You sit there and you're like 'I'm in the same room with all these people and I'm so nervous and I don't know how I could talk to them.' "

Nevertheless, Welsh made the adjustment and credits bizarre incidents such as members of the St. Francis soccer team posing for pictures with her after a game this season to the exposure.

The national team has also given Welsh the opportunity to see the world, as it has taken her to France, Denmark, Sweden, Australia twice and six times to Germany.

"It opened up a whole new thing just to see how those guys train, how they conduct themselves, everything," Welsh said.

Armed with her new knowledge, Welsh would soon be forced to make what her mother would term an agonizing decision -- where to go to college. After whittling away places like Notre Dame, Clemson, Virginia and Connecticut, Welsh's decision rested between North Carolina and Penn State. Recruiting became so heated that one afternoon Welsh was sitting in a car in front of her house with Sue Ryan, the women's soccer coach at Stonybrook University and someone who Welsh describes as very influential. In the few minutes the two talked, packages arrived at the Welsh's house, only to be redirected to the car. One was from then-Penn State coach Pat Farmer, the other was from North Carolina legend Anson Dorrance.

What Welsh decided might say more about her than anything that comes out of her mouth.

"I think she didn't quite fit the Virginia or Carolina peg," Farmer said. "She is a little more blue collar."

After a breakout freshman season, Welsh took her spring semester off to play and train with the national team. She plans on repeating a similar academic schedule after completing her senior season, and hopefully beginning a career in the WUSA, which begins its season in March. Welsh plans on returning in the fall to complete her degree in Human Development and Family studies.

As Welsh's ability has risen, so have the expectations placed upon her.

"You want to be recognized as a threat, someone who's good," Welsh said. "It's kinda something you enjoy and hate at the same time."

Part of the reason why Welsh can cope with the pressure of her success is because she has found a competitive release: vacuuming the house she shares with goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk and defenders Bonnie Young and Gillian Samuels.

"My roommates make fun of me all the time because I get in a vacuuming mood and vacuum everyone's room," she said.

Welsh also has more conventional diversions, such as watching Will and Grace and playing shoot-'em up style video games.

"Most of the time I just lay around, to be honest," Welsh said.

That's not to forget eating, saying she has come to know the people at Golden Bowl personally.

And being away from the fury of the field, she rarely ever makes a face at the service.