For the sake of all Portland fans, I hope that Cone doesn't pass over a top college player just to pick yet another UNC product.
The two big Carolina seniors should be gone by the time she picks, but if Ohai is still on the board she should grab her. Portland would be the perfect situation for her as there wont be a temptation to play her at forward. Ohai is going to be a quality outside mid in the pros and maybe for the US as well. Her first pick last year worked out tho at the time I thought she should have taken Johnson and it's obvious now it should have been Tymrak. As to the UNC connection, u might see her take Meg Morris or Megan Brigman with a lower pick.
since Dougherty wont be back next year either, their priority is outside defenders. I can think of a couple who can play the position in or from the Portland area that would be available later in the draft. and I don't think one of the UNC players is on the table anyway. She will certainly have a residency contract and be allocated. which brings up the draft order. Since there were two teams that were clearly better than Portland, as evidenced by there ability to host in the playoffs on the basis of their clearly superior results. I think they should pick after Portland.
I don't think KC released Cameron for the International spot. She was clearly the weakest player in their squad of 20, had work ethic and chemistry issues with most of the team and coaching staff. I was surprised they waited as long as they did to release her when it was obvious much earlier that she wasn't a good fit.
Who exactly should have been picked that she missed out on by selecting a UNC player? It wasn't until the last pick of the 3rd round that she went for Amber Brooks. None of the 4th rounders were really impact players this season. And don't they hold on to Brooks rights for another year, if she does decide to play in the NWSL next season (according to Wikipedia her contract with Bayern ends June 30, 2014)? That pick could still end up working out for them, like the Ellertson one did.
Dougherty is definitely not returning? Oh wait, the only sure way to get Portland interested in u is to tell them u arent playing.
Where's right there? I don't see Dougherty mentioned anywhere in this thread except your post (which doesn't have any links). I don't see it on the Portland Thorns website, the Portland Thorns twitter, the NWSL website, or the NWSL twitter.
Let's see... The first player in the fourth round, Jen Hoy, scored two goals for the Red Stars against FCKC in her first game to give the Stars an upset win over FCKC. That's one win she can be said to have impact, and it's one win. I won't even look at the rest of her year. How does that compare to the impact Amber has given the Thorns so far? One win cost the hosting rights through the playoffs. And Ellertson is a Nat Team caliber player. Thus far Amber is not. She has flaws in her game she went to Europe to work on, by her admission. In case you haven't looked at the roster, the Thorns have a couple decent forwards who shouldn't have to dig for the ball themselves. Will she help there? How she has improved I have no idea, but the draft rights the Thorns have will expire next August. By FIFA regs she will be allowed to negotiate before the Euro window closes, at which time Amber will again go to the high bidder. Since Euro teams don't have the salary caps nwsl teams do, you tell me where she will go. Drafting a Player who already had a contract was stupid. It was a wasted pick at best. At worst it was a parachute for a former player of Cone's in case she washed out. Either way, it has done the Thorns no good and the prospect it ever will is iffy at best. I'm still waiting for an answer on the Elizabeth Guess signing. What was that about?
She is not coming back. The source is very reliable. And in case you haven't figured it out, nwsl official sources aren't exactly fonts of information on these things.
Sorry, can't edit my previous post... Nevermind @kernel_thai. I didn't see that you were quoting someone. But there still is no actual source that I can find other than one random forum user.
Well maybe they have an international in mind...The draft isnt strong in back line players and most of the best players that r defenders (Anasi, Kallman, Colohan, Pao) seem more like CBs. Molly Pathman might be a good one in the second round.
Sounds like De Vanna won't be back for SkyBlue next season: http://www.lisadevanna11.com/skies-always-blue/
I think that's reading into it a bit much. It's not "I'll miss you", it's "I miss you" - she's just back in Australia already. She also says she wants to be back soon, which I read as right after the Aussie W-League season is over. She played every year in WPS, I be shocked if she's not back in 2014.
Yes, that at least make it pretty clear that it is not sure that she will return. This is exactly what a player in negotiation or waiting for an offer would write so I would guess that is her situation, that she want to be back but waiting for a (or a better) offer and until then she isn't sure if she will return next year or not.
So apparently the league is holding a waiver draft today: http://www.nwslsoccer.com/home/754488.html Washington gave up a 2nd round draft pick for a player they hardly used, then decided to waive said player. That deal could be one of the worst ones ever made.
Other released players: Washington frees Holly King and Lindsay Taylor; WNY - Ingrid Wells. As Beau mentions in his tweet, it isn't always about quality. Some of the moves are to let players find other teams.
Wells was supposedly going to Potsdam when WNY picked her up so she was expected. Holly King is a bit of a surprise as she is a local and prolly has a small contract coming out of college.