Last Second Goal Lifts Philly over Shorthanded Sky Blue

Lianne Sanderson scored in stoppage time to give Philadelphia a 2-1 victory over Sky Blue FC on Sunday. It was the third goal of the season for the English striker, who came into the match as a substitute in the 77th minute of action. The victory brings the Independence level with Western New York, but the Flash still have the inside track for first place with two games remaining to Philly's one.

Sky Blue played a player down for almost the entire second half as Carrie Dew picked up a second yellow card for taking down Danesha Adams early in the second half. She had picked up her first in the opening minutes of the first half.

Philadelphia came out buzzing and put good pressure on the Sky Blue goal in the opening minutes of the match. Veronica Boquete's free kick from 24 yards was heading just under the crossbar, but Jen Branam managed to tip the ball over the net in the 2nd minute. On the ensuing corner kick, Boquete started back in the center circle and found herself wide open as she charged toward the penalty area unmarked. But her shot from just outside the box went over the crossbar.

The Independence broke on top in the 17th minute. Leigh Ann Robinson sent a beautiful long ball up the center of the field for Tasha Kai. The ball had spin on it and took a hop to the right. Kai took time to measure it and then placed a beautiful shot in the upper left side over Branam to make it 1-0.

Sky Blue tried to pull even just three minutes later, but Eni Aluko's shot from a tough angle was saved by Nicole Barnhart. However, four minutes later, Tobin Heath made a run up the center of the field. Drawing the defense toward her, she pushed a nice little through pass to Aluko, who finished with her right foot past Barnhart and into the right side of the net to tie the score.

Branam made a nice save on Boquete a few minutes later as Kai's header hit the Spanish striker in stride. Boquete's blast from 20 yards was saved by the agile Branam. In the 41st minute, Adams laid the ball off for Tina DiMartino, whose shot from 22 yards was also saved by Branam.

Sky Blue nearly took the lead just before intermission. A Heather O'Reilly cross went over the head of several players to bounce right to Brittany Taylor. She flicked a header just wide of the left post.

Dew picked up her second yellow card of the match as she slid late into Adams who was dribbling up the center of the field. It did appear that Dew attempted to put on the brakes, but it was too late and Adams went tumbling over the Sky Blue defender and referee Ted Unkel pulled out the yellow and dismissed Dew from the match.

Sky Blue caught a bit of a break in the 67th minute, as Amy Rodriguez chipped a shot over a diving Branam into the right post. With Branam laying on the ground, the ball bounced right back into her lap.

Philadelphia continued to pressure as the half wore on. Laura del Rio hit a hard shot from 15 yards, but Kendall Fletcher headed it clear. In the 77th minute, Branam made a nice save on Rodriguez' shot inside the near post. Branam later made two big saves in one-on-one situations with del Rio to keep the game level at one.

But just when it appeared that Sky Blue might hang on for the tie, one that would have clinched a playoff berth for them, Philadelphia got the game winner. Amy Rodriguez nodded a header forward from the edge of the eighteen. The ball appeared to deflect slightly off of Tobin Heath's head to the front of the goal where three Philly players were waiting against one defender and Branam. Joanna Lohman was able to touch the ball past Branam to Sanderson who finished just before a lunging Kendall Fletcher could get there and the Independence had scored the winner.

For Sky Blue and especially for Jen Branam, it was a harsh result. They needed just a tie to clinch a playoff berth, but were denied in the closing moments. Branam certainly made several great saves to keep her team even until that last second goal. They now face a one game do-or-die contest in Boston next week, still needing only a tie to advance to the playoffs.

Philadelphia's record goes to 11-3-3, good for 36 points and tied with Western New York. They have clinched second place and still have an outside shot at the top position, but the Flash have the inside track with an additional match remaining. The Independence close the season next Sunday in Boca Raton against third place magicJack.

Note: Philadelphia is a perfect 9-0-0 with Veronica Boquete in the starting lineup.

Correction: It was Danielle Johnson, not Kendall Fletcher, who was the last defender trying to block the shot on the game winning goal.

