Please note, some rosters have more than 20 players below. That's because not every single rookie drafted will make each roster. Seattle F - Alex Morgan (USA) F- Veronica Perez (Mexico) F - Sarah Gregorius (international) F - Brandi Vega (undrafted rookie free agent) F/D - Kiersten Dallstream MF - Brittany Tymrak MF - Keelin Winters MF - Lyndsey Patterson MF - Liliana Mercado (Mexico) MF - Jessica Ringwood MF - Desiree Scott (Canada) MF - Kate Deines D - Rachel Quon D - Carmelino Moscato (Canada) D - Stephanie Cox (USA) D - Tina Ellertson D - Ria Percival (international) D - Tiana Brockway GK - Hope Solo (USA) GK - Jenny Bindon Seattle signs Ellertson, who is originally from the northwest. Ellertson plays in front of Solo again (like she did in St. Louis). This team is a serious title contender. Pre-Season Prediction: 11 wins, 6 losses, 5 draws (38 points) Crowd Meter - "9.5" This crowd will be juiced over this team. Mega star power, talent, and speed. Exciting team. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Portland F - Christine Sinclair (Canada) F - Danielle Foxhoven F - Lindsay Taylor F - Carlee Payne Holmoe MF/F - Megan Rapinoe (USA) MF - Sophie Schmidt (Canada) MF - Teresa Noyola (Mexico) MF - Amber Brooks MF - Angie Kerr MF - Mariah Nogueira MF - Chelsea Cline D/MF - Elli Reed D - Camille Levin D - Caitlin Foord (international) D - Alina Garciamendez (Mexico) D - Rachel Buehler (USA) D - Allison Falk D - Taylor Brooke (undrafted rookie free agent) GK - Nicole Barnhart (USA) GK - Bianca Henninger Lots of former Portland Pilot legends. Portland will get a fortunate draw of subsidized players from each federation (since there are so many great players from USA, Canada, and Mexico that will put Portland down as their #1 or #2 choice). This might be the favorite to win it all. Probably the best midfield in the league. They will sign Caitlin Foord to tick off Seattle. Foord will be assigned to go wherever Morgan goes, when Portland locks up with Seattle. Baby Horse vs. Foord will be a classic match up in this rivalry between two of the best young players in the game at their respective position. Foord was a great player at age 16. She's now 18 and continuing to get better and better. Foord will be a defensive player of the year candidate in this league at some point, maybe even right away, but probably not until her 2nd year in the league. Pre-Season Prediction: 11 wins, 5 losses, 6 draws (39 points) Crowd Meter - "10" It's Portland. When is the crowd meter never a 10? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kansas City F - Amy Rodriguez (USA) F - Melissa Henderson F - Brittany Timko (Canada) F - Megan Jurado F/D - Merritt Mathias MF - Zakiya Bywaters MF - Kristin Cummins MF - Kylie Wright MF - Tina DiMartino MF - Juana Lopez (Mexico) MF - Shannon Boxx (USA) MF - Hayley Moorwood (international) MF/D - Manya Makoski D - Candace Chapman (Canada) D - Rubi Sandoval (Mexico) D - Heather Mitts (USA) D - Melinda Mercado D - Estelle Johnson D - Lindsi Cutshall GK - Val Henderson GK - Kelly Dyer Based on this roster (on paper), Kansas City should have one of the better defenses in the league. Will they score enough goals is the question? And this is one of the oldest teams in the league (Timko, Lopez, Boxx, Chapman, and Mitts all have some wear and tear on them). The team also has some bright young prospects (Melissa Henderson, Jurado, Bywaters, Cummins, Mercado, Cutshall, etc), to join mid-age veterans Rodriguez, Sandoval, Johnson, Makoski, and Val Henderson. So it is a balanced blend between older, younger, and mid-aged players. This isn't the best U.S allocation trio in the league, however in terms of name-brand, all three are known (A-Rod, Boxx, Mitts). Strategic placement to get the crowd coming out. Boxx is well respected throughout the midwest. Location wise, west of St. Louis - Athletica fans that travel to KC matches (and become KC fans) will love that Boxx is