Abby being traded? That's rich. There's a reason the opening game is LA Sol vs. Washington Freedom. Anyway, as a Bay Area fan, I am thrilled with our draft.
She didn't actually need to bump anyone - Boston just renounced its rights to Emma Byrne (Arsenal LFC) (http://www.womensprosoccer.com/newsitem_ektid1088.aspx), most probably because she has no intention to leave England.
Setting aside the fact that there is no way the Freedom are trading Abby, I'm pretty sure I've heard her refer to the house she owns in CA as her home. NY might be her home town but she's relocated, WPS_Movement. And she has said she's very happy to play for the Freedom. She would not have been allocated there if she was unhappy about it. I am interested (and too lazy to google) to know what sort of relationship WPS and the Wleague and/or WPSL with regards to player movement. With an 18 player roster, a couple of injuries could really hurt a team. Could loans and/or 10 day contracts be possible? How does the FIFA transfer rules impact this, as well? Perhaps this question is fit for a separate thread.
I have seen published but can't find the link that the senior roster will be 18 PLUS 4 developmental slots. I assume the 4 slots would cover a team in case of injury, at least for the short term. I believe as discussed elsewhere on these boards that player movement between W-League/WPSL teams will be restricted due to amatuer/NCAA rules except for the one or two "pro" teams (Indiana and Rochester maybe?)
The math in theory adds up to the 22 total players 3 WNT allocated players 4 from the first draft 5 maximum int'l players 10 from second draft The players from the late rounds of the second draft are still facing possible competition from players picked-up from the open tryouts still to be held, just to be signed as a development player at what has to be a low salary.
You have to take into account that we're Pilots fans, but I think a lot of other Pilots fans will agree when I say that I think Megan was the steal of the draft. (Since she was #2, I assume you'll get my meaning.) Before she had her first ACL injury part way into the 2006 season, she was the season's leading scorer in Division I. She also had just started to get playing time as a striker on the US WNT. Based on this year's performance, her ACL injuries are a thing of the past -- although this might be the one thing a team would think about. This year, she was one of the -- if not the -- most dominant players in college soccer. She loves the physical battle and is someone other teams hate to play against. When, as a freshman, she scored the opening goal in Portland's quarter-final NCAA tournament win over Notre Dame, Randy Waldrum said it was the hardest shot he had ever seen -- anywhere, any level, by men or women. She's exuberant. And, she's a proven leader on the field -- setting the standard that led Portland to the NCAA quarter-finals this year notwithstanding they started four frosh and lost three of their best players to the U20 World Cup team just before the NCAA Tournament began. And, she did that even though she's still building her fitness and shot accuracy following her ACL injury recovery period. I intend no disrespect, by the way, to Amy Rodriguez: I really like her as a player. I've seen her play a number of times, but if Megan is healthy as I believe she is, I think Chicago got a steal. You will really love watching her play.
What happened to Kelly Wilson? How come she was taken so late? Did she have injuries that hurt her game. I can still remember her with the US U-20s with Tarpley, O'Reilly, and Jill Oakes in Canada. That team was exciting to watch . Kelly scored goals in bunches! WPS coaches were complaining about the shortage of good forwards from the player pool made it even more surprising she went down that far .
Does anyone out there have any thoughts on the Freedom draft picks? The first two picks, 7 & 8, were a bit of a surprise, there was so much talent available ot there. Does the coach believe that its all about team chemistry?
Anyone know why most of the Key defenders went so late ?? Carrie Dew not going until #12 ?? Nikki Krzysik #13 ?? Kasey Moore #15 ?? Even Tony was quoted as saying: "On whether there were any pleasant surprises during the draft: “There were a lot of picks I was pleasantly surprised about. I was amazed that Kasey Moore was still available for us." Weren't they all slated to go alot earlier ??
Better the devil you know? Yes, as much as I wanted to hang on to some of our best W-League players, I can't help worrying that Gabarra got carried away in that direction. I think it will give us a good strong start to have players who have already had some time together, but I fear that eventually we'll be left behind as the other teams, with more talented players, get their act together. But we'll see.
If the team can sign Sawa and DeVanna, that will be huge (I haven't seen enough of the other internationals recently to comment on their impact). Wambach has already played for Gabarra, so she knows what to expect. So if they've already got decent chemistry in their core group of players and they're just fitting in the 'stars', I would think they'd get off to a fast start, which is a big deal when you're trying to bring in fans. Having seen the Freedom play several times over the last three years, I always thought they did a great job of possession, but lacked consistent finishing (sorry Christie). Looks like some of the additions will help that immensely. They've got a couple of rocks in back with McLeod and Scurry. Too bad they won't have Kriger for year one. Looks like their defense will be solid but not spectacular, but solid works. Having seen what a disruption in chemistry can do to a team (see Philadelphia Charge, 2003), it's a huge factor. Maybe Gabarra is crazy like a fox. I guess we'll see this spring.
From what I have read that there was a shortage of good forwards in the draft but a surplus of good solid defenders so everyone grabbed the forwards early. The first defender was the # 8 pick from UVA and not ranked on anyone's list but was a W League defender for the Freedom & they were drafting former players all day no matter who was available. From pick #8 to #28 there were 14 defenders taken, 2 mids, 2 keepers & 2 forwards. I am still surprised at how many quality players were left on the table at the end of the draft. I would guess that they will attend the open tryouts and beat a draft pick out of a job.
Well, if chemistry has anything to do with it, Saint Louis has become Notre Dame South. We took Melissa Tancredi in the international draft, Amanda Cinalli in the general draft in October and now Kerri Hanks and Elise Weber in this draft. Cheer cheer for old Notre Dame....
I not surprised at Notre Dame or any top college team having so many players on a team, Sky Blue as three from UNC. The top colleges will always have numerous palyers in the league as they always get the top high school recruits
I don't think it has anything to do with chemistry. It has everything to do with money. These players are not going to be paid much of anything, let alone enough to live in some of these areas. Teams need to draft players who have connections to the area so they can find (or already have!) cheap housing and establish connections with local youth clubs to earn extra income (or other employers). Drafting college teammates also makes it easy for them to share housing, cars, and other expenses because they already know each other.
You may have a point about the saving of expenses, but the Notre Dame girls are from all over the place. Tancredi is from Canada, Cinalli is from Cleveland, Hanks is from the Dallas area, and Weber is from the Chicago area. As far as I know, none have connections with the St. Louis area except Hanks came down here to accept the Hermann award.
Tancredi went to massage therapist school in St Louis in between playing for Canada the last couple of years. Not sure about the rest.
Agreed, but I think they went lower than most of us thought, especially considering Markgraf being unavailable for the year and Chicago having to replace her. I had Dew going 2, Krzysik 7, and Moore 9. A lot of other mock drafts had them going about that high, too. There was an interview with Jorge Barcellos, St. Louis coach, where he mentioned Brittany Bock and Kasey Moore as two players they were looking at. Bock went right before St. Louis picked in the first round, but St. Louis could have picked Moore with either the 6th pick or the 9th pick. Instead they went for Hanks and a more experienced Kia McNeill.
I think soccermavin has the answer, the pre-draft comments indicated concerns about finding finishers so for the most part teams went there in the first/second rounds and took their chances on getiing defenders from a much deeper pool in later rounds. I don't see a big mystery, just supply and demand.
I caught most of the Freedom home games and a few of the away ones, and what you say is very true (and a lot of it was Christie, alas) - especially last year. I hope getting Abby back will help with this.