WPS Standings
(1) Western New York 11-2-3, 36 pts; (1) Philadelphia 11-3-3, 36 pts; (3) magicJack 8-6-2, 25 pts; (4) Sky Blue FC 5-8-4, 19 pts; (5) Boston 4-9-4, 16 pts; (6) Atlanta 1-12-4, 7 pts.

Schedule:
Wednesday, August 10
Western New York at magicJack

Sunday, August 14
Philadelphia at magicJack
Sky Blue FC at Boston
Atlanta at Western New York

Playoff Scenarios:
Sky Blue needs a tie or win against Boston to clinch 4th place. Boston needs to win in order to clinch 4th place.

Philadelphia and Western New York are tied for 1st place, with Philadelphia owning the tiebreaker at this point. Western New York has a game in hand.

magicJack has clinched 3rd place and will host the first round of the playoffs.

Atlanta Signs Whitehill; Independence Ink Three to Contracts

The Atlanta Beat have signed USWNT defender Cat Whitehill to a contract. Whitehill was one of the original USWNT allocations in WPS, spending her first two seasons with the Washington Freedom.

Whitehill, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, was originally allocated to Washington in 2008. She has scored four goals and four assists in her WPS career. The former North Carolina star has 134 career caps for the USWNT, scoring 11 goals.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Independence signed a trio of young veterans to contracts, all defenders. Kia McNeill and Leigh Ann Robinson both signed with Philadelphia after spending the 2010 season with Atlanta. Estelle Johnson, a defender on last year's Independence, has also resigned with the Independence.

McNeill, known as a tough defender who is strong in the air, was originally drafted by Saint Louis in January, 2009 out of Boston College. After a solid season with Athletica, she was traded to Atlanta where she spent the entire 2010 season. She has compiled over 3000 minutes in the WPS over two seasons. McNeill will most likely play central defender, although she has played outside on occasion.

Robinson was originally drafted by FC Gold Pride in January, 2009, after a successful college run at the University of San Diego. Her only career WPS goal was a game winner against Sky Blue on May 3, 2009. She was then the first selection in the expansion draft by the Atlanta Beat. Robinson plays outside defense and will get into the attack from that position.

Johnson was a draft choice of the Los Angeles Sol in 2010 and was then selected by Philadelphia in the dispersal draft following the Sol's demise. She appeared in 13 games last season, starting 10 for the Independence. Johnson played college soccer at the University of Kansas.

Atlanta Beat 2010 - Can Youngest Team Mature Fast Enough?

Coach: Gareth O’Sullivan
2009 Record: 2010 Expansion Team

Expansion Draft (3): Leigh Ann Robinson, Amanda Cinalli, Katie Larkin.
Draft Choices (3): Tobin Heath, Blakely Mattern, Mallori Lofton-Malachi (traded then re-signed).
LA Dispersal Draft (2): Manya Makoski (IR), McCall Zerboni.
International Signings (5): Ramona Bachmann, Monica Ocampo, Johanna Rasmussen, Shelley Thompson, Mami Yamaguchi.
Free Agents (7): Stacy Bishop, Tracy Hamm, Brett Maron, Sophia Mundy, Rebecca Nolin, Marisha Schumacher-Hodge, Tracy Hamm.
Trades (3): Allison Whitworth, Kia McNeill, Angie Kerr.

While preparing to do the Atlanta preview, I was checking through their roster and something hit me, which I immediately had to recheck. If my calculations are correct, the oldest player on the Beat’s roster is Rebecca Nolin, who won’t turn 27 until the day after the season opener. Make no mistake, this is a young team and how quickly they mature and grow as a team will go a long way to indicating how successful they can be.

The inaugural version of the Atlanta Beat should also be an exciting offensive side, with a talented group of young international players. The Beat were able to sign three top players from Swedish club Umeå IK in Ramona Bachmann, Johanna Rasmussen, and Mami Yamaguchi. These three combined for 25 goals last season in the Damallsvenskan. Then Atlanta added Shelley Thompson, the leading scorer in the Frauen Bundesliga in 2004-05 with 30 goals and Monica Ocampo, a young rising star out of Mexico. For an expansion team, Atlanta will have a very good offense, but can they defend?

