Not just the Reign. Lauletta also just confirmed FCKC pick Tina DiMartino will not be playing in the NWSL this season
Well an intresting draft to say the least. For one thing, people that were worried about teams submitting players that were too old or not going to play, well I guess we won't have to worry about that. All the major free agents and key draftable players in the 2012 year became available. players like Stephanie Ochs and Katy Frierson who missed out on the WPS when they folded . Some picks like Tina Ellerton we are going to have to question since she tweeted she is taking a year off, but who knows maybe she will play since she lives in Portland and got drafted by them. Remember this supplemental draft gives players a second chance to be drafted into a league if they were passed over. Players who are free agents can be apart of this pool as well as college players. Here's where I think won this round of the supplemental draft, and yes I'm doing this because then where would the fun be if we didn't? Kansas City Blues. F-Courtney Jones (5-8 22yrs), G-Bianca Henniger (5-6 22yrs), F-Merritt Mathias (5-6 22yrs), F/M-Casey Nogueira (5-6 23yrs), M-Christina DiMartino (5-2 26yrs), D-Casey Berrier (5-10 24yrs) Kansas City does it again and crushes everyone with another stellar draft. The aftershocks with them coming out of the allotment in second place, the college draft in first and now the supplemental will be felt for a long time and in the end build a very strong program for the future. Not one, not two, but three players headline this draft. Courtney Jones a power attacking forward, Bianca Henninger future cornerstone goalkeeper for the franchise and Casey Nogueira, the playmaking meistro in the midfield for the Tarheels. These three and the additions from the college draft is a jaw dropping amount of talent they added. Young, playmaking talent that make Kansas City the gem of the midwest. Bianca Henninger especially is critical since there were no other goalkeepers out there in the open market with her shot stopping abilities. Amazing quick reflex saves, her only drawback is her height, but her pure athletism more then makes up for it. She will be the cornerstone that KC can build for many years, what a steal for them. The only goalkeeper close to her in abilities in the next few years will probably be Sabrina D'Angelo and she will be allocated since she will start for Team Canada sooner then later. Sky Blue FC. M-Katy Frierson (5-5 23yrs), G-Brittany Cameron (5-8 26yrs), D-CoCo Goodson (5-11 24yrs) F/M-Meghan Lenczyk (5-9 23yrs), D-Kandace Wilson (5-8 26yrs), D-Alison Falk (6-0 25yrs) Very good draft by Skyblue. Katy Frierson and Meghan Lenczyk highlight this draft. Frierson was the heart and soul for the Auburn tigers and when she left her senior season its no surprise the Tigers missed the NCAA tournament. Lenczyk was part of the two hammers that Virginia had in Snead Farrelly and Lencyk. Both scored goals in droves and headlined a powerful attack at Virginia. Lenczyk was drafted by the Atlanta Beat before the WPS folded and played midfield for them. Kandace Wilson is an assistant coach in her alma mater, the question will be will she return to the pitch, she is still pretty young. But this draft also reinforces the Skyblue defense even further if Wilson opts not to return. They picked up 3 defenders, all of them towering and should give their backline some added physicality. Washington Spirit. F-Stephanie Ochs (5-9 22yrs). M-Tori Huster (5-5 23yrs), M-Jordan Angeli (5-9 27yrs), F-Tasha Kai (5-8 30yrs), F-Megan Mischler (5-5 24yrs), D-Heather Cooke (5-8 24yrs) Now there is actually some caveats to this spot since we are not sure if Tasha is coming back and can play back to her old form and Heather Cooke from what I know is a defender from Loyola not from Maryland. They may have mixed this up. But the headline to this draft is Stephanie Ochs, a very underrated forward with alot of playmaking skills. And she is also a big target as well. She would of been a sure first rounder if the WPS was around and is a first rounder this time. Angeli is an intresting choice since she has had her injuries in the past, but via her tweets she plans of playing again for Washington. Overall another solid draft to go with their college and free agency signings. Boston Breakers. M-Joanna Lohman (5-5 30yrs), F-Katie Schoepfer (5-8 24yrs), M-Bianca D’Agostino (5-3 24yrs) F-Jasmine Spencer (5-1 22yrs), D-Lauren Alkek (5-4 23yrs), M-Jessica Luscinski (5-4 22yrs) Not sure why they took Lohman in the first round since