on this team. This is where they should place her. And an offensive threat needs to placed here. A-Rod can still score goals at the league level. She could still be a Top 5 goal scorer in this league (and certainly Top 10). And Mitts will be happy to be placed anywhere at this point. As long as she's part of the 24 subsidized. She's just livin' it up still in life. I like this team's balance, athough they'll probably finish somewhere in between 5th - 8th place in the first year, and possibly in the cellar. Pre-Season Prediction: 5 wins, 13 losses, 4 draws (19 points) Crowd Meter - "8.5" They're not gonna get the best allocations from USA, Canada, or Mexico (Sandoval is a nice player though, and Chapman is one of Canada's best). Not too many local legends in the dead middle of the country geographically. It'll still be a balanced and competitive team immediately. Former Big 12 players will fill about 1/3 of the roster. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Chicago F/MF - Lauren Cheney (USA) F/MF - Lindsay Tarpley F - Maribel Dominguez (Mexico) F - Ella Masar F - Colleen Williams MF - Stephany Mayor (Mexico) MF - Jessica Price MF - Heather Garriock (international) MF - Ally Miller MF - Jennifer Buczkowski MF - Lori Chalupny MF- Julianne Sitch D - Bry McCarthy D - Elise Weber D - Lauren Fowlkes D - Robyn Gayle (Canada) D - Emily Zurrer (Canada) D - Amy LePielbet (USA) D - Natalie Spilger GK - Jill Loyden (USA) GK - Allison Whitworth Lots of former Notre Dame and Chicago Red Stars on this roster. Cheney is versatile enough to play up top, or in the midfield. Jessica Price as well. She brings great speed, which they'll need on the attack. Dominguez is not as good as she used to be, but can still be very effective. Ella Masar and Collen Williams are technicians at goal scoring. Not the most speedy players, but they get the job done with their skill and prowess. You can say the same for the veteran Tarpley. Overall when you look at this team, they're a tough physical team with a sprinkle of speed mixed in. More physical than speedy overall. A contender to get to the playoffs in 2013, but not a favorite to get to the title match. Pre-Season Prediction: 8 wins, 9 losses, 5 draws (29 points) Crowd Meter - "9" This team will love their local heroes, and especially the ones that played for Chicago in WPS that are back yet again. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Western New York F - Abby Wambach (USA) F - Veronica Boquete (international) F - Stephanie Ochs F - Christina Julien (Canada) F - Victoria DiMartino MF - Emily Van Egmond (international) MF - Meghan Klingenberg (USA) MF - McCall Zerboni MF - Katy Frierson MF - Holly King MF - Nayeli Rangel (Mexico) MF - Christine Nairn MF - Becky Edwards D - Ali Riley D - Brittany Bock D - Brittany Taylor D - Toni Pressley D - Natalie Vinti (Mexico) D - Chelsea Stewart (Canada) D - Alex Sahlen (intern, assistant, emergency reserve player) GK - Ashlyn Harris (USA) GK - Alli Lipsher Pre-Season Prediction: 12 wins, 4 losses, 6 draws (42 points) Crowd Meter - "10" Western New York fans will be ecstatic with Wambach finally here. The attendance and fan support will be off the hook. That's the kind of pull Wambach has here. To make things better, Sahlen will open up his pocketbook and sign "Vero" Boquete, a legitimate player of the year candidate in this league immediately, but won't be here until after the season is already started. Let's not forget, Boquete has won a championshp before with the Flash in 2010 (before they were officially in WPS). This team will have a lot of offensive firepower, but their defense will be just as good. Sahlen puts together a good defensive nucleus of Edwards, Riley, Bock, and Taylor, during free agent signings. The league will anticipate Sahlen being able to pay more money for better free agents, hence the allocations won't be the best in the league here, outside of Wambach's allocation of course (which is a big enough splash). Ashlyn Harris is a serious contender for goalkeeper of the year here. Alex Sahlen will not take up a roster spot, but will be on the team in creative fashion (through ownership's creative desire). It's time for Wambach to come back to her original home, and finish her career here. