Midweek Notes: April 27, 2011

Lipsher Wins Player of the Week...Again

Atlanta goalkeeper Alli Lipsher has won WPS Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week, becoming the first player to ever do so. Lipsher was credited with 13 saves in the Beat's match against the Western New York Flash, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Lipsher also took Player of the Week honors a week ago for her 11 saves and shutout against Sky Blue FC, after Allie Long of Sky Blue FC received the honor the first week of the season. The Player of the Week is voted on by a panel from the North American Soccer Reporters.

Dallstream Traded to Boston

Forward/Defender Kiersten Dallstream has been traded by Sky Blue FC to the Boston Breakers. In return, SBFC will receive the Breakers' second round draft choice in 2012.

Dallstream played in 12 matches for Sky Blue in 2010, but had not appeared in either of their first two matches of 2011. She was originally a first round draft choice of the Los Angeles Sol in 2010, before being drafted by Sky Blue in the dispersal draft.

In college, Dallstream starred at Washington State and was a member of the 2008 U-20 World Cup Champions for the United States. That team was coached by current Breakers' head coach Tony DiCicco.

Western New York To Play First Home Game This Week

After starting out on the road for two matches, Western New York will make their home debut this Sunday against the Atlanta Beat. The two teams tied last weekend 2-2.

The Flash play their home matches at Sahlen Stadium in Rochester, New York. The Flash will play four consecutive home games, facing every team but Philadelphia during the home stand.

1st Round Completed with a Few Surprises

The first round of the WPS draft has been completed and there were a few more surprises toward the end of the round.

6. Sky Blue-Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
7. Washington-Nikki Marshall, F/D, Colorado. Washington has already said that she would most likely be a defender in the WPS.
8. Los Angeles-Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina. Nogueira falls all the way to 8th, but not necessarily a big surprise given Sky Blue and Washington's need for defense.
9. Los Angeles-Kiersten Dallstream, F, Washington State. A bit of surprise to me, but a very good player. I had pegged Kaley Fountain for this selection and basically Dallstream is similar in that she is a forward, but has some background as an outside defender.
10. Gold Pride-Ali Riley, D, Stanford. Strangely enough, this is who I chose for Gold Pride in Bleacher Report's mock draft last weekend. But I chose Riley because Becky Edwards was gone by that time. Edwards is still very available today, so I was a little surprised, but I really like Riley's two way ability.
11. Boston-Alyssa Naeher, GK, Penn State-Boston needed at least a backup keeper, but Naeher will certainly challenge Lipsher for the number one spot. This could start a run on keepers.

I now look for Gold Pride to select either defensive mid or one of the top keepers, Kelsey Davis or Ashlyn Harris. We'll see.......