Women's Professional Soccer Draft Recap

Atlanta Beat

1. Tobin Heath (MF, N. Carolina); 21. Blakely Mattern (D, S. Carolina); 23. Shameka Gordon (D/MF, W. Florida); 30. Jill Hutchinson (F, Wake Forest); 39. Mallori Lofton-Malachi (GK, S. Florida); 48. Kasey Langdon (F, Oklahoma St.); 57. Shaneka Gordon (F, W. Florida).

NOTE:  Traded Lofton-Malachi to Philadelphia for the 40^th selection Carrie Patterson, F, Georgia.

The Beat needed defense badly, but one could hardly fault them for choosing Tobin Heath with the 1^st overall selection in the draft.  Heath was arguably the most talented player in the draft and should make an immediate impact for Atlanta.  The Beat then addressed defense, choosing Mattern, a solid defender from South Carolina.  Atlanta also chose a set of twins, Shaneka and Shameka Gordon, out of West Florida.  Shaneka is a high scoring forward, while Shameka is a defender/midfielder.  Wake Forest forward Jill Hutchinson was a good value at the 30^th selection.  Later, they added two more forwards, Carrie Patterson, obtained in a trade with Philly and Kasey Langdon.  Any draft with Heath is a good draft, but Atlanta did not address the defense as much as I thought they would nor the need for a backup keeper.

Boston Breakers

2. Lauren Cheney (F, UCLA); 11. Alyssa Naeher (GK, Penn St.); 16. Jordan Angeli (D, Santa Clara); 34. Katherine Reynolds (D, Santa Clara); 43. Cynthia Morote-Ariza (F, Loyola-Chi); 52. Carly Peetz (D, Nebraska); 56. Gina DiMartino (MF/F, Boston Coll.); 61. Casey Brown (D, Boston U); 65. Taryn Hemmings (F, Denver).

After last year’s semi-disappointing draft, Boston appears to have done very well in 2010.  Cheney is a strong forward with a lot of international experience who can pass and shoot.  Naeher was just called into USWNT camp and should challenge Allison Lipsher for the number one keeper job.  A pair of Santa Clara defenders will help shore up the back line, Boston’s greatest need.  Angeli should pair up with Amy LePeilbet in the central defense, while Reynolds plays outside and could replace Heather Mitts.  Boston also got some great value picks late in the draft with Carly Peetz and Gina DiMartino.  The Breakers also added forwards Morote-Ariza and Hemmings, as well as a local defender, Casey Brown, from Boston University.  The Breakers did very well here, filling their most pressing needs and getting a number of good players.

Chicago Red Stars

4. Whitney Engen (D, N. Carolina); 15. Jessica McDonald (F, N. Carolina); 24. Kelsey Davis (GK, Portland); 33. Michele Weissenhofer (F, Notre Dame); 42. Sophie Reiser (MF/F, Columbia); 51. Fiona O’Sullivan (MF/F, San Francisco); 60. Jackie Santacaterina (MF, Illinois).

After signing Cristiane, Chicago selected Engen, the top defender in the draft.  Engen should solidify a strong Red Star defense.  McDonald, the first junior taken in the draft, will give Chicago a strong physical presence in the offensive end of the field.  Kelsey Davis is a top notch goalkeeper, a mainstay on the U-23 team and could push Loyden for the starting job.  One of the top prospects in college soccer at one point, Weissenhofer may be the sleeper pick here.  After scoring 18 goals as a freshman, her stock has dropped, but if she returns to form this could be a very good pick.  Later, Chicago added Reiser, O’Sullivan, and Santacaterina, who will battle for midfield openings.  Engen and Davis make this a very good draft.  McDonald and Weissenhofer could potentially make this a great draft.

FC Gold Pride

3. Kelley O’Hara (F, Stanford); 10. Ali Riley (D, Stanford); 12. Becky Edwards (MF/D, Florida St.); 20. Kaley Fountain (F/D, Wake Forest); 32. Erin Guthrie (GK, Rutgers); 41. Ashley Bowyer (MF, Ohio St.); 50. Elizabeth Harkin (D, Arizona St.); 59. Lauren Wilmoth (D, UCLA).

The two objectives of any draft are to fill needs and get quality players.  Gold Pride did both exceptionally well.  O’Hara will get them speed and scoring up front and will be a nice complement to Christine Sinclair.  Riley is an excellent defender who can cause opponents problems with her speed up the flank.  Edwards was the top defensive mid in college soccer this past season.  Fountain is a tremendously versatile player who could help on either end of the field.  Guthrie gives Gold Pride a solid backup for Barnhart.  Gold Pride also got some very talented players late in the draft with Bowyer, Harkin, and Wilmoth.  Three or four of these players should immediately compete for starting jobs.  In my opinion, Gold Pride gets an A+ for this group.

