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North Carolina's Heath Selected first in 2010 WPS Draft

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 (Sky Blue FC/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 Toni DiCicco and North Carolina Head Coach Toni DiCicco.

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

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