A small tent stands just past a fence next to Jeffrey Field. The small 3,500-seat venue is dwarfed by the visage of Beaver Stadium and its 107,000 capacity, just a few lots away. The shadow of the stadium makes the tent reserved for postgame soccer press conferences seem like a speck by comparison.

The stands are gradually emptying on an overcast Sunday afternoon as Penn State women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins talks to her team after a 3-1 victory over Rutgers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Over past the opposite side of the field, the tent is set up to accommodate the victors with cups of water and four folding chairs set up behind a nondescript table.

On the whole, it isn't the most rewarding setting for a team that has dominated the Big Ten for the past six years. There is barely enough room under the small canopy to fit four chairs behind the table.

Joanna Lohman peers in through the flaps and walks inside to grab a drink. The senior midfielder had scored two of the Nittany Lions' goals in the win, raising her total to 18 for the season.

Lohman's teammates file in behind her -- Heidi Drummond and Amanda Brown -- followed by Wilkins. The four of them cram somewhat awkwardly behind the wooden table with Wilkins sitting at one end and Lohman seated to her immediate left.

The team has just advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive season and Wilkins is in a good mood. Sitting on the metal chair, she surveys the cramped surroundings with an amused look. An idea seems to come to her mind as she smiles and looks over at the two-time All-American midfielder next to her.

"What a great little press room," Wilkins jokes. "When you make your millions, Jo, are you going to come back and donate a million dollars? We can go to Brazil."

Lohman laughs and nods her head as her teammates join in.

She may never make the millions of dollars that Wilkins predicts, but no one who knows her would be surprised if she did. Because if there is one thing that can be said about Joanna Lohman, it's that she has found and earned success at every turn.

On the field, off the field

To list every single award and accolade Lohman has collected over her decorated career -- Penn State or otherwise -- would be to fill this entire page. And though she has certainly racked up a large share of them because of her play, it's the ones that honor her in the classroom that tell the whole story.

While this is the second straight year that Lohman is a finalist for the Hermann Trophy -- soccer's equivalent of the Heisman -- it is also the second year she has been named a First-Team Academic All-American.

Lohman has carried a 3.97 grade point average as a business management major while playing Big Ten soccer for the past four years. In 2002, she was named the NSCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Despite having to devote so much time to practice and soccer in general, Lohman said that keeping a balance between sport and study isn't as daunting as it seems.

"It's really not that hard," Lohman said. "Teachers are really supportive of everything that you do. We only miss a handful of days during the month and I really don't think it's that difficult to keep up. You have friends in classes who get notes and you just keep up with the material."

Lohman's intelligence translates well to the soccer field, where she always seems to be in the right place. A captain on this year's team, her coaches talk about her influence on the squad as a whole.

"Joanna is one of the best all-around players on the team," Wilkins said. "Her leadership and competitiveness are a vital ingredient to the team's success."

It's not just the coaches either. Players in their first year of the Penn State program recognized what she brought to the team.

"I feel so privileged to play out there with her," said freshman and fellow midfielder Ali Krieger. "It's just amazing to be on the field with her."

Playing at a center midfield position, Lohman has been able to excel in every third of the field. This season, Wilkins counted on her to contribute more on offense, as she finished second on the team in scoring with 19 goals and 44 points.

For all of her awards, Lohman is still very modest. Wilkins talked to her after she was named a finalist for the Hermann earlier this week, and the player's reaction came as no surprise to the coach.

"She was pretty nonchalant about it," Wilkins said. "She's pretty humble when it comes to awards."

Lohman's success on and off the field has not surprised her parents, Stephen and Nancy. The Lohmans regularly make the trip from Silver Spring, Md., to State College to watch their daughter play on Friday nights.

"She's always been a very well-rounded kid," Stephen Lohman said. "She's always done extremely well in school and out."

Reality intervenes

Imagine for a minute that you have your future planned out as you enter the second half of college. You know exactly what you want to do with your life and you know exactly how to go about it.

Now imagine that opportunity is suddenly taken away.

This is what Lohman experienced earlier in the semester when the Women's United Soccer Association closed its doors because of lack of sponsorship.