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Boston Breakers F - Sydney Leroux (USA) F - Kyah Simon (international) F - Tishia Jewell F - Jess Luscinski F/MF - Kristen Mewis MF - Heather O'Reilly (USA) MF - Amanda DaCosta MF - Bri Rodriguez MF - Diana Matheson (Canada) MF - Dinora Garza (Mexico) MF - Leslie Osborne MF - Tameka Butt (international) D - Kelley O'hara (USA) D - Ines Jaurena D - Lauren Sesselmann (Canada) D - Luz Del Rosario Saucedo (Mexico) D - Nikki Marshall D - Cat Whitehill D - Taryn Hemmings GK - Jillian Mastroianni GK - Alyssa Naeher Pre-Season Prediction: 9 wins, 8 losses, 5 draws (32 points) Crowd Meter - "9.5" The Riptide will be back in full force. There's no Kelly Smith, Alex Scott, or Kristine Lilly here. The fans will love Leroux though. And Simon. And of course Mewis. And they'll always appreciate O'Reilly's work rate. Plenty of firepower here. Lots of speed and skill up top. Plenty of playmakers in the midfield to get them the ball as well. And a good enough defense, with adequate goalkeeping. You would think this team would have a better record to show than 9 wins, 8 losses, and 5 draws. We've learned in the past that the Breakers underachieve in the standings, compared to their talent level. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Washington (DC) Spirit F - Monica Ocampo (Mexico) F - Lianne Sanderson F - Caroline Miller F - Lisa De Vanna (international) F/D - Tiffany Cameron MF - Aya Miyama (international) MF - Sinead Farrelly MF - Sarah Huffman MF - Lori Lindsey (USA) MF - Kaylyn Kyle (Canada) MF - Beverly Goebel MF - Joanna Lohman MF/D - Carolyn Blank D - Ali Krieger (USA) D - Becky Sauerbrunn (USA) D - Kia McNeill D - Kat Williamson D - Domenica Hodak GK - Erin McCleod (Canada) GK - Erika Venegas (Mexico) Pre-Season Prediction: 6 wins, 10 losses, 6 draws (24 points) Crowd Meter - "8.5" Freedom fans will transition to become Spirit fans, and the enthusiasm won't lose a beat. It'll be an exciting team. However, some of the other teams in the league will just be too good (Western NY, Portland, Seattle, etc). --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sky Blue FC F - Casey Nogueira F - Tiffany McCarty F - Samantha Kerr (international) F - Laura Kalmari (international) F - Tiffany Weimer F/MF - Kelly Parker (Canada) MF - Tobin Heath (USA) MF - Carli Lloyd (USA) MF - Allie Long MF - Bianca D'Agostino MF - Guadalupe Worbis (Mexico) MF - Meghan Schnur MF/D - Kendall Fletcher D - Casey Short D - Keeley Dowling D - Leign Ann Robinson D - Christie Rampone (USA) D - Kenti Robles (Mexico) D - Carrie Dew GK - Adrianna Franch GK - Karina LeBlanc (Canada) Pre-Season Prediction: 6 wins, 13 losses, 3 draws (21 points) Crowd Meter - "7.5" Sky Blue will be at or near the bottom of this league in total overall fan support. They'll still have enough support to keep going though. They're the one franchise out of the eight in this league that I question in terms of putting butts in seats. Their record won't be very good in 2013. It won't be a magical season like it was in 2009. They'll battle and be in a lot of close and low scoring games as usual. They just won't pull them out like they did in 2009.
If thats the way it breaks down Im thinkin Portland runs away with it and WNY and Seattle battle for second.
While I'd love to have Sarah Huffman back, I'd be willing to bet she ends up wherever Wambach does. Also, I'd like to see at least one of the local marquee players - McCarty or Nairn - end up with the Spirit. Both have played on the home team at the Soccerplex. And for future reference the Canadian goalkeeper's name is spelled McLeod.
