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2010 Women’s Professional Soccer Draft

posted by Pretty Tough | Girls Who Are Fun Fierce & Feminine
Friday, January 8, 2010 at 12:57pm EST

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The Women’s Professional Soccer draft takes place next week, on January 15th in Philadelphia at the NSCAA National Convention.

The folks at WPS have done a great job keeping fans in the loop and as we countdown to the big day, they’ve polled a number of media experts to rank the top college seniors. It’s a great class providing all the teams with lots of terrific choices to help balance their squads.

Top Rated Forwards
Almost all the experts believe that Lauren Cheney (UCLA) will be the top pick followed by Kelley O’Hara (Stanford) and Casey Nogueira (North Carolina). Other players who are expected to go in early rounds include Michelle Enyeart, (Portland), Jill Hutchinson (Wake Forest), Katie Schoepfer (Penn State) and Gina DiMartino (Boston College).

Top Rated Midfielders
It’s no surprise that Tobin Heath (North Carolina) is the top prospect for a midfielder. Heath, part of the Tar Heel team that won this year’s College Cup, is a 2008 Olympic gold medalist and was named 2009 Young Female Athlete of the Year by U.S. Soccer. Other top picks include teammate Nikki Washington (North Carolina), Kara Lang (UCLA) and Becky Edwards (Florida State).

Top Rated Defenders
Whitney Engen (North Carolina) is the almost unanimous choice as the top defender. Among other defenders, Connecticut’s Brittany Taylor was a top prospect along with Stanford’s Ali Riley (an LA player we’ve been following for a while) and Santa Clara’s Jordan Angeli.

Top Rated Goalkeepers
USC goalkeeper, Kristin Olsen, made each of the experts’ Top 5 Prospects lists. Other top picks include Ashlyn Harris (North Carolina) and Alyssa Naeher (Penn State).

The Draft begins at 10am on Friday, January 15 and is scheduled for seven rounds for each team with the two expansion teams receiving an additional pick each at the end of Round One. For more information, go to: http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/schedule/2010-wps-draft.aspx

Here’s how the draft picks will go:

FIRST ROUND
1. Atlanta Beat
2. Boston Breakers
3. FC Gold Pride
4. Chicago Red Stars
5. Los Angeles Sol
6. Sky Blue FC
7. Washington Freedom
8. Los Angeles Sol
9. Los Angeles Sol
10. Atlanta Beat
11. Boston Breakers

SECOND ROUND
12. Atlanta Beat
13. Philadelphia Independence
14. FC Gold Pride
15. Chicago Red Stars
16. Boston Breakers
17. Saint Louis Athletica
18. Washington Freedom
19. Saint Louis Athletica
20. Los Angeles Sol

THIRD ROUND
21. Atlanta Beat
22. Los Angeles Sol
23. FC Gold Pride
24. Chicago Red Stars
25. Boston Breakers
26. Sky Blue FC
27. Washington Freedom
28. Saint Louis Athletica
29. Sky Blue FC

FOURTH – SEVENTH ROUNDS
Atlanta Beat
Philadelphia Independence
FC Gold Pride
Chicago Red Stars
Boston Breakers
Sky Blue FC
Washington Freedom
Saint Louis Athletica
Los Angeles Sol

Stay tuned for complete coverage and exclusive interviews relating to the draft.