Freedom Insider

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and enjoyed the draft on Friday. Now that things are back to business as usual I decided it was finally time to post my thoughts on the draft. This post will be a collection of my thoughts and of links so hopefully there will be something useful for everyone.

To get things going, here is a recap of the Freedom’s seven draft picks from Friday and my initial thoughts.

1. Nikki Marshall, F/D, Colorado – This is the type of player Jim Gabarra loves, one with position flexibility. It sounds like the early plan is for Marshall to be strictly used as a defender (which she has been playing for the U-20 USWNT) but it has to be nice to know that if Wambach, De Vanna and/or Mykjaland all go down, she has the experience to move forward. I was a bit surprised that FSU M and Freedom W-League player Becky Edwards wasn’t selected here but Marshall seems like a solid pick here.

2. Carly Dobratz, M, Washington State – The two biggest needs in this draft were D and defensive M, and Gabarra addressed both with his first two picks. Staying out west for this pick, it appears Dobratz has some offense to her game as she tallied five goals and four assists in 2009. Hopefully her selection will allow Gabarra to get Homare Sawa more involved in the offense.

3. Beverly Goebel, M, Miami – Gabarra went for a second M with his third pick and as was tweeted to me during the draft, apparently it will take at least two players to replace Lori Lindsey. A three-year starter at Miami, Goebel also seems to have more of an attacking nature as her 2009 highlights include scoring a game-winning goal against North Carolina and was second on the team with three goals.

4. Kristi Eveland, D, North Carolina – Women’s soccer’s most prestigious program finally placed a player in D.C. in the fourth round with this selection, and it made former Tar Heel Cat Whitehill pretty happy. On a day where Tar Heels were flying off the board, Eveland should help shore up a Freedom defense that allowed the most goals in WPS last year. Eveland was a four-year starter for the Heels and a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first team selection.

5. Lauren Robertson, GK, Ohio State – Smart move by the Freedom here. Obviously we have starter Erin McLeod coming back and legendary GK Bri Scurry coming back but at some point Bri will retire for good and the Freedom will need a backup GK to fill the roster spot. KJ Spisak will probably still be in the mix for the developmental player spot but why not bring in more competition to push for those spots. Robertson appears to be an experienced GK as she started all four years at Ohio State and at the very least should raise the intensity level of the group. Or at least that is what you would expect for someone nicknamed Taz by their Grandma.

6. Mara Osher, D/M, Boston University – Another player that addresses the Freedom’s needs, who just happens to provide the versatility the Freedom roster seems to be known for. Two other things Osher has going for is the fact that she grew up in Rockville, just minutes from the Maryland SoccerPlex and she played for the Freedom’s W-League team.

7. Caitlin Miskel, M/F, Virginia – It took until the seventh round but Gabarra finally added another Wahoo to the roster. Like Osher, Miskel is familiar to the Freedom in that she has previously played for the club’s W-League team and provides the versatility to play multiple positions. Miskel is probably a long shot to make the roster at this point but with the way training camp unfolded last year, we’ll have to see what happens.

Here are some other articles related to the WPS draft and uniform unveiling worth checking out.

Washington Freedom selects Nikki Marshall in first round of WPS draft (Washington Post)

Where were they five years ago? (ESPN.com) – a unique take on Friday’s draft that looked at what each of the 11 first round picks in the draft were up to five years ago. Well worth checking out.

Women’s Professional Soccer Draft Recap (Goal.com)

Marshall Drafted In WPS First Round (CUBuffs.com)

Cougar Soccer Duo Selected in Professional Draft (WSUCougars.com)

Hurricanes’ Beverly Goebel Selected in WPS Draft (Hurricanesports.com)

Seven Tar Heels Chosen In 2010 WPS Draft (TarHeelBlue.com)

Bowyer, Robertson Selected in WPS Draft (OhioStateBuckeyes.com)

Osher, Brown Selected in WPS Draft (GoTerriers.com)

Caitlin Miskel Selected in WPS Draft (Virginiasports.com)

And finally, a couple of videos from draft and the unveiling of the uniforms for 2010. Check out the pinstripes on the blue Freedom uniforms. Are they trying to say they are the New York Yankees of WPS?

Obviously the list above is not all inclusive. I received a list from the league office on the extent of the media coverage surrounding the events Friday and it was a long list. If there is an article or something I missed that is worth checking out, post it below.

I am also finishing an update to the roster tracker and should have that up sometime tomorrow.

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Because the news continues to move slowly around the Freedom these days (even though the new ad campaign garnered lots of attention at various places throughout the web), here are some of the latest links I have found.

• I went through various aspects of the 2009 season right when it ended but for those of you looking for another perspective on the topic, the league web site posted its recap of the Freedom’s 2009 season recently.
• Sticking with the league web site, Atlanta knows who it will pick No. 1 overall – but won’t divulge that information until the day of the draft. Let the speculation begin!
• Speaking of the draft, here are some players to watch in the NCAA tournament for those trying to get an early look at potential WPS draftees.

That’s it from me on this rainy Thursday – as always feel free to use this post as a place to discuss anything on your mind that is Freedom related. Stay dry.

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Sorry about being gone for so long, but thanks for being patient with me. A lot has happened with both the Freedom and WPS while I was away and since this is a Freedom blog, I will focus mainly on what has been going on with the team. I have posted an update to the Roster Tracker that covers all of the moves that have taken place since it was originally posted, so if you want an update of how the teams are looking, head on over there.

Now on to the Freedom links:

• In the big friendly matchup between two of the top teams in the world, our own Abby Wambach scored the lone goal in the USA’s 1-0 win over Germany on German soil.
• The FIFA Player of the Year shortlist is out and it includes the Freedom’s Abby Wambach and Sonia Bompastor. When Abby plays well she is usually a mainstay on this list but you have to believe that Sonia’s appearance on this list is due in large part to the exposure she received playing for the Freedom this year. Five WPS players made up the list of 10. Congrats to both.
• If you are interested in trying out for the team for the 2010 season, the Freedom have announced tryout dates and are taking registrations.
• And for those Mia Hamm fans out there, Variety is reporting that she will produce a screen version of the book Alive and Kicking (h/t WPS The Offside blog).

Once again, thanks for bearing with me while I dealt with things of a personal nature. If you have anything you’d like to comment on be sure to leave a comment below.

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I will catch up with everyone after the 4 p.m. contest, but I wanted to make sure everyone was aware that this game is available online.

Also, congrats to the W-League Freedom, who moved on to the W-League finals after capturing the Eastern Conference crown with a 2-1 win over the Charlotte Lady Eagles. More on that later as well.

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Just wanted to pass along a couple of videos I found starring Cat Whitehill. One is from local station NBC 4 and the second is about Cat’s return to the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Whitehill Makes Impact on Field, in Community (nbcwashington.com)

WNT back from injury (ussoccer.com via You Tube)

As always, feel free to leave comments, links, etc. in the comments section below.

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