Women’s Professional Soccer  announced the termination of the franchise  and the dispersal of the team’s 19 players via a draft Thursday to other teams. This is going to have have a big impact in the league, as top players such as  Marta, Aya Miyama, Shannon Boxx and Karina LeBlanc will be scattered throughout the league.  The team participated in the recent WPS draft – picking up Casey Nogueira and Nikke Washington – and was lining up some European stars to play for the franchise, although national team veteran Aly Wagner recently announced her retirement.

The dispersal draft will have expansion franchises Atlanta and Philadelphia holding the first two selections. Both teams will begin play in April, giving the league eight teams and a balanced schedule.

The league operated the Sol for the last couple of months after one of its two original ownership groups pulled out in mid-year, leaving Galaxy owners Anschutz Entertainment Group in charge  until the end of last season when they, too, pulled out. The Sol lost as much as $2 million last year, despite leading the league in attendance, WPS officials said.

The Sol had suspended season ticket sales while it was operated by the league.

Coach Abner Rogers was fired via e-mail two days before Christmas and General Manager Charlie Naimo took over in that post.

Apparently, the league had attempted to sell the team, but those negotiations  fell through.

“We’ve been in several weeks of negotiations with an ownership group and unfortunately it fell through at the last minute,” league commissioner Tonya Antonucci told The Associated Press. “In terms of the viability of Los Angeles as a WPS market, we don’t think that’s in question. Suspending operations doesn’t mean we won’t be trying to find new ownership for 2011.”

The Sol drew a crowd of 14,832 to their opener last season, and ended up averaging more than 6,200 fans for home games at Home Depot Center. They finished the regular season 12-3-5, the best record in the league, before losing 1-0 to Sky Blue FC in the championship game.

What does this mean for the WPS?  Does the Sol’s demise mean the end of the league? Do we hear echos of the now defunct WUSA?

Though the profitability of one team shouldn’t affect the profitability of any other, it’s never good to have a team shut down.  Apparently every team in the league lost money last season, some more than others. Everyone knew that  starting a league in the midst of a major economic downturn was going to be tough. The upcoming season will be pivotal for the league.

League officials note that this season will see two new expansion teams (the Philadelphia Independence and Atlanta Beat), a longer regular season with more home games for each team, increased sponsorship and a reformatted All-Star Game that will take place in mid-season rather than at the end of it.

Still, the end of a franchise in one of the nation’s two largest markets is a bummer – especially since it was my home team.  Were there things the Sol could have done better out of the gate?  For sure. But they consistently delivered great soccer to appreciative fans and their base was growing. It’s too bad the corporate powers gave up on the them before they really had a chance to prove themselves.

Condolences to LA fans. Let’s hope there are some exhibition games that will be played in LA this year and a chance to see more of  our fave players.

As many had expected but the Atlanta Beat had yet to confirm until Draft Day, North Carolina’s Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, NJ) was the first player selected in the 2010 WPS Draft on Friday by Atlanta at the Philadelphia Convention Center.  Heath was the first of four North Carolina Tarheels selected during the first round (and a total of 7 UNC players) including defender Whitney Engen at No. 4 (Chicago Red Stars/Rolling Hills Estates, CA), forward Nikki Washington at No. 5 (Los Angeles Sol/Mesquite, TX) and forward Casey Nogueira at No. 8 (Los Angeles Sol/Raleigh, NC) . The first round included 11 selections for the nine WPS teams with expansion teams Philadelphia Independence and Atlanta Beat both receiving additional picks at the end of the first round, which they traded away prior to the draft.

The first overall four picks went largely how the experts had predicted with Heath going first, the Boston Breakers then selecting attacking forward and 2008 Olympics gold medalist Lauren Cheney (UCLA/Indianapolis, IN), and 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy winner Kelley O’Hara (Fayetteville, GA) of Stanford going to FC Gold Pride with the third pick. Engen, the consensus top defender in the draft, went fourth, while Alyssa Naeher (Penn State/Seymour, CT) was the first goalkeeper selected at No. 11 by the Boston Breakers. Nogueira, predicted by many experts to be among the top four prospects, slipped to eighth and was snapped up by the Los Angeles Sol where the creative forward could partner up top with Marta for an interesting frontline.

Teams were busy with several trades towards the latter rounds, especially the expansion Philadelphia Independence. The Independence swapped their fifth round pick with Atlanta’s fifth round pick. They also sent their 49th overall selection, Jennifer Anzivino (Rutgers), to Sky Blue FC and received Sky Blue FC’s seventh round pick in return with which they selected local Philadelphia prospect Danielle Collins (William & Mary). Boston also traded up for the 56th selection that belonged to Los Angeles, choosing Gina DiMartino (Boston College) in that slot and giving LA future considerations in return.

