magicJack Signs LeBlanc

As has been reported elsewhere and has now been confirmed by WPS, magicJack has signed goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc of the Canadian National Team.

With Hope Solo injured, magicJack was looking for another experienced keeper and LeBlanc was the obvious choice. She had a stellar 2009 season with the Los Angeles Sol, posting a 0.53 goals against average and 12 shutouts.

After Los Angeles folded, she was signed by Philadelphia, where she shared time as the number one keeper for the Independence. Eventually, Val Henderson won the number one spot for the playoffs and LeBlanc was not signed for the 2011 season, concentrating her time on the Canadian National Team.

In addition to her experience in WPS, LeBlanc also played with the Boston Breakers in the WUSA from 2001-03. She joins Solo and Jill Loyden as magicJack's goalkeepers.

MagicJack also announced that they have terminated goalkeeper Brett Maron and mutually terminated forward/midfielder Johanna Rasmussen. Maron made four starts for magicJack during the World Cup. Rasmussen made eight appearances, three of which were starts, for magicJack scoring one goal.

magicJack Gets First Road Win in Atlanta

MagicJack defeated the Atlanta Beat 3-2 on Saturday evening, earning their first road win of the season. The victory keeps magicJack in second place in WPS.

Ella Masar opened the scoring for magicJack, just three minutes into the contest, as Johanna Rasmussen set her up at the six yard box.

Meghan Lenczyk tied the match for the home side in the 20th minute. It was Atlanta's first goal in well over three and a half matches.

But just before intermission, Christen Press made it 2-1 for visiting magicJack on a cross from Nikki Washington.

Things got worse for Atlanta when Rasmussen scored a goal of her own just a couple minutes into the second half to make it 3-1.

Atlanta bounced right back on a goal by newly-acquired Kacey White in the 53rd minute, assisted by Megan Jesolva. In spite of the Beat's pressure, magicJack was able to hang on for the 3-2 victory.

Atlanta's record falls to 1-7-2. They will host Boston next Sunday. MagicJack raises their record to 6-2-0. They play the Independence next Saturday in Philadelphia.

Biggest Off-Season Player Moves in WPS

I have just written an article for the WPS website about the biggest off-season player moves.

My list of top off-season moves are (not necessarily in any order):

1) Marta, Western New York Flash
2) Christine Sinclair, Western New York Flash
3) Ali Riley and Kandace Wilson, Western New York Flash
4) Rachel Buehler, Boston Breakers
5) Eniola Aluko, Tobin Heath, Angie Kerr trade, Sky Blue FC
6) Therese Sjögran, Sky Blue FC
7) Christie Rampone, Washington Freedom
8) Caroline Seger, Western New York Flash
9) Shannon Boxx, Washington Freedom
10) Johanna Rasmussen & 3rd overall pick in 2011 draft, Washington Freedom

Please check it out, along with all the latest WPS news, interviews, and information at http://www.womensprosoccer.com/.

Beat's Draft Strategy Is Puzzling

Let me preface this review of Atlanta Beat's 2011 draft by saying that it is not a negative reflection on the players they drafted. I truly believe that Kylie Wright and Meghan Lenczyk will ultimately help the Beat. But when you have as many holes in your roster as Atlanta did going into this draft, do you really think it's a good idea to trade a current draft pick and a national team player for a selection in the future?

To me, WPS is all about here and now. We've lost four teams in under a year. Two of those teams did at least have some great successes in the short time they were around. WPS is also about building a fan base. A 2012 draft selection isn't going to put anyone in the stands nor win any matches in 2011. Johanna Rasmussen and Christen Press (or Lauren Fowlkes or Meghan Klingenberg, etc., etc.) most certainly could have.

Rasmussen was arguably the Beat's most consistent player last season and certainly one of their best players. The Beat had already traded away their top scorer when they sent Eni Aluko to Sky Blue, with two other offensive players in Tobin Heath and Angie Kerr, for the very draft choice they traded away here (and the pick they chose Wright with).

So in essence, the combination of the two trades meant Atlanta gave up Rasmussen, Aluko, Heath, Kerr, and Press for Wright, a 2012 selection, and "future considerations." Three very good national team players, plus Kerr, plus a top rookie. Isn't the object of a draft to fill holes, not create new ones?

After the trade, I have no problem with the players Atlanta finally selected in the draft. But surely, Press, Fowlkes, or Klingenberg could have helped this team out a lot.

But on to the players Atlanta did choose. Kylie Wright, midfielder out of UCLA, was chosen with the 7th overall pick in the draft. Wright is an excellent defensive player that could step in and help the Beat right away. She has been a regular with the US U-23 team. She is durable as well, making 89 starts in her career at UCLA.

Wright has very good skills and has a team-first attitude on the pitch. She also has good size and will win more than her share of 50-50 balls.

With the 15th overall selection, the Beat chose Meghan Lenczyk, forward from Virginia. After Morgan and Press, Lenczyk could certainly lay her claim to being the third best forward in this year's draft. She scored 36 career goals for the Cavaliers and had 13 assists.

Lenczyk has good height and size which should cause opponents problems on free kicks and corners. She can also score with either foot.

With many holes to fill and few picks to fill them, Atlanta did very well with their two selections, but trading away one of the top selections for a team that has so many needs is puzzling. I'd give the Beat fairly high marks for their selections, but low grades for their approach to this draft.

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.

The Atlanta Beat Sign Johanna Rasmussen

The Atlanta Beat has signed yet another international star in Danish forward Johanna Rasmussen. The 26-year old striker has 65 caps and 13 goals for the Danish National Team. She has played the last two seasons with Umeå in Sweden, where she scored 10 goals in 2008, followed by 7 goals in 2009.

Rasmussen joins Umeå teammates Mami Yamaguchi and Ramona Bachmann on the Atlanta Beat roster. Atlanta still has two remaining international slots open.

Umeå's top 3 goal scorers from 2009 have now signed with WPS teams. In addition to Atlanta signees Rasmussen and Bachmann, Madelaine Edlund signed with Saint Louis in November.