Goalkeeping-One of the first major moves that Atlanta made following the expansion draft was to trade for Gold Pride’s backup goalkeeper, Allison Whitworth. Whitworth performed well while stepping in for Nicole Barnhart last season. She gave up just 5 goals in 4 starts, with one of those being a penalty kick and she posted a shutout late in the season against Los Angeles. The Birmingham, Alabama native returns to play close to home for the Beat. The backup spot belongs to former Fairfield keeper Brett Maron, who saw action in 8 matches in Sweden for Kristianstads last season. Mallori Lofton-Malachi was a late addition to the roster out of South Florida and will be the developmental keeper.

Defenders-The Beat made Leigh Ann Robinson their first selection of last September’s expansion draft. The outside defender had a solid season last year for FC Gold Pride. Robinson showed the ability to get forward at times and she could develop into a top offensive threat from the back. Atlanta gave up the top selection in the LA dispersal draft for Kia McNeill and Angie Kerr. McNeill is a tall, physical defender who had a very good first season in St. Louis. Atlanta also added Blakely Mattern in the college draft. Mattern played under the radar at South Carolina, but she could develop into a good player. Tracy Hamm, Lauren Sesselmann and Rebecca Nolin were added through free agency. It appears that the Beat may use Stacy Bishop, who saw action with Boston in ‘09, on the back line.

But while Atlanta has some solid defenders, they have nowhere near the international experience found on most of the teams in WPS. This has to be a concern, especially considering the enormously talented forwards around the league. This group will have to grow into a cohesive unit in a fairly short period of time and the Beat has scheduled the busiest slate of preseason games in WPS, which should help. Whether the Beat can compete for a playoff spot may well rest with this relatively inexperienced defense.

Midfielders-There’s a lot to like about the Beat’s midfield and it starts with the face of the new franchise, Tobin Heath. Heath, who earned a gold medal before her senior season at UNC, was arguably the most talented player in college soccer last season. Atlanta didn’t pass on the chance to build their franchise around the young star. She is joined by Mami Yamaguchi, a technically adept player who is a precise passer as well. Yamaguchi was the winner of the 2007 MAC Hermann Award while at Florida State. The Beat traded for Angie (Woznuk) Kerr from Saint Louis and she has national team experience as well, although she surprisingly didn’t give Athletica a lot of offense last season.

The loss of experienced midfielder Manya Makoski hurts, but Atlanta added depth with two former Sol players, McCall Zerboni and Katie Larkin, and a former Breaker, Sophia Mundy. And although Amanda Cinalli is listed as a forward, she could return as an attacking midfielder, which is where she spent most of last season in St. Louis with 2 goals to her credit, both game winners. With this group, the Beat have a chance to control many a game in the midfield.

Forwards-At just 19 years of age, Swiss prodigy Ramona Bachmann is being proclaimed as the next Marta. I don’t know if she’ll be that good, but she’s getting there. Bachmann led Umeå with 14 goals last season. She notched a goal and an assist in just 35 minutes of action against Saint Louis in the Beat’s final exhibition game. She gives Atlanta instant offense and when teamed with fellow European forwards, Johanna Rasmussen of Denmark and Shelley Thompson of Germany, will give opposing defenses a lot to worry about.

Thompson comes to the Beat with nearly a decade of experience in Germany. Rasmussen, who had 18 assists last year with Umeå, may play wing if Coach Gareth O’Sullivan chooses to play a 4-4-2. Another forward, Monica Ocampo, scored 8 goals and 11 assists last season with W-League entry FC Indiana. The Beat are loaded with offensive talent.

Summary-After watching the trio of Bachmann, Rasmussen, and Thompson cause frequent problems for Athletica’s back line last weekend, I’m convinced that Atlanta’s offense can be as good as any team in the league. The Beat were able to defeat Saint Louis without Tobin Heath’s presence. With Yamaguchi and Heath controlling the midfield, the Beat could be a formidable offensive side.

But it is with Atlanta’s defense where my concern lies. Whitworth is an able keeper as she proved last year. However, the defense has no international experience, and outside of Robinson and McNeill, very little WPS experience. The fast, skilled forwards of WPS will surely test them early and often. The key to Atlanta’s season may well hinge on how well the defense matures as a unit.

Atlanta Beat - The Offseason So Far

For the final installment of this series, we'll look at the Atlanta Beat.

