Seven UNC soccer players turning pro

If you want to play women’s professional soccer,  there is one collegiate programs that seems to do a particularly good job prepping players for the big show.  In the recent 2010 Women’s Pro Soccer Draft,  seven Tar Heels were selected, including four of the first eight picks.

Tobin Heath was drafted first overall by the Atlanta Beat. Defender Whitney Engen was selected fourth by the Chicago Red Stars.

Two teammates will stick together. Midfielder Nikki Washington will once again set goals up for forward Casey Nogueria. The two were drafted by my local team – the Los Angeles Sol.

Forward Jessica McDonald was chosen in the second round. She’ll join Engen with the Chicago Red Stars. Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris was also taken in the second round by the St. Louis team, Athletica.

On top of that, defender Kristi Eveland was taken in the fourth round by the DC Freedom.

Led by legendary coach Anson Dorrance this graduating Tar Heel class won three national championships in four years. Dorrance has been the head coach of the North Carolina women’s soccer program since its inception in 1979 and has won 20 NCAA titles.

Following North Carolina, Santa Clara had the next largest group of players picked in the recent draft with five players selected.

Defender Jordan Angeli was picked by Boston in the second round. In the third round, forward Kiki Bosio was picked by the LA Sol and midfielder Amanda Poach went to the St.  Louis Athletica.

Defender Katherine Reynolds will join Santa Clara teammate Angeli in Boston and forward Meagan Snell is heading to Sky Blue FC.

Other college programs that are sending multiple players to the WPS include UCLA (Lauren Cheney, Kristina Larsen, Lauren Wilmoth), Wake Forest (Kaley Fountain, Jill Hutchinson, Caitlin Farrell) and Boston College, Boston University, LSU, Ohio State, Penn State, Portland, Rutgers, Stanford,  Washington State and West Florida.

Playing in college isn’t a prerequisite for a WPS career, but it certainly provides a great opportunity to develop as a player and be seen by the pro coaches and managers.  If your goal is playing professionally, be sure to check out the colleges mentioned here to see if any are a good athletic and academic match.

Still Blue: UNC wins 19th women’s soccer crown

December 7, 2008 – North Carolina’s junior forward Casey Nogueira provided the heroics in the championship game of the Women’s College Cup for the second time in three years, scoring two second-half goals to lead the Tar Heels to a come from behind 2-1 victory over Notre Dame on Sunday.

Notre Dame, the only undefeated team remaining in D-I women’s soccer, opened the scoring just 17 seconds into the College Cup championship game on Sunday. But the Tar Heels overcame the fastest goal in Notre Dame history and never let up to win their 19th women’s soccer championship in the 27-year history of the tournament.

The Tar Heels ended the season on a 22-match unbeaten streak, beating the nation’s No. 2- and No. 1-ranked teams in the semifinals and finals of the NCAA Tournament and adding to their dynasty. Nogueira’s winning goal with only 2:06 left in the match dropped the Fighting Irish to 26-1-0 at season’s end.

Nogueira, who is from nearby Raleigh, North Carolina, played in high school state-championship games on the same field where she starred Sunday.

“She has every conceivable soccer skill, but that doesn’t necessarily make a player,” North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance said. “Her evolution as a player is to take all these remarkable tools she has and figure out how and when to use them. The two balls that she struck today were world-class finishes.”

Despite some questionable calls, it was truly a terrific series this year (even if UCLA didn’t go all the way!)

Recap

Dawson honored with Honda Award – UNC senior recognized as nation’s top field hockey player

Dec. 6, 2007 – Rachel Dawson, a University of North Carolina senior and member of the U.S. women’s national field hockey team, has been chosen as the nation’s top collegiate female field hockey athlete. The honor was based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 32nd year.

Dawson’s victory will earn her the 2008 Honda Sports Award, given annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, along with automatic nomination for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. She was voted over three other nominees: Jen Long, a junior at Penn State University; Katie O’Donnell, a freshman at the University of Maryland; and Pam Spuehler, a senior at Boston University. The candidates were selected by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Read more

North Carolina takes 2007 NCAA Field Hockey Championship

COLLEGE PARK, Md., November 18, 2007, The top-ranked University of North Carolina field hockey team defeated No. 9 Penn State, 3-0, Sunday afternoon at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex to take home the NCAA Championship title and a perfect 24-0 record. Penn State’s record fell to 16-8 on the season.

North Carolina got on the board early, with a flick pass by Jesse Gey getting past the Penn State defenders to open teammate Katelyn Falgowski in the third minute of the game.

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