After two weeks of searching, the Penn State women's soccer team has found a replacement for Paula Wilkins -- former Harvard head coach Erica Walsh.

Walsh will take over the Nittany Lions after Wilkins unexpectedly resigned in late January to accept the head coaching job at rival Wisconsin.

"I've got very strong family ties to Penn State," Walsh said. "I grew up in a family full of Penn State fans in Montgomery County, Pa. It was a no-brainer."

After spending eight months as head coach at Harvard, she coached the Crimson to a 3-13-1 record last year. She faced Wilkins this past season, losing 3-2 to Penn State in double overtime.

"As [Associate Athletic Director] Sue Scheetz checked around with various people throughout the country, whe-
ther they be alumni or other people in the soccer community, and Erica's name kept coming up," Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Stephanie Petulla said.

"She's a young, bright mind, a lot like Paula. She's got a lot of promise. She's already done a lot of things in her early career. It was great news for Penn State when we found out she was applying."

Walsh made her head coaching debut at Dartmouth in 2000, after working as an assistant there since 1998.

Walsh won back to back Ivy League championships with the Big Green in 2000 and 2001.

Before her arrival at Harvard, she had assistant coaching stints at Florida State and Lehigh.

Her career record as a head coach is 40-28-3.

The new leader of the Lions is the third head coach in the program's history, in addition to being the current head coach for the U.S. Under-17 national team. She also coached current Penn State forward Sheree Gray in 2005 as part of the U-19 World Cup team.

In her playing days at William & Mary, Walsh was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America all-region selection, leading her team to four NCAA tournament appearances.

Walsh said she is excited about leading the nine-time Big Ten champs to another conference title, and even has expectations for a national title run.

"I have huge shoes to fill from what Paula left behind," Walsh said.

"She built a tremendous program with her and [former] coach [Patrick] Farmer. I'd like to continue on their path and take another step forward. If you look at their roster, there isn't any reason why they can't win a national title."

Wilkins left Happy Valley with an overall record of 119-19-11, six Big Ten regular-season championships, two Big Ten tournament titles and two trips to the NCAA College Cup during her time at Penn State. Wilkins failed to capture a National Championship.