2020 player moves

Goff reports that Portland may also have gotten the rights to Mace from Sky Blue.

Looking like Mace to Thorns for draft pick(s)

— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) January 8, 2020

 

This post is so so wrong.
Rachel Daly has been with the Dash for many years so keeping her is not making the league or the team more foreign.
She may have under-performed last year but she is still the best attacking option we have.

Which american players might have questions and what would they base it on?
I love to have an American player who is better than Daly to come to the Dash, just send her over here. Do you have a name?

And please don't tell me it's Ohai.
I love Ohai, she has been our franchise's face since the start, I still love her work ethics above every one (except for Daly) but Ohai has regressed after her injury and it does not look like she is improving.
Strictly on the soccer standpoint, trading Ohai is a very good move. It opens a slot for someone else, someone who can help Daly up front.

 

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Mace deal is not official yet, and not likely to be announced in the next few hours.

So you're safe to go grab some food and the beverage of your choice and, for Portland fans, calming music.

 

And we have another trade: Stengel headed to Houston.

The Houston Dash have completed a trade with the Utah Royals, acquiring Katie Stengel in return for a 2020 2nd round pick and a 2021 2nd round pick. Official confirmation to come shortly.

— Hal Kaiser (@Hal_Kaiser) January 8, 2020

 

I love the Rachel Rodriquez trade to Portland. She will finally be able to shine.
She was wasting away at Sky Blue.

 

Portland is also letting Andressinha go: https://www.timbers.com/post/2020/01/08/thorns-fc-midfielder-andressinha-mutually-agree-part-ways

 

sonnett, foord, plus #7, plus #14?

in my view, too much for smith. it may exist, but I have yet to see evidence that she can perform against pros.

otoh, this screams macario. she scored twice & assisted another (i think) in the thorns preseason tournament last year.

 

The Athletic breaks down the trades so far: https://theathletic.com/1521100/

For those behind a paywall (but really you should subscribe), a few key takeaways:
-Orlando's GM says he is not done yet with a few more moves to come pre-draft.
-Paulson said not to look at any of Portland's moves in a vacuum. They're doing an overhaul because "[w]e have been significantly inferior to North Carolina for two years, and that is going to change." But there is NO news expected this week on a major international signing for Portland. It could come later though.
-Sky Blue still holds the rights to Mace and Julia Ashley and those have come up in conversation with trades with other teams. (Mace to Portland is not official yet.)

 

I agree. Way too much for Smith. It must be Macario. And maybe it's too much for her.

 

It's not. You have to factor into the trade the fact that Foord isn't staying in NWSL (known by Orlando at the time of the trade).

 

i accept your maybe. soccer is a sport of full of "maybe".

but macario seems like a generational player to me. she's a game changer. especially against the courage.

macario and (possibly) mace up front against the courage? more scary than williams and mcdonald/hamilton going the other way!

 

When I say "it's not", to be clear I mean it is not Macario. Smith was willing to leave school early, but only for Portland.

 

Houston acquire Lindsey Harris (former UNC coach and won Keeper of the Year in Norway):

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐇-𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧, @lindseybharris 🤘

We have signed goalkeeper Lindsey Harris from Klepp IL.

— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) January 9, 2020

 

Too late to edit, but obviously that should be "former UNC keeper."

 

Foord is leaving the NWSL? Well, that makes the trade more comprehensible. Sonnett and a couple of draft choices for Sophia Smith? Okay, given Orlando's awful defense. And a bargain for Portland if Macario declares -- which at this point would be a surprise.

 

Sophia Smith not getting her degree at Stanford seems odd. Why now? In order to try for an Olympic spot?

 

Nikki Stanton is leaving Chicago to go to Norway (Klepp):

Thank you for the last two years at a club as great as the Red Stars 😊They were a blast. I’ll miss the city, my amazing teammates, & @ChicagoLocal134 . So many unforgettable memories! Excited for this next chapter in my career! Grateful I get to do what I love around the 🌎. https://t.co/qLTuDe1FfL

— Nikki Stanton (@GutiNikki7) January 10, 2020

 

OMG, my jaw just literally dropped:

Big NWSL trade: @TheNCCourage have traded McCall Zerboni to @SkyBlueFC for the player rights to Hailie Mace, last year's #2 overall pick. Sky Blue receive NCC's 2021 4th rnd draft pick if/when Mace signs a 2020 contract—I'm told there's a high expectation that'll happen.

— Neil Morris (@ByNeilMorris) January 10, 2020

Zerboni to SkyBlue for rights to Mace. I really thought Zerboni would stay in NC until she retired, and I really didn't figure on NC making any big moves since they don't need to. But WTHDIK?

 

Also if its really true that Portland were after Mace, and NC just swooped in and got her (and she actually signs with them), then hats off to NC...they just know how to win. Also I don't know if this is what Zerboni wanted, but SkyBlue needs some veteran leadership with a young team, so I like to see how they are building. But is Zerboni the same player she used to be?

And Mace can be a young player that NC can continue to develop and build on (which they've done an excellent job of in the past), so good pickup.

 

For the first time in her career, Zerboni wasn't an automatic starter for NC last year. Is she slipping? Or was it just impossible for her to dominate a midfield with competition such as Mewis, O'Sullivan, and Deninha. I suspect she's got another good year or two in her. And Sky Blue, having dealt away Rocky Rodriguez, needs her.

And for NC, the rich get richer.....

 

If Mace comes back. Think she come back to play NWSL? It is NCC that has her instead of Skyblue.

 

She appears to be coming back given she's had talks with NWSL teams about it since this summer. I'd assume she has no problems with joining one of the best teams in the world.

 

I'd say from this trade, its a pretty sure thing that Mace is coming back to play in NC. And its why this is a win for SkyBlue, even if Zerboni isn't 100%. SkyBlue turned the rights to a player who was never going to play for them into a player who at least will give a young team veteran leadership.

 

Mace just retweeted the NC Courage tweet announcing the trade. And followed that up with this tweet:

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