After North Carolina, Santa Clara was second among colleges with five selections, UCLA and Wake Forest each featured three selections among the draftees.

The draft festivities included a Commissioner’s Welcome from WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci and appearances from NSCAA President Randy Waldrum, NSCAA Executive Director Joe Cummings and Los Angeles Sol goalkeeper and WPS All-Star Karina LeBlanc. Draft day began with a panel of coaches discussing the growth of the global professional women’s game including Boston Breakers Head Coach Tony DiCicco and North Carolina Head Coach Anson Dorrance.

2010 WPS Draft
FIRST ROUND
1. Atlanta Beat – Tobin Heath, M, UNC
2. Boston Breakers # – Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
3. FC Gold Pride – Kelley O’Hara, F, Stanford
4. Chicago Red Stars – Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
5. Los Angeles Sol # – Nikki Washington, F, North Carolina
6. Sky Blue FC – Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
7. Washington Freedom – Nikki Marshall, D/M/F, Colorado
8. Los Angeles Sol # – Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
9. Los Angeles Sol – Kiersten Dallstream, F, Washington St.
10. FC Gold Pride # – Ali Riley, D, Stanford
11. Boston Breakers # – Alyssa Naeher, GK, Penn State

SECOND ROUND
12. FC Gold Pride # – Becky Edwards, D/M, Florida State
13. Philadelphia Independence – Malorie Rutledge, M, LSU
14. Los Angeles Sol # – Michelle Enyeart, F, Portland
15. Chicago Red Stars – Jessica McDonald, F, North Carolina
16. Boston Breakers – Jordan Angeli, D, Santa Clara
17. Saint Louis Athletica # – Kristina Larsen, F, UCLA
18. Washington Freedom – Carly Dobratz, M, Washington State
19. Saint Louis Athletica – Ashlyn Harris, GK, North Carolina
20. FC Gold Pride # – Kaley Fountain, F, Wake Forest

THIRD ROUND
21. Atlanta Beat – Blakely Mattern, D, South Carolina
22. Los Angeles Sol # – Kiki Bosio, F, Santa Clara
23. Atlanta Beat # – Shameka Gordon, D/M, West Florida
24. Chicago Red Stars – Kelsey Davis, GK, Portland
25. Los Angeles Sol – Estelle Johnson,  D, Kansas
26. Sky Blue FC – Katie Schoepfer, F, Penn State
27. Washington Freedom – Beverly Goebel, M, Miami
28. Saint Louis Athletica – Amanda Poach, M, Santa Clara
29. Sky Blue FC # – Melissa Clarke, M, LSU

FOURTH ROUND
30. Atlanta Beat – Jill Hutchinson, F, Wake Forest
31. Philadelphia Independence – Kelly Henderson, D/M, Boston College
32. FC Gold Pride – Erin Guthrie, GK, Rutgers
33. Chicago Red Stars – Michele Weissenhofer, F, Notre Dame
34. Boston Breakers – Katherine Reynolds, D, Santa Clara
35. Sky Blue FC – Danielle Johnson, D, Ole Miss
36. Washington Freedom – Kristi Eveland, D, UNC
37. Saint Louis Athletica – Veronica Perez, M/F, Washington
38. Los Angeles Sol – Mary Casey, GK, Maryland

ROUND FIVE
39. Atlanta Beat – Mallori Lofton-Malachi, GK, South Florida (traded to Philadelphia)
40. Philadelphia Independence – Carrie Patterson, F, Georgia (traded to Atlanta)
41. FC Gold Pride – Ashley Bowyer, M/D, Ohio State
42. Chicago Red Stars – Sophie Reiser, M/F, Columbia
43. Boston Breakers – Cynthia Morote-Ariza, F, Loyola-Chicago
44. Sky Blue FC – Meagan Snell, F, Santa Clara
45. Washington Freedom – Lauren Robertson, GK, Ohio State
46. Saint Louis Athletica – Carolyn Blank, M/D, WVU
47. Los Angeles Sol – Lindsay Browne, M/F, Clemson

