Imagine a group of dedicated athletes that travels the country every season in search of the finest competition available while dominating their opponents.

While this is the case for many Penn State varsity teams, the Penn State Women's Club Soccer team also meets that description. It has been one of club soccer's most successful since it began at Penn State in 1995. Since then, the team has won the 2001 national championship at the University of Alabama, two conference championships and has advanced to the final four three times.

As a member of the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA), a national organization, the team competes regionally in the Ohio River Soccer conference (ORSC) against perennial Penn State rivals such as Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State, among others. This season, the team has kicked its way to 9-4-4 record and an ORSC regional championship, earning a return trip to Alabama on November 19th, where they will again compete for the national championship.

"Nationals is a very big honor," club president Phoebe Seiverling said. "We have had a pretty demanding schedule and are really excited to go back to Alabama where we won before."

In fact, of the more than 60 club soccer teams in the nation, only the top 16 receive bids to play for the national championship. While the competition figures to be stiff, the players are confident after having already beaten defending national champs Michigan in the conference finals.

Led by a tight group of five seniors and first-year coach Rod Khayat, the team's success has not come easily. While the university contributes a small amount of the team's budget, the players must rely on their own fundraising and contributions to raise enough money for traveling expenses and equipment. For a team that has traveled to Florida, Alabama and Texas, among other places in the past two years, these costs can be very high.

In addition, this season has been challenging injury-wise for the team.

"We've had a tough year with injuries," Seiverling said.

Many of the players are currently playing with various levels of injury and have displayed tremendous heart throughout the season. Because the team practices every day, the season can become physically grueling. This, however, does not bother the team at all. They're already playing only for the love of the game, and without much funding, so what's a few bumps and bruises.