Lloyd and Trotter Join Beat

Atlanta added two more players to the fold on Friday. USWNT midfielder Carli Lloyd and India Trotter were signed by the Beat.

Lloyd has been a regular starter for the national team for several years and is probably most known for her overtime goal against Brazil in the 2008 Olympics which gave the gold medal to the United States.

She was allocated to Chicago in 2008, but had a fairly disappointing season for them in 2009, scoring just two goals in 16 matches for the Red Stars. She was then signed by Sky Blue FC, but an injury put her out for most of the season, as she managed just 200 minutes of action in five matches.

Lloyd is known to have one of the most powerful shots in women's soccer. She recently celebrated her 100th cap with the USWNT in Chicago against Italy. She has scored 22 goals for the national team, with none being any bigger than the game winner in the Olympic finals.

Trotter was originally drafted by Saint Louis in the 2008 general draft, but opted not to play in WPS during the 2009 season. She did finally join Athletica for the 2010 campaign. She played sparingly for Athletica before their demise, but did start seven matches for Sky Blue after being signed midseason by the New Jersey franchise.

Trotter is multi-dimensional, able to play several positions on the field. She has played with FFC Frankfurt of the Frauen Bundesliga, after completing a very successful college career at Florida State University.

Sky Blue Deals Asante and Washington to Saint Louis

Sky Blue FC has traded defender Anita Asante, midfielder/attacker Nikki Washington, and their 2nd round selection in 2011 to Saint Louis for India Trotter and Athletica's 1st round selection in 2011.

Both Asante, who spent 2009 with Sky Blue, and Nikki Washington, who was acquired in the Los Angeles dispersal draft, have been injured. It is not known at the present time when either player would be able to return to action. Washington was never signed by New Jersey, presumably because of her injury which occured while playing for the University of North Carolina last fall.

“This is a move we feel clearly makes our team better by addressing a need,” said Saint Louis General Manager Tim Owens. “We have acquired one of the world’s elite defenders, which was a priority for us. Plus, we were able to bring in a young, dynamic, and very versatile player that is one of the young, upcoming stars in U.S. Soccer ”

“It is tough to give up a great player and a great person such as India Trotter,” stated Tim Owens.

To make room for Asante, who is an international, Athletica released Daniela, who has been injured since last May. Daniela scored the very first goal in Saint Louis history in the very game she was injured.

“It was a very difficult decision to part ways with a player such as Daniela,” reflected Owens. “She is a warrior, and she has a passion for the game that is second to none. We will always consider Daniela to be a part of the Athletica family.”

The deal comes after Athletica gave up 3 goals to Washington last weekend, only the 2nd time that has happened in franchise history. Clearly, Saint Louis felt the need to beef up their defense in light of that performance.

WPS Weekend Wrap Up

A number of universities are well represented in WPS, including UNC, Notre Dame, Portland, UCLA, Stanford, and Santa Clara. One university that has been developing a number of WPS players as of late is Florida State. Sunday's game between Saint Louis and FC Gold Pride included 3 ex-FSU stars and a former FSU assistant coach. Shown here (from left) India Trotter of Athletica, Assistant Coach Paul Rogers (Athletica's goalkeeper coach), Becky Edwards of FC Gold Pride, and Sarah Wagenfuhr of Athletica. All three players played in the match.

Athletica defender/midfielder Elaine wasn't able to play in Sunday's game because there was a delay in getting her international clearance. But that didn't stop the Brazilian National Team player from participating in another way. She joined Laclede's Army, a supporters group for Saint Louis Athletica, in their cheering section. She got into the spirit of the match by spray painting her hair green, sitting in with the group's drummers and doing her part in supporting her team from the stands. She is hoping to join her teammates on the field soon.

Boston 2, Washington 1-The Breakers got goals from Lauren Cheney and Kelly Smith to defeat the Freedom. Ashley Phillips got the victory in goal in her first WPS action. Allie Long scored the Freedom's loan goal.

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Saint Louis 2, FC Gold Pride 0-Eniola Aluko scored both goals as the Athletica won their home opener. Shannon Boxx had an excellent match, assisting on both goals. The Marta-led Gold Pride were unable to get their offense untracked. Hope Solo earned the shutout in goal.

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Sky Blue FC 1, Chicago 0-The defending champions won their home opener. Natasha Kai scored early on an assist from Heather O'Reilly and SBFC was able to hold on for the win. Karen Bardsley earned the shutout in goal. Jill Loyden gave up just the one goal in her first start for the Red Stars.

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Philadelphia 0, Atlanta 0-The Independence drew over 6000 fans for their home opener which ended in a scoreless tie. Karina LeBlanc (Philadelphia) and Allison Whitworth (Atlanta) earned shutouts. Several key players were missing from the match including Allison Falk (red card in '09 championship game) and Heather Mitts (injury) for Philly and Ramona Bachmann (illness) and Monica Ocampo (illness) for Atlanta.