With the close of the Women's United Soccer Association last September, the futures of former Penn State women's soccer stars Christie Welsh and Joanna Lohman were left in limbo.

This week, they will attempt to continue their careers at a high level as both have been invited to the U.S. Women's National Team's Residency Training Camp in Carson, Calif., near Los Angeles. Welsh and Lohman were just two of three players invited to join the 27-woman roster along with former Carolina Courage keeper Kristen Luckenbill.

The residency camp is a four-month training program for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, at the end of which, U.S. National coach April Heinrichs will select her 18-player roster.

"The residency camp was a major factor in our success in '95, '96 and '99 and without U.S. Soccer's support it would not be possible for us to continue to be competitive on the world scene, especially without the WUSA," Heinrichs said in a statement. "Additionally, residency will allow us to develop a larger pool of players for the short and long term future of our program."

Welsh, a forward, and Lohman, a midfielder, are considered "floaters" because of their invitee status, but Penn State women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins said that both of her former All-Americans have a legitimate chance at making the team.

"I think that both have a very good shot," she said. "They've brought in a limited number of players. To me, that's a good sign that they're not bringing in 12 people, only three."

Wilkins said that Welsh has the odds in her favor because there are only five other forwards on the roster and her 12 career goals for the full national team. She said that Lohman's experience as a leader on the U.S. Under-21 team will help her in the tryouts. Welsh is the 2001 Hermann Trophy winner as the top collegiate soccer player and holds nearly every Penn State season and career offensive record. She was drafted second overall in the 2003 WUSA draft.

Lohman was a runner-up for the Hermann Trophy in 2003 and left the Nittany Lions as one of the top players in the team history. She has already had success with the U-21 team and has been playing with them this semester, just returning from China.