everyone knew she would be playing with Lianne at boston. The key pick for them and will headline the club for years is Jessica Luscinski. She holds 10 records at Boston University and has scored 52 goals in her 4 years. She is a pure attacking midfielder with a nose for goal. With the attacking talent already on the club, Luscinski may be the final piece to bring it all together. They do have one problem. They have one goalkeeper in Cecilia Santiago. At only 18, she is the youngest keeper in the league but has boatloads of talent. The problem is, it usually takes a few years to develop that talent. They should of picked up Val Henderson or Henninger with their first pick, not Lohman. There weren't many quality keepers available and both got drafted. Western New York Flash. D-Estelle Johnson (5-6 25yrs), M-Angela Salem (5-3 24yrs), M-Kim Yokers (5-6 30yrs), G-Val Henderson (5-7 27yrs), F-Ashley Grove (23yrs) The Flash fill out their roster with vetran players, probably the key player in this draft is Val Henderson, only 27yrs old, she has been a very solid keeper through out her career. She along with Adriana Franch should handle the bulk of the duties at goal. With how the allocation and college draft and now the supplemental has panned out, the New York Flash look to be very solid in every area. From Goal down to forward now. The Flash have never been afraid to spend to get top priority free agents, last year they had a stacked squad with Meghan Klingenberg, Katy Frierson, Adrianna, Lori Lindsey, Nikki Marshal, Stephanie Ochs, Toni Pressley, and McCall Zerboni. They also had 3 goalkeepers on the roster which is I guess staying true to how they operate. They had Alli Lipsher, Brittney Cameron and Colleen Boyd. Because they had this squad, they won another championship, 4 in a row now. Now even with the cap in place, they are still fielding a strong team. Good management from top to bottom. Portland Thorns. D-Tina Ellertson (5-9 30yrs), M-Angie Kerr (5-5 27yrs), F-Michele Weissenhofer (5-4 25yrs), D-Marian Dalmy (5-9 28yrs), F-Jessica Shufelt (5-7 23yrs) A strange draft for Portland. They finally drafted a Portland Pilot player! Angie Kerr should fit in since she actually played with Sinclair in their school days together. Tina Ellertson on the other hand is a strange choice since she tweeted she was taking the year off for family. But if people knew this already then its strange that her name would be put into the supplemental draft unless the team (Seattle I assume) thought she would play. Well Portland took her, and Seattle had a chance at her in the first round. Very odd, one would almost wonder if this was a stab at Seattle at their rivalry. If Tina does play for Portland and why not, she lives in Portland. Then Portland's backline which was shaky to begin with all the young players becomes alot more stable with her vetran leadership. Seattle Reign. D-Nikki Krzysik (5-7 25yrs), D-Lauren Barnes (5-5 23yrs), F-Laura Heyboer (5-6 23yrs), F-Liz Bogus (5-6 28yrs), G- Michelle Betos (5-9 24yrs), D-Kaley Fountain (5-7 24yrs) Now Seattle is in an odd situation, not only do they lose out on Tina Ellertson to another club, but not to any club but to their arch rivals the Portland Thorns, but it looks like Kaley Fountain isn't going to play in the NWSL. Through her twitter she has stated today in fact that she is stepping away from the NWSL. So what does this mean for Seattle, well they are probably ok in the backline, but both Ellertson and Fountain are two good defenders but they picked up two other defenders in the draft so overall they are probably ok. Chicago Redstars. F-Lindsay Tarpley (5-6 29yrs), D-Lauren Fowlkes (5-10 24yrs), D-Michelle Wenino (5-8 25yrs), M/D-Jackie Santacaterina (5-8 25yrs), M-Alyssa Mautz (23yrs) I know it seems like I am beating on Chicago for doing so poorly in the draft. But yet again they haven't taken advantage of some opportunities to draft wisely and set themselves up for the future. Tarpley can be good when she is on her game, but can she still be effective? Lauren Fowlkes on the other hand is a solid addition and adds alot of grit to the backline or to anywhere she plays since she can play anywhere. But on the offensive side, I really don't know where they are going to get production. Its hard to see Chicago competing with some big question marks at forward. 3 teams also passed on their last round of drafting, I presume its to have more space on their rosters for discovery player picks. Western New York Flash, Portland Thorns and Chicago Redstars are the 3 that passed.
