She's 33 and recovering from a 2nd A-word injury in 3 years. Not that Averbuch is much younger, but she doesn't have the same injury history. I think this is not a good move for Utah.
We got BYU CB Taylor Isom with the 14th pick Lots of positive comments on her from the draft "experts". Anybody seen her at BYU games?
She was listed in 2017. Will likely be again. But who knows with the change in coaches. And the pick is in. Utah goes local and takes Taylor Isom from BYU.
Taylor Isom profile Sandy, Utah kid who went to Alta HS. That's really cool Utah Avalanche product an assumption on my side: LDS girl (based on other schools that recruited her vs her decision) I bring this up because I'm not aware of an LDS player in the RSL history so this would be the first one in the club as a whole, no? Has suffered (in the words of Blue Crimson) two A-word injuries in her time at BYU
Didn't the Monarchs sign a BYU guy, I think a winger, their first season? Guy didn't really end up doing much, but he very likely could have been LDS as well. It was their attempt to sign a local kid, and might have been during a local invitation only try out?... its been a few years, so I could be losing my mind.
late blooming player that I always use when talking to young kids that don't make the "premier" teams at a young age. Garrett was on the lower rungs of the club for a bit and then really came into his own around age 15. I was too focused on RSL and forgot the Monarchs players.
34th pick: EJ Proctor (GK) from Duke NC Girl (NC ODP) with some damn good stats: 2017 tri-captain … All-ACC First Team and United Soccer Coaches All-East Region First Team honoree … also dominated in the classroom, as she was named a United Soccer Coaches Scholar Second Team Academic All-American and to the CoSIDA Academic All-District III First Team … commanded a Blue Devil defense that posted a school record 18 shutouts in 2017 while finishing sixth nationally in goals against average (.379), seventh in shutout percentage (.692) and 33rd in save percentage (.841) … capped her career owning the all-time records for shutouts (35) and goals against average (0.65), as well as the single-season marks for clean sheets (14) and GAA (0.35)
Now I am hoping that Ariela Lewis is picked by someone over these final picks. A friend of mine coached her as a youth player in Alaska, and it would be cool if she was selected.
There's always a chance that undrafted players catch on to teams. Probably the best example of an undrafted player making good is Taylor Smith. She went from not being selected in 2016 to making the WNY roster and is now becoming a starter for the NT.
I've watched a lot of her games at BYU. She's quite fast. I can't recall a single instance where she was beaten for pace. She's also an elite defender. She has a beautiful Cruyff turn in her back pocket - a useful tool for a center back. She's good (but not exceptional) in the air. She's perfectly capable of bringing the ball out of the back, and she has a knack for hitting her forwards on diagonal runs. Her biggest weakness is probably her passing. She was an above-average passer at the college level (for a CB), but she never struck me as "professional grade" in that regard. Also, she's prone to make the occasional bone-headed error, like giving up the ball in her own third.
This is now ancient history, but I think Joey Worthen is/was LDS. I used to play against him when we were kids, and I seem to remember that he was. I could be mistaken though...
Yes. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Harvey experiments with her at left back at some point this season. Her size and body type seem well suited for it. But she never played out wide at BYU, and I don't know if she'd pose much of an offensive threat, even with all her pace. It would be a long-term project. She might really excel playing the left side in a three-back system, though.