2010 WPS Draft Looming; NCAA Championships Are Last Chance To Shine

The NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship tournament brackets were determined yesterday as the 2009 college soccer season comes to a close with the NCAA Championships and the 2009 NCAA Women’s College Cup®, December 4-6 in College Station, Texas.

The 2008 Women’s College Cup® saw some exciting play from several college seniors who went on to make a splash in Women’s Professional Soccer during the inaugural season this past year.

Those players included: Stanford’s Allison Falk (Philadelphia Independence), and Notre Dame’s Brittany Bock (Los Angeles Sol), two rookies who anchored the back line for the regular season champions Los Angeles Sol before Falk was traded in the off-season.

Notre Dame forward Kerri Hanks (Sky Blue FC), who was traded mid-season from Saint Louis to New Jersey, notched one of the team’s most important goals of the year against Chicago to help Sky Blue FC in their late season playoff push. 

Other players who saw their stock rise during last year's championship run included UNC’s Yael Averbuch (Sky Blue FC), and Allie Long (Washington Freedom), both of whom were key components in their teams reaching the WPS Playoffs.

UCLA’s Tina DiMartino (FC Gold Pride) midfield creativity was on display throughout the season as a regular in the starting 11 with FC Gold Pride.

With the NCAA Championship tournament just days away, some of the top experts in the women’s game provided their “Top five WPS Prospects” in preparation for the 2010 WPS Draft on January 15, 2010 at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia, PA.

Top WPS Prospects

Dan Lauletta, Womensprosoccer.com
1. Tobin Heath, M, North Carolina
2. Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
3. Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
4. Kelley O’Hara, F, Stanford
5. Michelle Enyeart, M/F, Portland
Others to Watch: Gina DiMartino, F, Boston College; Ashlyn Harris, GK, North Carolina; Ali Riley, D, Stanford

Graham Hays, ESPN.com
1. Tobin Heath, M, North Carolina
2. Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
3. Kelley O’Hara, F, Stanford
4. Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
5. Blakely Mattern, D, South Carolina 
Others to Watch:  Jordan Angeli, D, Santa Clara; Kiersten Dallstream, F, Washington State, Kelsey Davis, GK, Portland; Becky Edwards, M/D, Florida State; Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina; Michelle Enyeart, M/F, Portland; Kaley Fountain, F, Wake Forest, Erin Guthrie, GK, Rutgers;

Paul Kennedy, Soccer America
1. Tobin Heath, M, North Carolina
2. Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
3. Kelley O'Hara, F, Stanford
4. Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
5. Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
Others to Watch:   Becky Edwards, M/D, Florida State; Brittany Taylor, M/D, Connecticut

Mark Rogondino, Fox Soccer Channel
1. Kelly O'Hara, F, Stanford
2. Tobin Heath, M, North Carolina
3. Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
4. Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
5. Kristin Olsen, GK, USC
Others to Watch:   Kelly Isleib, F, Utah; Andrea Willis, D, BYU

Scott French, The Soccer Magazine
1. Tobin Heath, M, North Carolina
2. Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
3. Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
4. Kelley O'Hara, F, Stanford
T5. Alyssa Naeher, GK, Penn State
T5. Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
Others to Watch:   Kelsey Davis, GK, Portland; Ashlyn Harris, GK, North Carolina; Kara Lang, F/M, UCLA; Nikki Washington, F, North Carolina

About Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS)
Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) is the premier women’s soccer league in the world and the global standard by which women’s professional sports are measured.  The Inaugural Season kicked off in March 2009 with seven WPS teams based in the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.  The league’s eighth and nine franchises, Philadelphia and Atlanta, will begin play in the 2010 WPS Season, which begins March 2010. For more information, visit www.womensprosoccer.com .

The previous story was excerpted from a press release by the WPS and reprinted as part of an agreement with the Bleacher Report. Todd Civin is a freelance writer for Bleacher Report, Seamheads and Sports Then and Now.

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