Building the Roster

Atlanta drafted 6 players in the WPS expansion draft. Of those, Sara Larsson was never signed to a contract and declared a free agent. She eventually signed with Philadelphia. The other five players were Leigh Ann Robinson, Amanda Cinalli, Katie Larkin, Sharolta Nonen, and Noelle Keselica.

Offensively, Amanda Cinalli had the best 2009 WPS season among the draftees. After missing several matches early in the season, Cinalli started 12 of the final 13. She managed two goals and an assist over that time. She has been a mainstay on the US U-23 team the past couple of years and can play attacking mid or forward. Katie Larkin got only 5 starts for LA, but she saw a lot of action off the bench. The BYU alum is normally a wing or forward, but she did play some outside defender in her rookie WPS season. Keselica saw action in 5 matches for Sky Blue.

Leigh Ann Robinson was somewhat of a surprise as the number one pick in the expansion draft, but she did have a solid season with Gold Pride. She primarily played outside defender, scoring one goal for the season, a game winner against Sky Blue. She can be very dangerous on forward runs. Nonen, who played for the original WUSA version of the Beat, played briefly with Los Angeles late in the 2009 season. The Canadian defender has 63 caps with her national team.

The international draft saw the Beat tap into Umeå IK's talent for their top 3 selections. They have now signed all of those players and they should form the core of Atlanta's offense. Ramona Bachmann, who just turned 19 on Christmas day, might be the most exciting of these players. The young Swiss forward scored 14 goals for Umeå in 2009. At the age of 15, she played for the Swiss in the U-20 World Cup in 2006.

Of the other two Umeå imports, one is very familiar to US college soccer fans. Mami Yamaguchi, winner of the 2007 Hermann Award, starred at Florida State. She scored 24 goals in her final season with FSU. She can play forward, but I'm guessing she will fill the role of a creative midfielder for Atlanta. The third signing was Johanna Rasmussen. The veteran Danish striker has scored 17 goals over the past two seasons with Umeå.

Atlanta added Monica Ocampo to their list of signings last week. Ocampo was claimed as an international discovery player by Atlanta last fall. She has played several seasons with FC Indiana and she led the W-League in assists last season with 11 in just 9 games played. Ocampo was also a teammate of Nonen at FC Indiana.

Atlanta has been equally aggressive in signing domestic free agents, with 4 already on the roster, three of which have WPS experience. Stacy Bishop and Sophia Mundy both saw action with the Boston Breakers in 2009. Bishop started 6 games for the Breakers at midfield and earned two assists. Mundy also started two games for the Breakers. The Beat also recently signed McCall Zerboni, another midfielder. Zerboni played in 10 matches for Los Angeles and had one assist. A fourth free agent signing was that of Tracy Hamm. Hamm had been a 4th round selection of Gold Pride in the WPS General Draft in 2008. The former Cal defender has spent several seasons with the WPSL California Storm.

The Beat also made a major trade, sending two draft picks to FC Gold Pride for goalkeeper Allison Whitworth and a 3rd round choice. Whitworth got 4 starts with FCGP and had a 1.25 goals against average. The Alabama native returns to SEC territory where she played her college soccer at Auburn.

Current Roster

Goalkeepers (1)- Allison Whitworth.
Defenders (3)- Tracy Hamm, Sharolta Nonen, Leigh Ann Robinson.
Midfielders (6)- Stacy Bishop, Amanda Cinalli, Katie Larkin, Sophia Mundy, Mami Yamaguchi, McCall Zerboni.
Forwards (4)- Ramona Bachmann, Noelle Keselica, Monica Ocampo, Johanna Rasmussen.

Internationals- Bachman, Ocampo, Rasmussen, and Yamaguchi with one slot open.
Draft Choices (in first 3 rounds)- Nos. 1, 21, and 23.

Needs to Address

What do they do with the first overall selection in the draft? Their obvious glaring need is defenders and lots of them. After their trade for Whitworth, this selection is the only pick they have in the first two rounds. Whitney Engen is probably the consensus best defender in this year's draft, but I doubt that Atlanta will pass on Tobin Heath. She has too much talent and the Beat should be able build their team around her. That would mean that Atlanta must concentrate on defense with their remaining selections.