ROUND SIX
48. Atlanta Beat – Kasey Langdon, F, Oklahoma St.
49. Philadelphia Independence – Jennifer Anzivino, D/M, Rutgers (to Sky Blue FC)
50. FC Gold Pride – Eilzabeth Harkin, D, Arizona State
51. Chicago Red Stars – Fiona O’Sullivan, M/F, San Francisco
52. Boston Breakers – Carly Peetz, D, Nebraska
53. Sky Blue FC – Kelly Isleib, M, Utah
54. Washington Freedom – Mara Osher, D/M, Boston University
55. Saint Louis Athletica – Sarah Teegarden, M, Wisconsin-Milwaukee
56. Boston Breakers – Gina DiMartino, M/F, Boston College (pick traded from Los Angeles Sol)

ROUND SEVEN
57. Atlanta Beat – Shaneka Gordon, F, West Florida
58. Philadelphia Independence – Caitlin Farrell, D, Wake Forest
59. FC Gold Pride – Lauren Wilmoth, D, UCLA
60. Chicago Red Stars – Jackie Santacaterina, M, Illinois
61. Boston Breakers – Casey Brown, D, Boston University
62. Philadelphia Independence – Danielle Collins, D/M, William & Mary
63. Washington Freedom – Caitline Miskel, M/F, Virginia
64. Saint Louis Athletica – Elisabeth Redmond, M, Duke
65. Boston Breakers – Taryn Hemmings, F, Denver

#via trade

read more at womensprosoccer.com

On Tuesday night, the UConn women finished out their perfect season by beating Louisville 76-54 and capturing the NCAA championship for the 6th time.  With that one final blowout, Connecticut grabbed the national title and a piece of basketball history.

It wasn’t just that Connecticut claimed another title. It was how the Huskies did it. They won every one of their 39 games by double digits, an unprecedented run in college basketball.

Associated Press Player of the Year Maya Moore and senior point guard Renee Montgomery played well  throughout the season but it was center Tina Charles who really delivered in the championship game.

Louisville’s Angel McCoughtry finished off her stellar career with 23 points in the final collegiate game.

On Thursday, the WBNA Draft took place and McCoughtry led the class as a surprise first pick for for the Atlanta Dream. With the second pick the Washington Mystics chose Maryland’s Marissa Coleman while her Terps teammate Kristi Toliver went third to the Chicago Sky. UConn standout Renee Montgomery was picked fourth by the Minnesota Lynx.

My local team, the Los Angeles Sparks, picked forward Ashley Paris who will join her sister Courtney in California (Courtney was drafted by Sacramento). See Complete Draft Board.

Megan Hueter (from Because I Played Sports and Women Talk Sports) was at the Draft and has some fun behind-the-scenes footage and commentary including a great interview with Nancy Lieberman.

Congrats to all on a great season and a great future with the WNBA.

Fifteen of the top women’s basketball prospects have been invited to this year’s Draft. The list is highlighted by Renee Montgomery (Connecticut), Courtney and Ashley Paris (Oklahoma), Angel McCoughtry (Louisville), Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman (Maryland) and Kia Vaughn (Rutgers).

Do the players keep their Draft Day outfits simple or try to make a statement? Do they go with a dress or a suit? If they go with a suit, do they wear pants or a skirt? WNBA players have many options when putting their draft-day outfit together and through the years have shown their style with much success.

Last year, Candace Parker got things started in the right direction with her all-white pant suit. Any coincidence that a phenom from the NBA named LeBron James also wore all white on Draft day?

Perhaps the biggest fashion statement of last year’s draft came from No. 2 pick Sylvia Fowles (photo), who topped off her black pants, white shirt and black vest with a black fedora hat. Pretty Tough? You bet!

Making the right fashion choice can help make players’ memories of draft day all the better. They should smile – not cringe – when they look back at the photos from such an important day, so choosing an outfit wisely is of utmost importance.

Read what players have said in the past about their fashion choices and get all the deets about this year’s draft at WNBA.com.

Good luck to all (on the fashion choices as well as the draft picks)!

Last year was considered the deepest class in WNBA history. This year there isn’t as much depth but with roster reductions, the competition for spots in the league will be equally fierce.

Two of the top picks will be playing this weekend in the Final Four so be sure to catch UConn’s Renee Montgomery and Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris in their final collegiate contests.

Montgomery is the whole package. She could be a starting point guard for almost any team she goes to. She’s a great leader who exudes confidence and knows how to build team chemistry. She’s smart, knows how to play both ends of the floor and has extemely high basketball IQ.

Six foot four Paris knows how to bang the boards and is a strong presence physically and mentally. She got a lot of attention last month when she offered to repay her scholarship if Oklahoma didn’t win a national championship this year so the stakes for her are high.