I'm thinking this time Brittany Bock may sign with her hometown team, Chicago Red Stars. She is a product of Rory Dames' Eclipse Select as well.
I think without a doubt that having both Sinclair and Wambach on the same team would be very bad for the balance of the league. I really don't see Abby being allocated to Portland despite what she would probably want. From what Merritt Paulson, the owner of the Portland Timbers/Thorns, alot of details to how each team and player preferences will be taken into account. For one he let out that its important for the Thorns that they focus on the UP NT members and try to bring them home since he plans on playing at Merlo Field as well has at Jeld Wen field where the Timbers play. From what he hinted at, each team will have their preferences and the players theirs and expects the League to match them as much as possible. He's already stated he sent his preferences in to the League offices. Going by the blogs, Portland news sites and Pilot forums, there is an immense expectation that Christine Sinclair and Megan Rapinoe be allocated to Portland. Rapinoe has already stated her preference and Sinclair has strong roots in Portland so one would expect that Sinclair would want to play for Portand. Sinclair as well as Rapinoe and Schmidt have all returned to the University of Portland to do frequent commendations on a yearly basis, this last year it was a medal celebration. So its not too hard to say that their is a huge fan base to have Sinclair at Portland and by going with what Merritt Paulson has stated, Sinclair is probably his first preference. The probability that Sinclair, Rapinoe and Schmidt will be playing together is very high, I just don't see how Abby can be allowed to play for Portland with these 3 already at Portland.
DiMartino Has played for the Stars, if the stars have a low first round pick or high second round pick, I think the Red Stars will take her (if she is available). Only seniors are being drafted right?
Anyone has any idea on the best College seniors? I only found this http://www.lasoccernews.com/college/college2.php?article_id=9605
does she end up in washington? i don't see lines putting her on his list for wny when he didn't during the wps days. i'm still rolling the dice that sydney ends up in kansas city. i guess hope and morgan are in seattle. i think first and far most you spread the top forwards across the 8 teams. then, work your way down to other positions. any word on CBF covering 6-12 Brasilian players. i'd also like to see colombia (Ricon) and costa rica (nice young forwards and a good guardian) commit 3-4 nationals. give her a real coach like lines instead of rozo. she makes a nice marta replacement, and is a great long ball striker
Well to be honest I don't know anything about Aaron Lines not wanting Abby on his squad, but in either case we don't know how they will allocate the players, its up to the Federations to handle that. As for other Federations subsidizing players for the new league, there are reports that several Federations have taken an intrest. So we can basically rule out any European Federation since England, France, Germany and Sweden all have their own leagues. The Federations that probably took some intrest is the ones in our hemisphere. Costa Rica and Columbia are the two that look like they would benifit most from this. Sending 8-12 players each to the new league would help each out immensely especially with the expanded World Cup now up form 16-24 teams. It means another North American team can take part in the World Cup.
I don't see any country sending anything close to that many players, especially in year one. My prediction is the 3 feds won't accept any allocated players from other feds (meaning guaranteed a roster spot) because that will dilute their already split powers, but will encourage other feds to support players who are good enough to make the roster. That support might be directly to the player as a salary/scholarship or a housing allowance or health insurance, or might be support for the team by paying for travel into the US or paying for work visas or sponsoring a tryout camp for the teams to check out their players.
As it's been hinted their will be a limit on internationals, I dont see other feds doing much of anything. Why change policy to get 3 or 4 women in the league. For a more significant number or a seat at the table they might.
One of the problems is that the other feds aren't going to have enough players who are ready to play in the league to even approach "significant". Maybe they can feed them into the W-League or WPSL, but you won't see 8 Colombians on NWSL rosters anytime soon.
And the Brazilian fed's idea of supporting their women's team would be to throw them a big send off party the day they left. Most fed seem very happy to let their best players roam the world as hired guns.