Chicago probably had one of the best drafts with the fact that you can almost guarantee all 5 of their picks will sign with them. Don't think you can really say that about most teams other than Boston. Mautz is an underrated player and Fowlkes was fantastic for Chicago last year and was also their top goalscorer.
I would do this as a trade, if I'm Seattle and Portland ............ Seattle receives F - Alex Morgan MF - Tobin Heath D - Tina Ellertson (the rights to Tina Ellertson, whether she plays or not) F - Michele Weisenhofer D - Rubi Sandoval * - Portland's 4th round pick (2014 college draft) Portland receives MF - Megan Rapinoe F - Amy Rodriguez (the rights to A-Rod, going forward) F - Lindsay Taylor F/MF - Liz Bogus MF - Teresa Noyola (they swap one Mexican international each, Noyola is the better of the two) * - Seattle's 1st round pick in 2014 (which Parlow could use to get Dunn or Ohai from UNC) Portland still has defenders (Buehler, Kat Williamson, Saucedo, Nikki Marshall, Marian Dalmy, etc). And LOADED with forwards and midfielders, as they can play more of a possession style game, or just flat out attack. They could then play Portland style or UNC style. And exploit matchup problems. They'd be LETHAL. Even without Baby Horse. Sinclair, Rapinoe, Lindsay Taylor, Allie Long, Nikki Washington, Teresa Noyola, Becky Edwards, Angie Kerr (plus Liz Bogus as a utility reserve). They would be LOADED at forward and in the midifled "NOW", and this also sets up for the "FUTURE", because they'd be getting A-Rod in 2014, and possibly Crystal Dunn or Kealia Ohai with that 1st round pick, or Parlow uses that inherited 1st round pick (and another player) as trade bait to trade up to get a higher pick, so she can get one of her UNC girls (Dunn or Ohai). Get one of them, and Amy Rodriguez back from delivery (in 2014), to go with the rest of these players, and it's Thorns all day, all week, all month, all year.
Nikki Krysik tweeted shes not sure she wants to play in the league. What is it with Seattle players? If Krysik bails and u assume Ellerton said no, then that makes six pretty good players who either said no or maybe later.
Wow, Portland got screwed. Portland gets one player who is pregnant and two who r in Europe. Yikes! Oh and Seattle gets Alex Morgan.
This is exactly why the salary cap should have been $300,000 (minimum) instead of $200,000 (minimum). That extra $8,000 to each of the 13 non-allocated players to each team, would have been golden. Big difference between $19,000 per year + housing and health insurance, compared to closer to $30,000 per year + housing and health insurance, for a female athlete in her mid to late 20's to early 30's in age. You get the sense that some of these players made $15,000 - $20,000 more per year in WPS than what NWSL is paying, and they're like "F_ This" at playing for below $20,000 per year now, when they made almost twice that in WPS (or at least in the $30,000+ range somewhere).
Agreed. The allocated players have been (mostly) willing to make the "sacrifice" to stay home, but a lot of the USWNT bubble players have gone elsewhere. It seems like there are a lot of players who I'd like to see develop in the league that are either hanging up the boots for regular jobs or going overseas. Can't say I blame them, but it does seem to kind of defeat the purpose of having a league. Hopefully this will even out in time, but just a little extra cash would certainly seem to help teams recruit players right now.