"I knew the league was having problems, but I didn't think to that much of an extent," Lohman said. "The men's coaches actually told me one day and I just thought, 'Oh my God, my life is over' -- but it really wasn't. I was exaggerating it. It took awhile to sink in and I think it's going to affect me for awhile, but hopefully it will come back."

The WUSA may yet come back if new sponsors are found, but the collapse of the league has shaken the confidence of many of the coaches and players. Coaches across the country were disheartened by the turn of events, including Lohman's U.S. Under-21 National Team coach, Chris Petrucelli.

"I'm concerned about players for the future," Petrucelli said. "For someone like Joanna, it's a huge blow. She would have had such a great future for her in the league."

It certainly was shaping up that way. Lohman could have followed in the footsteps of some of her former teammates like 2001 Hermann winner Christie Welsh. At this same point in Lohman's career, Welsh was just months away from being drafted second overall into the WUSA. For a collegiate star like Lohman, the draft was going to be a sure bet -- a place for her to continue to do what she loves.

"It was No. 1 in my plans," Lohman said of entering the draft. "I didn't have classes for the spring. I wasn't going to go to school in the spring. But since that folded, I've registered and I'm going to graduate in May. I'm hoping it's going to come back, but you never know."

Not a month into what would have been her last semester, Lohman was suddenly faced with some tough and unexpected decisions about her future. Instead of looking into professional soccer teams and cities, she had to look into degree audits and credits.

At this point, Lohman's future is more or less up in the air. She's planning on graduating first before anything, but she does have several options.

Her impressive grades would certainly help her get a job with her degree, but for someone who has had soccer play a major role in her life since the age of five, a future without the game would be difficult to take.

"I wanted soccer as a career," Lohman said. "As long as I could stretch it out, that's what I wanted to do with my life. I don't think it's going to be a possibility these days, because I don't think the money is going to be enough so I think I'm going to have to find something to do outside of soccer. But as long as I can keep playing and have fun doing it, that's what I want to do with my life."

One possibility that Lohman mentioned was becoming a coach. And with her knowledge of the game, those around her think it's something to consider.

"I think she'd be a great coach," Nancy Lohman said. "She has very good people skills and knows the game so well."

Lohman's most recent coach could offer some good advice in that area as well. Wilkins became an assistant coach at Penn State shortly after graduating from Massachusetts in 1994 and has become head of an elite program in less than a decade.

"Her work ethic and experience alone would help the players she works with understand the game," Wilkins said.

The success Wilkins has had at Penn State could also serve as motivation for Lohman, should she try her hand at coaching after graduation.

"[Wilkins] started at a really young age, so at this point I could enter into coaching if I really wanted to," Lohman said.

"I just want to see what's out there before I really jump into anything. I was considering going to grad school and being a grad assistant and see if I'm going to enjoy it.

"My parents are supportive of anything that I do, so whatever I decide, that's what they think I should do."

Moving on

The season is over. And for Lohman, so is her time playing with the team that has become such a huge part of her life.

"It's strange," she said. "I don't think it's really hit me yet because it's so close to being after the season. It's nice not to have soccer for a little bit and to just move on with your life, but I think I'm going to miss the team. And miss everything about it very soon. I think it's going to be hard to get over."

After all, the team has been her life for most of her time at Penn State. Her friends. Her family. She lives with the three other seniors on the team that have been with her all four years.

She'll miss the camaraderie -- traveling together on road trips and at home. She'll miss singing and yelling at people from the team bus on the way to Jeffrey Field, recruiting unsuspecting passerbys to come to the game. She'll miss her coaches and her teammates.

As Lohman put it, "These are my best friends."

Though she is done playing soccer as a Nittany Lion, Penn State and the program she has helped so much will always be a part of her.

"I'd definitely come back," Lohman said.

"I'd want to see my teammates and see what the program is like. I'm sure I'm going to follow it in these next couple of years."

And while the next couple of years are cloudier for her than they used to be, she still has a lot to look back on. And, with or without soccer, a lot to look forward to. Her mother described it best.

"It's going to be a transition for her, but I think she'll be alright. She always lands on her feet."