The other outside possibility is that they would trade the number one pick for a package of selections and the team they would most likely make that trade with would be Los Angeles. The Sol have 6 of the top 25 selections in this draft and may be willing to part with some of those picks to move up to number one. However, Atlanta has not given any indication that they were interested in trading the top spot. Still, nothing is definite until the selection is made on Friday morning.

Obviously, the Beat also needs a backup keeper and I would think there would still be a couple of solid choices left in the 3rd or 4th round of this draft.

I would expect that Atlanta would use 4 or 5 of their selections on defenders come Friday. They have some great offensive weapons on this team and some great international talent. Bachmann, Yamaguchi, and Ocampo are all still very young and all dangerous offensive players. They also have a lot of talented young American players in the midfield which the addition of Heath would only improve. If this team can build a solid defensive unit, they could be very good.

Atlanta & Philadelphia Pick First Players

The dust has settled on the WPS Expansion Draft and the Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence have added the first group of players to their rosters. Atlanta chose FC Gold Pride defender, Leigh Ann Robinson, as their first pick. Philadelphia followed with Washington Freedom midfielder, Lori Lindsey.

Although both teams could select up to 9 players, neither went that far. Atlanta passed after 6 selections and Philadelphia passed after only 7 picks. This was somewhat surprising to me, given the fact that all of the players available were good enough to make the rosters of established teams in 2009. Each current team lost only two players, with the exception of Gold Pride, which lost only one. Only one international player was chosen, Sara Larsson from Saint Louis Athletica and the Swedish National Team. Both teams leaned heavily on defense, with 6 defenders being chosen.

The Selections:
1. Atlanta-Leigh Ann Robinson, FC Gold Pride, outside defender
2. Philadelphia-Lori Lindsey, Washington Freedom, midfielder
3. Philadelphia-Jen Buczkowski, Sky Blue FC, midfielder/defender
4. Atlanta-Amanda Cinalli, Saint Louis Athletica, attacking midfielder
5. Philadelphia-Nikki Krzysik, Chicago Red Starts, central defender
6. Atlanta-Katie Larkin, Los Angeles Sol, attacking midfielder/forward/outside defender
7. Philadelphia-Sue Weber, Boston Breakers, central defender
8. Atlanta-Sharolta Nonen, Los Angeles Sol, defender
9. Philadelphia-Sarah Senty, Washington Freedom, defender
10. Atlanta-Sara Larsson, Saint Louis Athletica, defender
11. Philadelphia-Danesha Adams, Chicago Red Stars, forward
12. Atlanta-Noelle Keselica, Sky Blue FC, forward
13. Philadelphia-Kelly Schmedes, Boston Breakers, attacking midfielder/forward

Biggest Surprises

The first surprise is that neither team took their full allotment of 9 players. One of the problems was probably that several of the unprotected players were internationals and with the international draft coming next week, Atlanta and Philadelphia were hesitant to use up those potential spots in this draft. Still, I've got to believe there were a couple more players available that would have helped these two teams.

There were three big surprises to me as far as unprotected players go. Lori Lindsey has just been called up for the USWNT camp and is one of the most solid midfielders in the league. Amanda Cinalli missed the first 8 games of the season due to injury, but scored two goals and added an assist for a team that struggled offensively much of the year. Sue Weber is a solid defender, who also battled injury problems for much of the season.

The other big surprise for me was that there were no goalkeepers chosen. That indicates that many teams protected two keepers. Although we don't know exactly what happened, there are two possibilities. Either most teams protected two or there was one other player available that the expansion teams wanted more and then the backup keepers were protected with the two additional protected spots. In any case, with the likes of Henderson, Loyden, Bardsley, and Whitworth as backups, I would have expected Atlanta and Philadelphia to come out of this draft with a solid keeper. Now they will have to look elsewhere to fill that position.

Atlanta Beat

Leigh Ann Robinson (23 years old, San Diego, outside defender)-Robinson was originally drafted in the 6th round (40th pick overall) of the January draft by FC Gold Pride. She started 15 games for FCGP, more than any other player in the January draft taken after the 2nd round. Robinson scored one goal, a game winner against Sky Blue in May. She possesses good speed and does well going forward from her outside defender position. Defensively, she was good, but could show some improvement. She's still very young and could become a very good player.