You may be right, the first year I don't see this happenning, but who knows after. I don't think Canada or Mexico will have much say to how the league will be runned, from the looks of it, the US Federation has most of the say, especially deciding expansion teams and so forth which I think is the best for the league as the whole.
How about the idea of the Caribbean countries or the Central American ones getting together to send one group of players to the league? This would have to be after expansion, so maybe a group of 10 total.
what policy? how many difference makers do you think colombia has on its' team. i'd say maybe 2 more along with rincon, who is currently playing in brasil. in fact, it's a great deal for colombia and costa rica to send their 3-4 best girls on the senior squad to the nwsl. if anything, the competition makes them better.
I dont see them changing whatever policy they have about paying team members just to get three women in the league. Why revise ur policy on paying athletes when those same three women could get into the league as Int. free agents?
the point of the federations covering salaries is to keep the load off of teams' payroll, esp for the big name, pricey players . if fabiana (boston breakers) won't play for peanuts in the usa, do you think rincon will leave brasilian football? you're dreaming if you think the nwsl won't help colombia's NT, if yoreli, the guardian and their other two top forwards played in it for the next 3 yrs. free agent contracts are BS. if they were anything, christen press wouldn't have resigned with sweden. the real contracts in the new league are the NT pay days. another thing, if you are in north or south america, you get your best girls against the usa's #1 rank team for a whole season of football. that is real deal on a scouting report when tournaments, the olympics and the wc come around. where does the likes of colombia and costa rica loose out in this type of deal? nwsl's competition would put rincon game on a new level. that's a cheap price for a federation.
Brazil, Colombia, and Costa Rica will all be in this league (probably Haiti too). Brazil = 12 or 16 players subsidized Costa Rica = 8 or 12 players Colombia = 8 or 12 players Haiti = 8 players This will happen over the next 2-3 years in this league. There has already been discussions about it, and plenty of interest. Everyone is taking a wait and see approach over the first year by preference and requirement, and no one outside of USA, Canada, or Mexico, is allowed in until further expansion happens (not including free agency). Expansion will happen in 2014 and/0r 2015. If so, these nations will start to penetrate their way into the league. Brazil is even considering a team with more Brazilian players on it, and would possibly be based out of Florida (or somewhere south in the US). Their interest would be that at least half of their subsidized players would be on the same team, and the others would be disbursed throughout the league (as a compromise with the league & U.S. soccer). There is certainly interest, but nothing is of course finalized. Just consideration as of now. Of course, no one knows whether Marta would take a pay cut and play in this league. Or how big of a sponsor she can get to foot much of her salary. How much of it would Brazil pay for? Would she even be in this league if Brazil has 12-16 players in it? And so on. We're still in the early stages. Still in infancy. But the league knows they want to diversify more, because it brings out more crowds.
So u believe the Columbia will pick up whatever Rincon is making in Brazil just so she can play in the US instead? If that's the case she could play anywhere in the world. Im sure lot of clubs in Europe would like to have her for free as well. The reason the 3 feds r ponying up money for their best players is to get the rest of their roster playing in quality competition. Its the number of players that make this work for the feds. The stars could play anywhere.
The way you are talking here you are basically stating that you are directly involved in all of these negotiations and running this league. So that being the case Cheryl let me ask you the following questions: 1. What is the projected attendance in each market for the next 3 years? 2. What if any connection are teams outside of Portland going to have with each MLS team in each market? 3. Why did the COMMEBOL and CONCACAF countries who have never funded so much as a picnic outside of a qualifying tournament for their squads suddenly decide to jump on board for this venture? 4. Is there a fear that FIFA may interfere in this model of uniting multiple federations into one league if this proves to set back UEFA, AFC, and CAF federations? 5. What is the profit margin that will be set as a cutoff for the American federation to stop funding players? I don't really care if you can answer these questions or not. But unless you are directly involved in this league and come clean stop stating things as facts when mostly likely you are just as in the dark as the rest of us or if you have any credible sources state them when you post like this.