Angeli is one of the Top 20 overall talented players in the U.S. (if fit & healthy), when "including" all the national team players on that list. You must be stoked. If she plays, GREAT PICK-UP for the Spirit.
Ok, I'll eat crow on this. This supplemental draft was a dumb idea. I didn't know it was gonna end up looking this dumb at the end of it. I thought more teams would do their homework, and would make smarter decisions. This whole supplemental draft was a complete circus, even a borderline clusterFCK. Seattle would have been better off trading all six of their supplemental draft picks for a newly refurbished Washing Machine, for their laundry facility. At least they would have gotten to clean their uniforms, socks, and underwear in the deal.
All 36 of the DiMartino sisters should go into business together. A family owned busienss always has an advantage when you have the "whole family" involved and supporting one another. There's a lot of support with "that many" sisters.
Anyone see the explanation that Seattle put on it's facebook for its draft choices? Interesting, it seems a few teams made the conscious decision to only draft those who would be playing for sure.
WOW, I'm beginning to question the integrity of this league and the players (and franchises) that intend to play in it. Can't we even get some integrity in a "women's soccer league", when it comes to roster building? A lot of players and franchises are playing the cat & mouse game with each other, fighting and even lying over who's playing and not playing, so players can better position what team they go to, and franchises position what players they can get over other franchises. THIS WHOLE SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED. I'm eating crow now, after saying I agreed with it at first. Seattle Reign FC 21 minutes ago A few thoughts on today’s draft: There have been a lot of questions around why players were drafted (by Reign FC and other clubs) when those players had stated that they weren’t planning to play in the league. In short, all of the clubs faced a huge challenge: some players who said they were not going play actually ARE going to play, while others who said the same thing really ARE NOT going toplay—it was very difficult to discern between the two. Furthermore, there were players available in the draft that will not play and/or will not be capable of contributing due to prior injuries. It was left to each club to do the appropriate diligence on the players in the draft, independently determining if they believed the player would indeed play and would be capable of contributing if they did. The league provided zero guidance in this regard, as it was not their responsibility to do so. For better or worse, each team had to figure it out on their own. There were several players we liked but did not draft because we believed (based on a number of factors) that they would not play in the league. There were others we did not draft because we felt that prior injuries would make it very difficult for them to contribute at the level we were seeking. We expect some of those guesses were right and others were wrong, but it will take well into the season before we’ll know for sure. We were not focused on drafting the most “visible” players—we were looking for players who would address needs and who could make a meaningful contribution within our system. To that end, we are really pleased with the group we drafted. We believe most will make the squad and are capable of making an impact in areas where we were thin. We were thoughtful in the decisions we made and were not surprised by the responses from any of the players we drafted. Remember, we’ve got two months before the season starts—lots can (and will) happen over that time.
I think the Supplemental Draft was a terrible idea but how else do you keep Portland for grabbing up all the top shelf free agents? I understand the rationale but I think all they accomplished was forcing some players to hang up their boots prematurely.
Absolutely. Some players would have been able to sign with the local team, and now they get drafted somewhere else, and they don't want to play for $15,000 - $20,000 per year, from far away from home. I thought more of them would. That's why I thought it wouldn't be as bad as people originally thought. But judging by the reactions of many of the players on twitter, and it seems quite a few, maybe even a big fraction of these players drafted today are like, "Fuhggitt, we're not going far away from home for that minimum level of salary, as if"
It's a big if given that she's tweeted that she won't be ready at the beginning of the season, but, yeah, if she can play, she'll be huge for us - and she can play just about any spot on the field other than between the pipes.
Equalizer mentioned a rumored trade between WNY & Seattle that would send Veronica Perez back out west for the rights to A-Rod. When I mentioned it was against the rules JK seemed to think that rules werent a factor in NWSL.