Amanda Cinalli (23 years old, Notre Dame, attacking midfielder)-Cinalli was taken in the 4th round of the October draft in 2008. She starred at Notre Dame where she had over 30 goals and 30 assists for her career. She's also been a mainstay on the US U-23 team. With the possible exception of Lindsey, she may have been the most talented player taken in this draft. Cinalli started every game in which she was healthy enough to play. She has very good ball skills and can score. Her two goals were both game winners, against Sky Blue and Los Angeles. Occasionally, she tries to make too many moves in traffic, but I think she has the chance to become one of the top attacking mids in WPS.

Katie Larkin (22 years old, Brigham Young, attacking mid/forward/defender)-Larkin was drafted in the 3rd round (19th pick overall) in the January draft by the Los Angeles Sol. She started only 5 games for the Sol, but that was more due to the talent on that team than it was to her ability. She possesses excellent speed. Larkin showed her versatility by filling in at outside defender when the Sol were shorthanded on the back line and handled it very well. Given the opportunity for more playing time, Larkin could blossom in Atlanta.

Sharolta Nonen (31 years old, Nebraska, defender)-Nonen is a veteran of the Canadian National Team, as well as the previous incarnation of the Atlanta Beat in the WUSA. She can boast over 60 appearances with the Canadian National Team and another positive is that she does not count against the limit on international players. Nonen played only two games for the Sol, filling in after Martina Franko had to leave the team due to pregnancy. She is a veteran and a solid defender that should anchor the back line for the Beat.

Sara Larsson (30 years old, Swedish National Team, defender)-Larsson was signed as a discovery player by Athletica. She is a member of the Swedish National Team and just finished competing in the Euros in Finland. Like Nonen, she is a veteran defender with years of international experience. She started 12 matches for Athletica, but was hampered by injuries throughout the season, which limited her playing time. She doesn't have great speed, but she should be a dependable player that can help the Beat on the back line if she stays healthy.

Noelle Keselica (25 years old, Virginia, forward)-Keselica made the Sky Blue roster as a free agent. Originally, she was designated as a developmental player, but was later promoted to the full roster. She appeared in only 5 games, logging 101 minutes for a very deep Sky Blue team. She also played 7 minutes in the WPS Championship. In addition to her WPS experience, she has played for the US junior national teams, and in the W-League and Swedish Damallsvenskan.

Philadelphia Independence

Lori Lindsey (29 years old, Virginia, midfielder)-Lindsey was drafted in the 3rd round of the October, 2008 draft. She is an excellent midfielder that makes very few mistakes. She started 18 matches for the Freedom and was a very consistent performer throughout the season. Her WPS play was strong enough to catch the eye of USWNT coach Pia Sundhage, who has called Lindsey up for the US camp later this month. Lindsey scored two goals for the Freedom, with one assist. In addition to her playing abilities, she will provide the Independence with veteran leadership on the field as well.

Jen Buczkowski (24 years old, Notre Dame, defensive midfielder/defender)-Buczkowski was drafted in the 6th round (39th pick overall) in the January draft. She is a solid midfielder, who filled in on the back line for Sky Blue in the playoffs due to Anita Asante's absence for the Euros. Buczkowski was an instrumental part of a Sky Blue defense that gave up just one goal in 3 playoff games. When playing midfield, she is a defensive specialist who rarely gets forward to shoot (she recorded only 1 shot in the regular season). She started 8 regular season games for SBFC in a very crowded and talented midfield roster for the New Jersey squad, but then started all 3 playoff matches at center back.

Nikki Krzysik (22 years old, Virginia, center defender)-Krzysik was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars in the 2nd round (13th pick overall) in the January draft. She is a physical defender who managed 5 yellow cards in just 14 matches. She gave several fine performances early in the season and started the Red Stars' first 7 games, before giving way to more experienced defenders. She could become a very good defender, but probably needs to be paired up with a speedier center back at her side.

Sue Weber (23 years old, Hofstra, center defender)-Like Lindsey, Weber was taken in the 3rd round of the October draft. She is yet another solid defender, who unfortunately was plagued by injuries for most of the season. She appeared in only 9 matches, but was the Breakers' starter at center back until injuries forced her out of the lineup. She was recently named to the Colonial Athletic Association's 25th anniversary soccer team for her play at Hofstra.

