2010 WPS Draft Update Through Round 5
January 15, 2010 - Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) News Release
Philadelphia, PA (January 15, 2010) - As many had expected but the Atlanta Beat had yet to confirm until Draft Day, North Carolina's Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, NJ) was the first player selected in the 2010 WPS Draft on Friday by Atlanta at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Heath was the first of four North Carolina Tarheels selected during the first round including defender Whitney Engen at No. 4 (Chicago Red Stars/Rolling Hills Estates, CA), forward Nikki Washington at No. 5 (Los Angeles Sol/Mesquite, TX) and forward Casey Nogueira at No. 8 (Los Angeles Sol/Raleigh, NC). The first round included 11 selections for the nine WPS teams with expansion teams Philadelphia Independence and Atlanta Beat both receiving additional picks at the end of the first round, which they traded away prior to the draft.
The first overall four picks went largely how the experts had predicted with Heath going first, the Boston Breakers then selecting attacking forward and 2008 Olympics gold medalist Lauren Cheney (UCLA/Indianapolis, IN), and 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy winner Kelley O'Hara (Fayetteville, GA) of Stanford going to FC Gold Pride with the third pick. Engen, the consensus top defender in the draft, went fourth, while Alyssa Naeher (Penn State/Seymour, CT) was the first goalkeeper selected at No. 11 by the Boston Breakers.
The draft festivities included a Commissioner's Welcome from WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci and appearances from NSCAA President Randy Waldrum, NSCAA Executive Director Joe Cummings and Los Angeles Sol goalkeeper and WPS All-Star Karina LeBlanc. Draft day began with a panel of coaches discussing the growth of global professional women's game including Boston Breakers Head Coach Tony DiCicco and North Carolina Head Coach Anson Dorrance.
2010 WPS Draft
FIRST ROUND
1. Atlanta Beat - Tobin Heath, M, UNC
2. Boston Breakers # - Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
3. FC Gold Pride - Kelley O'Hara, F, Stanford
4. Chicago Red Stars - Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
5. Los Angeles Sol # - Nikki Washington, F, North Carolina
6. Sky Blue FC - Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
7. Washington Freedom - Nikki Marshall, D/M/F, Colorado
8. Los Angeles Sol # - Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
9. Los Angeles Sol - Kiersten Dallstream, F, Washington St.
10. FC Gold Pride # - Ali Riley, D, Stanford
11. Boston Breakers # - Alyssa Naeher, GK, Penn State
SECOND ROUND
12. FC Gold Pride # - Becky Edwards, D/M, Florida State
13. Philadelphia Independence - Malorie Rutledge, M, LSU
14. Los Angeles Sol # - Michelle Enyeart, F, Portland
15. Chicago Red Stars - Jessica McDonald, F, North Carolina
16. Boston Breakers - Jordan Angeli, D, Santa Clara
17. Saint Louis Athletica # - Kristina Larsen, F, UCLA
18. Washington Freedom - Carly Dobratz, M, Washington State
19. Saint Louis Athletica - Ashlyn Harris, GK, North Carolina
20. FC Gold Pride # - Kaley Fountain, F, Wake Forest
THIRD ROUND
21. Atlanta Beat - Blakely Mattern, D, South Carolina
22. Los Angeles Sol # - Kiki Bosio, F, Santa Clara
23. Atlanta Beat # - Shameka Gordon, D/M, West Florida
24. Chicago Red Stars - Kelsey Davis, GK, Portland
25. Los Angeles Sol - Estelle Johnson, D, Kansas
26. Sky Blue FC - Katie Schoepfer, F, Penn State
27. Washington Freedom - Beverly Goebel, M, Miami
28. Saint Louis Athletica - Amanda Poach, M, Santa Clara
29. Sky Blue FC # - Melissa Clarke, M, LSU
FOURTH ROUND
30. Atlanta Beat - Jill Hutchinson, F, Wake Forest
31. Philadelphia Independence - Kelly Henderson, D/M, Boston College
32. FC Gold Pride - Erin Guthrie, GK, Rutgers
33. Chicago Red Stars - Michele Weissenhofer, F, Notre Dame
34. Boston Breakers - Katherine Reynolds, D, Santa Clara
35. Sky Blue FC - Danielle Johnson, D, Ole Miss
36. Washington Freedom - Kristi Eveland, D, UNC
37. Saint Louis Athletica - Veronica Perez, M/F, Washington
38. Los Angeles Sol - Mary Casey, GK, Maryland
FIFTH ROUND
39. Atlanta Beat - Mallori Lofton-Malachi, GK, South Florida
40. Philadelphia Independence - Carrie Patterson, F, Georgia
41. FC Gold Pride - Ashley Bowyer, M/D, Ohio State
42. Chicago Red Stars - Sophie Reiser, M/F, Columbia
43. Boston Breakers - Cynthia Morote-Ariza, F, Loyola-Chicago
44. Sky Blue FC - Meagan Snell, F, Santa Clara
45. Washington Freedom - Lauren Robertson, GK, Ohio State
46. Saint Louis Athletica - Carolyn Blank, M/D, WVU
47. Los Angeles Sol - Lindsay Browne, M/F, Clemson
#via trade
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Women's Professional Soccer Stories from January 15, 2010
- Athletica Acquire U.S. International Lindsay Tarpley - St. Louis Athletica
- Red Stars Select UNC's Engen In WPS Draft - Chicago Red Stars
- Sky Blue FC Selects Seven Players In WPS Draft - Sky Blue FC
- Atlanta Beat Selects Heath No. 1 In 2010 WPS Draft - Atlanta Beat
- 2010 WPS Draft Completed - WPS
- 2010 WPS Draft Update Through Round 5 - WPS
- North Carolina's Heath Selected first in 2010 WPS Draft - WPS
- Brittany Taylor Selected In First Round Of WPS Draft - Sky Blue FC
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