Atlanta Dream has the first pick in the draft followed by the Washington Mystics and there’s a good chance Montgomery and Paris will go in early rounds. But  Louisville’s Angel McCoughtry, the Big East conference’s defensive player of the year, and Maryland’s Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman are also considered top picks.

The Terrapins are going to have to face life next year without seniors Coleman and Toliver. Toliver is a shooting point guard always willing to go for the big shot. She’s going to fit best with an uptempo team such as Phoenix.

Who else will have a chance to play with the pros? Look for Cal’s Ashley Walker,  the second leading scorer and top rebounder in program history, Rutger’s Kia Vaughn, and Duke’s Chante Black. Both Vaughn and Black might be a good fit for a team like Connecticut.

All these players know how to play under pressure. They’ve got the necessary work ethic and each brings a unique set of skills to a team. Once the top players are picked, it will be like a game of dominoes to see how the rest fall.

The goal of a competitor is to play as long as possible so those not picked for the WNBA draft will probably look at their prospects for playing overseas. Stay tuned.

The draft which is being hosted by the Akron Racers, will take place February 17th beginning at 7 p.m. EST (6 p.m. CST) with the first selection being made by the Washington Glory. Fans will be able to access the draft broadcast at TheSoftballChannel.com, a sponsor of this year’s draft.

The 2009 version of the draft features five rounds and a total of 25 selections, with Akron , Rockford , Philadelphia and Chicago rounding out the first round.

Earlier this month, the league announced that the New England Riptide—one of the NPF’s six founding franchises—has withdrawn from the league and will not compete in the 2009 season, due to economic difficulties. Hate to hear about yet another casuality of the recession.

First round draft picks from last year’s draft included Katie Burkhart, pitcher from Arizona State and Megan Gibson, pitcher from Texas A&M, both of whom were signed by the Philadelphia Force and helped the team earn a Championship Series berth.

Angela Tincher, pitcher from Virginia Tech was drafted by the Akron Racers and was a crucial part of its team arsenal in 2008. Anjelica Selden, pitcher from UCLA was drafted by the New England Riptide, Savannah Brown, catcher from Georgia Tech was drafted by the Rockford Thunder and Taryne Mowatt, pitcher from Arizona was drafted by the Washington Glory.

The Chicago Bandits selected catcher and NPF Rookie of the year Rachel Folden with the first pick of the 2008 draft. Folden proved to be a solid foundation behind the plate as the catcher for the Bandits, but also produced at the plate. Folden finished the ‘08 season with 32 RBIs, 11 homeruns, a .311 batting average and a .631 slugging percentage.

While everyone can speculate on which seniors will be drafted in this years draft, it is likely that several players will be chosen from the recently announced USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List.

Due to NCAA regulations, an active college senior-athlete is not eligible to sign with her respective franchise until her 2009 season is completed.

The order of picks for each round follows, but this information is subject to change pending any last-minute trades.

ROUND 1

1  Washington
2  Akron
3 Rockford
4  Philadelphia
5  Chicago

Brandi Chastain, a pioneer soccer player, will return to the field at age 40.

The FC Gold Pride of the new Women’s Professional Soccer league selected Chastain in the seventh round of Friday’s general draft in St. Louis. The woman who made the winning goal in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final against China should provide a promotional and emotional boost to the Gold Pride, one of the WPS’ seven charter teams that begins play in April.

Although she last played on the U.S. national team in 2004, Chastain has stayed in shape playing for the semi-pro team California Storm with the Gold Pride’s assistant coach Sissi. The two were members for the San Jose CyberRays of the now-defunct Women’s United Soccer Association that folded in 2003.

“We couldn’t be happier that she was available to us in the seventh round,” Gold Pride Coach Albertin Montoya said in a statement. “She is invaluable to this league. Her experience, passion for the game and leadership is among the best in the world. She will definitely help our young players grow as athletes and professionals. Having her is truly priceless and I’m really looking forward to working with Brandi again.”

January 16, 2009

Beyond the A-Rod pick, tweets let us know in near real time the other first round selections:

• 2nd: Chicago Red Stars select Megan Rapinoe 
• 3rd: FC Gold Pride select Christina DiMartino
• 4th: Sky Blue FC select Yael Averbuch
• 5th: Los Angeles Sol select Brittany Bock
• 6th: Saint Louis Athletica select Kerri Hanks
• 7th: Washington Freedom select Allie Long

 Second Round:

• Washington Freedom select Alex Singer
• Saint Louis Athletica selects Kia McNeill
• Los Angeles Sol select Allison Falk
• Sky Blue FC select Meghan Schnur
• FC Gold Pride select Carrie Dew
• Chicago Red Stars select Brittany Klein
• Chicago Red Stars select Nikki Krzysik

 Check Women’s Professional Soccer site for all the Draft picks and more.