Sarah Senty (22 years old, Virginia, defender)-Senty was originally drafted in the 7th round (49th pick overall) in the January draft. She missed the first half of the season for the Freedom while she was finishing up her studies at the University of Virginia. However, she started 5 of the last 7 regular season games, as well as the playoff match for Washington. Senty was a four year starter for Virginia and is another sound back that should help the Independence become a tough defensive side.

Danesha Adams (23 years old, UCLA, forward)-Adams was drafted in the 1st round of the October draft by the Chicago Red Stars. She appeared in 12 games for the Red Stars, starting two, but she was slowed by injuries for most of the early part of the year and had to struggle to become game fit for most of the season. She didn't score, but can certainly be a powerful offensive force when healthy. She managed to get off 10 shots in limited playing time for Chicago. Adams has also been a member of the US U-23 team and has scored 6 goals for them in past seasons.

Kelly Schmedes (26 years old, Texas, attacking midfielder/forward)-Schmedes was drafted by the Boston Breakers in the 6th round (41st pick overall) of the January draft. She is a talented offensive player who scored a goal and an assist for the Breakers in 2009. Her only goal of the season was a game winner against Gold Pride in July. She has good passing skills and decent speed. Schmedes is also a hard worker who pressures opposing defenses well.

Next week, the two expansion teams will participate in the International Draft.

WPS Draft Revisited-FC Gold Pride

For the second installment on the 2009 WPS draft, we'll take a look at FC Gold Pride.

Who They Drafted
1st round (#3)-Christina DiMartino, UCLA; 2nd round (#12)-Carrie Dew, Notre Dame; 3rd round (#17)-Tiffany Weimer, Penn State; 4th round (#26)-Marisa Abegg, Stanford; 5th round (#31)-Ameera Abdullah, Florida; 6th round (#40)-Leigh Ann Robinson, San Diego; 7th round (#45)-Brandi Chastain, Santa Clara; 8th round (#54)-Allison Whitworth, Auburn; 9th round (#59)-Alissa Oldenkamp, Arizona State; 10th round (#68)-Stacie Alberico, San Jose State.

Strategy
FC Gold Pride started by taking two young players, both with extensive experience on the US Junior National Teams, with DiMartino and Dew. They followed that by taking the 2nd oldest player taken in the first three rounds and one with international club experience, Tiffany Weimer. In later rounds, they took two of the oldest players drafted, Brandi Chastain and Stacie Alberico. There doesn't seem to be any preference as to age, geographic area, or position. Although Gold Pride did pick several players from the traditional west coast powers, they also looked east for a few of their picks.

Current WPS Status
For FC Gold Pride, 7 of their 10 draft picks are still on the roster, 3 were released.

Full time starters (4)-DiMartino, Dew, Weimer, Robinson.
Part time starters & other full roster players (2)-Chastain, Whitworth.
Developmental players (1)-Abegg.
Released (3)-Abdullah, Oldenkamp, Alberico.

What They've Done
DiMartino-9 G, 9 GS, 774 Min, 9 shots, 4 SOG
Dew-8 G, 8 GS, 638 Min, 1 goal, 2 points, 4 shots, 2 SOG
Weimer-10 G, 8 GS, 583 Min, 1 goal, 3 assists, 5 points, 14 shots, 5 SOG
Robinson-10 G, 8 GS, 705 Min, 1 goal, 2 points, 3 shots, 2 SOG
Abegg-2 G, 1 GS, 126 Min
Chastain-3 G, 53 Min, 2 shots

Whitworth-1 G, 1 GS, 90 Min, 6 saves, 2.00 GA

Total Offensive Output-42 G, 34 GS, 2879 Min, 3 goals, 3 assists, 9 points, 32 shots, 13 SOG.
Total Goalkeeper Output-1 G, 1 GS, 90 Min, 6 saves, 2.00 GA.

G=Games; GS=Games Started; Min=Minutes; SOG=Shots on Goal; GA=Goals Against Average.

