Professional soccer player Joanna Lohman has played in the WUSA Festivals in both Minneapolis and Los Angeles in 2004, and was a member of the 2005 Freedom Reserves.
She trained with USWNT during the 2004 Olympic Residency Training Camp, was a member of U21 U.S. national team from 2000-2005, captaining the squad from 2003-2004. She helped lead her U21 team to three Nordic Cup championships, earning MVP honors in 2002.
In college at Penn State, she scored 19 goals and had six assists her senior season, finishing her career at No. 5 in all-time goals scored (41), No. 2 in assists (37), No. 4 in points (114) and first with eight game-winning goals.
Among other honors, she was named Pennsylvania’s NCAA Woman of the Year in 2004, was a two-time M.A.C. Hermann Trophy finalist (2002-2003), a two-time Honda Sports Award Finalist (2002-2003), and a finalist for the Collegiate Women’s Sports Award for Women’s Soccer in 2003.
She was also a Big Ten Player of the Year in 2003, first four-time First Team All-Big Ten selection in Penn State history (2000-03), a three-time NSCAA All-American selection (2001-03), and a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American (2001-03), one of three recipients of Penn State’s Outstanding Senior Athlete Award. She was also the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2000.
Originally from Washington, DC, Lohman currently lives outside Philadelphia while she plays for the Philadelphia Independence soccer team.
January 2012, Be Inkandescent magazine — Ah, the new year. That dreaded time when we all sit back and reflect on what we really want to accomplish in the coming months, knowing full well that it will quickly be forgotten.
If getting in shape is your goal, however, do not despair.
You can eat better, and exercise more. So let’s dust off that sit-up machine that has been sitting in the corner of your bedroom, and get to work!
December 2011, Be Inkandescent magazine — After 20 years of studying, playing in, and analyzing the sporting world—soccer specifically—I can tell you from the bottom of my cleats that becoming one of the best in any field does not happen by accident. It is a combination of drive, attitude, opportunity, and plenty of hard work.
It’s true in sports and business. And while there is no exact formula for success, there is a path that you can follow to reach your full potential on and off the field.
Here are three rules that I believe are imperative to achieve success in any profession.
November 2011, Be Inkandescent magazine
There is no denying the irony. As I struggled to write my piece this month for Be Inkandescent Magazine’s issue on “State of the Future,” I did what any Generation-Yer would do, I tweeted for help. As my followers conveniently pointed out, the answers were right before my eyes.
I had to laugh because the ability to harness the power of the Internet is something that I regularly discuss with my family.
In fact, it is a running joke in my family, who keep asking when am I going to get a “real” job. I’m the only official female athlete in the group, and a professional at that, but my grandparents find it very difficult to comprehend that this is my “real” job.
Why is it such a strange concept for people in the Post-War generation to wrap their brains around?
September 2011, Be Inkandescent magazine — Sadly, the Women’s Professional Soccer season is over this month. I am sure that I speak for most professional athletes when I say that it is hard to transition from an intense, competitive environment to a period of rest (especially for six months, which is the length of the off-season for a female pro soccer player in the United States).
Considering how much fulfillment we get from playing the game at the highest level, what does one do in the months between seasons? I have decided to take the term “off-season” quite lightly, and I am turning my good situation in Philly into a great situation in Spain. I will be playing for a team named Espanyol in the heart of the Barcelona.
Again this winter, I get to travel the world doing what I love, and live in one of the most fabulous locations in the world. My teammate, Lianne Sanderson, and I will also be traveling to Jharkhand, India, this fall to work with an inspiring NGO called Yuwa (short for “Youth” in Indian). Our goal is to teach soccer as a means of changing lives, as well as grow the game of women’s soccer in India.
I recently had the privilege to interview Franz Gastler, the founder of Yuwa, to unlock the magic behind his organization, and find out exactly what’s in store for Lianne and me.
June 2011, Be Inkandescent magazine — At last, soccer players and fans can take a deep breath. The suspense of the Women’s World Cup in Germany is over, and although our country cannot celebrate a first-place victory, we can bask in the glory of what was one of the greatest tournaments in any sport.
The game got an 8.6 rating on ESPN, which is the highest rating for any World Cup game—for men or women. (For a little perspective, consider that last year’s World Series between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants got an overnight rating of 8.4.)
Even more spectacular, the World Cup final broke the Twitter record for tweets-per-second (7,196/sec).
Who would ever have guessed that in 2011, we’d finally see this kind of following for a women’s sport?
June 2011, Be Inkandescent magazine — “Ever since I was 6 years old, I knew I wanted to be a professional soccer player,” writes Joanna Lohman. “No, the profession didn’t yet exist. And yes, all of my teachers laughed at me. But I just knew.”
The good news is that after two decades spent playing on traveling teams, middle and high school soccer leagues, and as a college player, her dreams have come true. Lohman is a professional soccer player for the Philadelphia Independence of the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league.
What is her life like as a professional soccer player?
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