January 14, 2009

Friday could be the most influential day in terms of the early success for each club and while the core of most teams is fairly well established, there are still plenty of nuances that can change the balance of play.

With the addition of the top collegiate seniors into the pool, the Breakers and Coach Tony DiCicco have the opportunity to add another Olympic gold medalist from the U.S. Women’s National Team onto the roster.

Recent USC grad Amy Rodriguez, who was with the National Team but did not participate in the December Combines, has long been touted as the best player available.  She is one of three members of the gold medal-winning Olympic team not yet affiliated with a WPS team. The other two, Lauren Cheney and Tobin Heath, still possess college eligibility.

Though the Breakers are stacked with forwards including Kristine Lilly and recently signed Canadian Christine Latham, Rodriguez seems the obvious choice for the top pick. Will there finally be an A-Rod Boston sports fans can rally behind? Surely trades will go down on draft day, but it is almost certain the Breakers will use their top pick on a player rather than deal it.

The order for the 10-round draft was determined via lottery and will follow the same pattern as the WPS General Draft in October with teams selecting in the following order, 1-7, 7-1, 1-7, 7-1 until the draft is completed.

Other key players who have just completed their NCAA eligibility include Yael Averbuch, M (UNC) Brittany Bock, M/F (Notre Dame) Carrie Dew, D (Notre Dame) Christina DiMartino, M (UCLA) Kerri Hanks, F (Notre Dame) and Megan Rapinoe, M/F (Portland).

And of course there’s still the question of the international players. While the WPS has no incoming transfer window, players will want to finalize their plans before the European window closes this month. Newly crowned FIFA Player of the Year Marta just signed with Los Angeles for three years and no doubt will be one to watch in the upcoming WPS season but what about Cristiane, Kelly Smith and others?

Tune into Fox Soccer Channel on Thursday between 8-10 p.m. (ET) to catch a first glimpse of the player that the Breakers will select with the first pick. In addition to an interview with the future No. 1 pick, FSC will also interview WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci, as well as unveil PUMA’s Official WPS Match Ball.the last round of the draft.

The official draft, which takes place Friday at 9:30 a.m. CT, can be followed on Fox Soccer Channel and on the WPS website. 

Find more videos like this on Women’s Professional Soccer

December 2, 2008

The Comets dominated the fledgling league when it began operations, winning the first four WNBA titles from 1997-2000, led by its talented trio of players: Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson.  Kind of ironic that the most successful Houston sports franchise is no more.

With the Comets officially gone (well technically the franchise is “suspended”) what does that mean for the league?  In her ESPN column, Mechelle Voepel discusses the demise of the team and the struggles the league will face in this uncertain economy.

As the old adage goes, the Comets were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it’s important not to forget that a decade ago, they were in the right place at the right time. And the WNBA benefited because of it…

…Bad news? Of course. But the NBA is still vested enough in the WNBA, and that — along with the energy and hard work of the independent owners — will keep the league going.

The folding of the Comets franchise leaves the San Antonio Silver Stars as the only remaining WNBA team in Texas. For now, bye, bye Comets. You’ll be missed but not forgotten. And hopefully, you’ll be back one day soon!

April 9, 2008

You’ve heard the hype: Candace Parker, Candice Wiggins and the deepest class in WNBA history.  It’s a given that both will be star players at the next level, in their own special ways.

As anticipated, Parker submitted the appropriate paperwork renouncing her remaining intercollegiate eligibility to be available for selection in today’s WNBA Draft.

The Los Angeles Sparks had the first draft pick and as expected they chose Parker. (Since we’re based in LA, we couldn’t be more excited!) The number two pick went to the Chicago Sky who added LSU’s Sylvia Fowles to their roster. Rounding out the top three was Wiggins who’s heading to the Minnesota Lynx (though there may well be a trade in her future). 

Detroit Shock had the fourth pick and chose Tennesse guard Alexis Hornbuckle. Fifth pick was Houston who selected Rutger’s guard Matee Ajavon. Next up, the Washington Mystics picked Maryland’s Crystal Langhorne who is a local favorite. Congrats to all the picks and you ladies looked great in your glam outfits and high heels – way to show off those pretty tough attributes.

See the full Draft Board here  and get the latest news at WNBA.com