The Players

Christina DiMartino-Though often overshadowed by her midfield teammates, DiMartino has played well for FC Gold Pride. In the game I saw her play in person, there were periods where she seemed to be all over the field. She maneuvers well in tight space and is good at distributing the ball. She is probably the best young player in the league with the ball at her feet. Her size prevents her from being a force in the air and she can be muscled off the ball on occasion, but her quick feet can also dispossess opponents. Her skills probably fit Gold Pride as well as any team in the league as they concentrate on passing and possession. I don't know if she will ever be a great player, but she can be very, very good.

Carrie Dew-Talk about a roller coaster season, Dew has had one. I thought she was an excellent pick at #12. She started the first game at holding midfielder and did a nice job frustrating Kelly Smith for the 1st half of that game. She followed that with a goal against Sky Blue. Then she missed nearly two full games because of injury, but seemed to be settling in after that, until.... She had a rough time of it againt the Sol, getting called on a foul and penalty, and was beaten a few times by the speedy LA attackers. Then came the double yellow card against Washington and suspension. Like Rachel Buehler and Leslie Osborne, she goes in strong on the tackle, but she needs to be more discriminating as to when she uses that talent. Dew's height and athleticism make her a natural in the air. I still think she was a solid pick and a good player. Her main position in college was center back, but she has also been used at defensive mid with Gold Pride and I wonder if that might ultimately be her better position.

Tiffany Weimer-No player burst onto the WPS scene with a bigger splash than Weimer. Her 1st half against Boston in the opener was a great half of soccer. She has excellent ball skills and can be a magician at times. About the best compliment I can pay her is that she thinks like a Brazilian, always looking to create and in fact, she did spend time with Santos. Sometimes, it seems like she attempts to do too much with the dribble, but that could be because the mids are slow in support. She had a goal and three assists in her first four games. But then, what happened? She was very quiet against Athletica and then spent a large portion of the next three games on the bench. In her last 5 games, she has attempted only 2 shots. I hope that Weimer can bounce back from this lull, because she is truly a joy to watch when she's at her best.

Marisa Abegg-Abegg started the year as a developmental player, but she saw her first action against the Freedom, followed by a start and a full 90 against Chicago due to Dew's suspension and Wilson's injury. She and former teammate Allison Falk helped to form one of the best back lines in college soccer at Stanford.

Leigh Ann Robinson-The 6th round pick has contributed nicely to Gold Pride, playing in all 10 games and starting eight. Like teammate Kandace Wilson, she can be dangerous making overlapping runs, although she doesn't quite have Wilson's blazing speed. She scored the game winning goal, coming off the bench in the 2nd Sky Blue game with a nice run and beautiful finish. It seems to me, at least at this point in her career, that she is much more comfortable going forward than defending.

Brandi Chastain-You have to take your hat off to any player that can compete in this league at age 40. She's still in top shape, although the amount of quality minutes that she can give has surely declined. She's been bothered with injuries, but has looked pretty good in the games she has played and she just missed scoring a goal on a header against Los Angeles.

Allison Whitworth-With Nicole Barnhart's call up, she got the start against the Sol, not exactly the easiest debut. She played outstanding, making several nice saves and keeping her team in the game. It was impressive that the young keeper didn't let the penalty rattle her and she actually seemed to gain confidence as the game wore on. She makes sound decisions and has good height and quickness. She could be a prime target in the expansion draft.

Summary
Gold Pride has gotten a lot out of their draft. DiMartino is already a good player and has one of the best skill sets of any young player in the league. Dew was a solid pick and with some experience, she should be a fine player for many years. Weimer could have been the steal of the draft at #17, but she needs to be more consistent. Gold Pride also did pretty well in the bottom half of the draft with Robinson and Whitworth. Abegg, given time and experience, could develop into a nice player. Quite frankly, I was shocked that Abdullah didn't make the team. The one thing I can perhaps fault this group on is their consistency.

I think perhaps the biggest problem is that, with Wilson's injury, Gold Pride is now getting absolutely zilch out of the October draft. Therefore, several of these players are being pushed into roles before they have had time to develop. I'm puzzled that they didn't keep Jill Oakes, injury or not, to give them more depth and experience on defense, which may have helped young players like Dew and Robinson. Still, it's a pretty good draft when you can get four starters out of it.