Madelaine Edlund and Lori Chalupny battle in the WPS All-Star Game. The two will be teammates with Saint Louis Athletica in 2010.
When Last We Left Them...
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Saint Louis Athletica finished in 2nd place with a 10-6-4 record and 34 points. After a very slow start which saw them go scoreless for the first 277 minutes of the season, they showed strong improvement as the season wore on. An early season injury to Daniela left Athletica without one of their more talented players. But they went 6-1-2 over their last 9 games, the best record in the league over that time. Saint Louis was eliminated by Sky Blue in a tough 1-0 match in the semifinals, as they played without leading scorer Eniola Aluko.
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Chances are, if you attended an Athletica match in 2009, you saw a shutout. Saint Louis, behind brilliant goalkeeping from Hope Solo and Jill Loyden, posted 10 shutouts. Athletica was also shut out 6 times in addition to their playoff game. Aluko was their only consistent scorer. After Aluko, only midseason acquisition Christie Welsh scored as many as 3, all coming in the last two games of the season. Saint Louis was led in the midfield by Lori Chalupny and Kendall Fletcher, and defensively by Tina Ellertson.
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Roster Moves
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Saint Louis retained only 10 players from their 2009 squad, leaving them a strong nucleus but a lot of holes to fill. They waived their option on two of their international players, Daniela and Sarah Walsh, and granted free agency to a 3rd, Melissa Tancredi.
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Surprisingly, at least to me, Athletica left attacking midfielder Amanda Cinalli unprotected in the expansion draft and she was selected by the Atlanta Beat. Outside of Aluko and Welsh, Cinalli was probably their most productive offensive player. She scored 2 goals and an assist after missing the first 7 games due to a leg injury. Atlanta also selected veteran defender Sara Larsson from Saint Louis, a starter of 12 games for Athletica. She eventually signed with the Philadelphia Independence after Atlanta did not pick up her option. Additionally, free agent Niki Cross, who scored a late season goal for Saint Louis, was signed by FC Gold Pride.
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The big news for Saint Louis was the signing of two veteran international players in late November. Athletica addressed some of their scoring needs by signing 24 year old Swedish forward Madelaine Edlund. Edlund has played the last three seasons with Umeå IK of the Swedish Damallsvenskan. She has scored 28 goals over the past two seasons with Umeå. Edlund should provide Saint Louis with a forward complement to Eni Aluko.
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The other signing was that of Brazilian midfielder Elaine Moura, another player that spent 2009 with Umeå IK. Elaine was a member of the 2007 Brazilian team that finished 2nd in the World Cup. The 27 year old strengthens Athletica's midfield and will give them added experience.
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Current Roster
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Goalkeepers (2)-Jillian Loyden, Hope Solo.
Defenders (4)-Tina Ellertson, Stephanie Logterman, Kia McNeill, Elise Weber.
Midfielders (4)-Lori Chalupny, Elaine, Kendall Fletcher, Angie Woznuk.
Forwards (2)-Eniola Aluko, Madelaine Edlund.
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Additions-Edlund and Elaine.
Subtractions-Amanda Cinalli (drafted by Atlanta), Sara Larsson (drafted by Atlanta), Niki Cross (signed by Gold Pride.
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Other Free Agents from 2009 roster-Daniela, Sheree Gray, Erin Kane, Ashlee Pistorius, Lisa Stoia, Melissa Tancredi, Sarah Walsh, Erin Walter, Christie Welsh.
Internationals-Aluko, Edlund, and Elaine with 2 slots open.
Draft Choices (in first 3 rounds)-Nos. 17, 19, and 28.
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Needs to Address
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Considering that Saint Louis scored only 19 goals last season and that only 3 players that scored are still on their roster, it's fairly obvious that scoring has to be a priority. With the loss of Cinalli, Athletica really needs a scorer out of the midfield. Last season, Saint Louis got only 6 goals out of their midfield, two each from Chalupny, Cinalli, and Daniela. Angie Woznuk was unable to add a goal or an assist in 2009 and Chalupny took quite a beating, suffering 46 fouls, tied with Kelly Smith for tops in the league. Without a top draft choice, Saint Louis may have to turn to the international market to find an attacking mid.
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Additionally, Athletica could use another forward. Right now, they have only Aluko and Edlund. Ashlee Pistorius could still be in the picture for 2010, but another forward is needed. It will be interesting to see who is left when Athletica drafts at number 17.
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Defensively, Saint Louis was strong with Tina Ellertson leading the way, surrounded by young talent like McNeill, Logterman, and Weber. But an experienced back line player would be welcome. Athletica looked particularly vulnerable in the first 30 minutes of the playoff match against Sky Blue.
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Saint Louis was the surprise team to many last season. They didn't boast a lot of big name stars outside of Chalupny and Solo. Aluko turned out to be one of the league's most exciting young players and Ellertson's experience on the back line was a key factor as Athletica clawed their way up to 2nd place by the end of 2009. While they have a nice group of veterans to build around and have added two very good players, there are still many holes to be filled in the next three months. Without any high choices, it will be tough to do this through the draft. They will have to make the most of their two remaining international openings if they are to challenge for the title in 2010.
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