Los Angeles Sol

5. Nikki Washington (MF/F, N. Carolina); 8. Casey Nogueira (F, N. Carolina); 9. Kiersten Dallstream (F/D, Washington St.); 14. Michelle Enyeart (F, Portland); 22. Kiki Bosio (F, Santa Clara); 25. Estelle Johnson (D, Kansas); 38. Mary Casey (GK, Maryland); 47. Lindsay Browne (MF/F, Clemson).

Los Angeles selected an extremely talented group of players in the early rounds, but there are a lot of question marks there.  Washington and Enyeart are both coming off serious injuries and it is unlikely that Enyeart will be able to contribute at all early in the season.  Nogueira can be a bit of an enigma.  But if you look at the pure talent here, you have to be impressed.  Washington is a very exciting and dangerous presence in the midfield.  Enyeart is a great scorer who only dropped to the 2^nd round because of her injury.  Nogueira may have been one of the best clutch goal scorers in the history of college soccer.  I suspect Dallstream might play defense as she did for the U-20 team in 2008.  Bosio and Browne give Los Angeles two more offensive players.  Casey will fight Brittany Cameron for the number two spot behind LeBlanc.  But the only pure defender the Sol chose was Estelle Johnson.

Philadelphia Independence

13. Malorie Rutledge (MF, LSU); 31. Kelly Henderson (D/MF, Boston Coll.); 40. Carrie Patterson (F, Georgia); 49. Jennifer Anzivino (D/MF, Rutgers); 58. Caitlin Farrell (D, Wake Forest); 62. Danielle Collins (D/MF, Wm & Mary).

Note: Patterson was traded to Atlanta for GK Mallori Lofton-Malachi and Anzivino was traded to Sky Blue for the 62^nd pick.

Due to the trades Philly made for Rodriguez, Falk, and Henderson, they had only one selection in the first 3 rounds and used it for midfielder Rutledge.  The Independence also chose some talented defenders later in the draft in Henderson and Farrell.  The trade for Lofton-Malachi filled their need for a backup keeper and Dani Collins, an intern for the franchise, was their final selection.  My problem with their draft is that the most pressing need appeared to be on offense and they didn’t go that direction at all.  Philadelphia will have to use international players to find scorers.

Saint Louis Athletica

17. Kristina Larsen (MF/F, UCLA); 19. Ashlyn Harris (GK, North Carolina); 28. Amanda Poach (MF, Santa Clara); 37. Veronica Perez (MF/F, Washington); 46 Carolyn Blank (MF, W. Virginia); 55. Sarah Teegarden (MF, UW-Milwaukee); 64. Elisabeth Redmond (MF/F, Duke).

Not having a 1^st round selection really hurt Athletica.  The pre-draft trade for Lindsay Tarpley and the selection of Larsen should improve Saint Louis offensively.  Harris is a quality keeper and will replace Loyden as Hope Solo’s backup.  Poach missed 2007 and 2008 with injuries and could be a question mark.  Blank is a very aggressive defensive mid and an excellent selection at no. 46.  Athletica also added more offensive midfielders in Perez, Teegarden, and Redmond.  Considering they didn’t have a top selection, this is a nice group of players, but what’s with the obsession with midfielders.  They didn’t address their flank defense, which was a problem in their playoff match with Sky Blue and one can only assume that Kendall Fletcher and/or Lori Chalupny will be moving to the back line in 2010.

Sky Blue FC

6. Brittany Taylor (D, UConn); 26. Katie Schoepfer (F, Penn St.); 29. Melissa Clarke (MF, LSU); 35. Danielle Johnson (D, Ole Miss); 44. Meagan Snell (F, Santa Clara); 53. Kelly Isleib (MF, Utah).

Note:  Sky Blue traded their 7^th round pick for Jennifer Anzivino, Philadelphia’s 6^th round selection.

So what do you get for a team that has everything?  With the selection of Brittany Taylor, they addressed their one potential need on defense due to the question marks regarding the early season availability of Christie Rampone and Anita Asante.  Schoepfer gives Sky Blue yet another good scoring option and is a great addition in the 3^rd round.  Later in the draft, SBFC added depth at several positions with the selections of Johnson, Snell, Isleib, and the trade for Anzivino, who could well be a sleeper.  With 17 players under contract, most of these players will be competing for developmental spots.

Washington Freedom

7. Nikki Marshall (D/F, Colorado); 18. Carly Dobratz (MF, Washington St.); 27. Beverly Goebel (MF, Miami); 36. Kristi Eveland (D, N. Carolina); 45. Lauren Robertson (GK, Ohio St.); 54. Mara Osher (D/MF, Boston U.); Caitline Miskel (MF/F, Virginia).

I truly think that Marshall would have went to Boston, had Washington not selected her.   Marshall is a versatile player who spent most of her Colorado career at forward.  However, she will more likely play central defender for the Freedom, a position that she played for the 2008 U-20 team.  Dobratz and Goebel will provide the Freedom with offense out of the midfield.  Eveland and Robertson were excellent mid-round values at defender and goalkeeper, respectively.  And it was no surprise to see Washington tap into their W-League affiliate for two late round selections, Osher and Miskel.

Kevin Albertina, Goal.com