The two players that most people thought would go 1st and 2nd in the 2011 WPS draft were indeed the first two players taken. Western New York selected Alex Morgan of California and the USWNT, followed by Philadelphia choosing Sinead Farrelly of Virginia.
Washington traded for Atlanta's first round selection, which changed the complexion of the draft quite a bit. They chose Meghan Klingenberg of North Carolina with the 3rd overall pick, followed by Christen Press of Stanford at 4th. The consensus had been that Atlanta would choose Press at number three before the trade was made.
It was no surprise that the Independence chose Lauren Fowlkes at number five, once she slipped past the first four picks. The Boston Breakers chose midfielder Keelin Winters at six, followed by Atlanta choosing defensive midfield specialist Kylie Wright with the 7th pick and Western New York getting Portland Pilot left back Elli Reed at number eight.
Virginia, Portland, UCLA, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame each had two players selected from their programs. Surprisingly, some smaller schools were represented well, too, with players being selected from George Mason, Harvard, Niagara, James Madison, and UC-Irvine. Traditional powers North Carolina and Stanford only had one each. The Big Ten was entirely shut out of the proceedings.
Some teams went with players having local ties with at least one of their selections. Philadelphia chose local product Farrelly from Havertown and later selected James Madison midfielder Teresa Rynier from Leola, Pennsylvania. Boston selected Harvard forward Katherine Sheeleigh in the 3rd round. Western New York chose Niagara goalkeeper Ashleigh Bowers in the 4th round.
Perhaps the oddest selection, at least to me, was Philadelphia choosing Caitlin Farrell with the 11th overall pick. It was odd in that Philadelphia chose Farrell with the 58th selection in the 2010 draft. That's right, same team, same player, two different years. Not to mention, she moved up 47 spots.
One international player, Omolyn Davis, was chosen by Washington. Davis, a midfielder for George Mason, has experience with the Jamaican National Team.
Several high profile players did not enter the draft. Sophie Schmidt, who many considered to be a 1st round selection and a player from the Canadian National Team, reportedly did not enter the draft. Nor did highly regarded defender Hannah Cerrone out of Boston College. North Carolina midfielder Ali Hawkins also reportedly was not interested in playing pro soccer.
As for my mock draft....well let's just say I got the first two right and leave it at that.
Here are the players selected in the 2011 WPS Draft:
First Round
1) Western New York-Alex Morgan, F, California (Diamond Bar, California)
2) Philadelphia-Sinead Farrelly, MF, Virginia (Havertown, Pennsylvania)
3) Washington-Meghan Klingenberg, MF, North Carolina (Gibsonia, Pennsylvania)
4) Washington-Christen Press, F, Stanford (Palos Verdes Estates, California)
5) Philadelphia-Lauren Fowlkes, D, Notre Dame (Lee's Summit, Missouri)
6) Boston-Keelin Winters, MF, Portland (Englewood, Colorado)
7) Atlanta-Kylie Wright, MF, UCLA (Rancho Santa Margarita, California)
8) Western New York-Elli Reed, D, Portland (Park City, Utah)
Second Round
9) Philadelphia-Jennifer Stoltenberg, F, Oregon (Mission Viejo, California)
10) Washington-Omolyn Davis, MF, George Mason (Kingston, Jamaica)
11) Philadelphia-Caitlin Farrell, D, Wake Forest (Fort Myers, Florida)
12) Boston-Whitney Palmer, F, Oklahoma (Plano, Texas)
Third Round
13) Western New York-Rose Augustin, MF, Notre Dame (Silver Lake, Ohio)
14) Atlanta-Meghan Lenczyk, F, Virginia (McLean, Virginia)
15) Philadelphia-Lauren Barnes, D, UCLA (Upland, California)
16) Sky Blue FC-Alyssa Mautz, MF/F, Texas A&M (O'Fallon, Missouri)
17) Washington-Amanda DaCosta, MF, Florida State (Katonah, New York)
18) Philadelphia-Bianca D'Agostino, MF, Wake Forest (Longmeadow, Massachusetts)
19) Boston-Katherine Sheeleigh, F, Harvard (New Vernon, New Jersey)
Fourth Round
20) Western New York-Ashleigh Bowers, GK, Niagara (Liverpool, New York)
21) Sky Blue FC-Lauren Alkek, D, Oklahoma (Victoria, Texas)
22) Washington-Katie Fraine, GK, Florida (Titusville, Florida)
23) Philadelphia-Teresa Rynier, MF, James Madison (Leola, Pennsylvania)
24) Boston-Tanya Taylor, F, UC-Irvine (Buena Park, California)
Draft analysis coming soon...
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