Freedom Insider

Now that the drama has subsided, I guess it’s finally time to take a look at how the Freedom roster is shaping up for the 2010 season.

But before we get to far let’s look at those who are already under contract for 2010:

F: Lisa De Vanna, Lene Mykjaland, Abby Wambach

M: Brittany Bock, Sonia Bompastor, Jill Gilbeau, Sarah Huffman, Allie Long, Rebecca Moros, Homare Sawa

D: Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Singer, Cat Whitehill

GK: Erin McLeod, Briana Scurry

*From what we have been told by the league, those selected in the dispersal draft were under contract for 2010, although Nigerian International Faith Ikidi (the Freedom’s second round dispersal draft pick) is under contract in Sweden. This move means the Freedom relinquish the International rights to Nilla Fischer, also under contract in Sweden. Previously the Freedom had held the International rights to Louisa Necib.

**Note: While she is not under contract right now, expect D Ali Krieger to rejoin the Freedom at the conclusion of the German Bundesliga season. Last year she joined the team in June.

The Freedom entered the offseason with most of last year’s roster under contract again for 2010 but with the unexpected disbanding of the Los Angeles Sol, the number of open roster spots the team has to fill has decreased while the caliber of the competition trying to win spots has increased.

The lone signing before the draft was that of Norwegian forward Lene Mykjaland, a player the Freedom have been trying to get to the U.S. since before the 2009 season. Mykjaland adds even more firepower to the dangerous duo of Wambach and De Vanna, and if Jim Gabarra decides to play a 4-3-3 at any point this season he will be able to put a huge amount of pressure on any opposing defense.

After losing Lori Lindsey and Sarah Senty in the expansion draft, it was clear the biggest needs the Freedom had entering last month’s draft were a defensive midfielder and a defender. Gabarra addressed defender with his first pick, selecting Nikki Marshall from Colorado. Gabarra followed that up with midfielders Carly Dobratz (Washington State) and Beverly Goebel (Miami) with his next two picks and went defender in the fourth round with Kristi Eveland out of North Carolina.

Before Thursday’s dispersal draft I would have guessed the team’s top four draft picks would have been locks to make the roster with the final three picks – GK Lauren Robertson, M Mara Osher and F Caitlin Miskel – all having a good shot to earn a spot on the developmental roster.

With the addition of Bock, Gabarra has stayed true to his philosophy and added another player that can be plugged in anywhere on the field. Obviously Marshall has the inside track on one of the remaining roster spots and two of either Dobratz, Goebel and Eveland should finalize the 18 woman roster. There is still a chance someone like KJ Spisak or Freedom W-League standouts Brittany Tegeler, Katie Watson or Kimmy Germain earn a developmental roster spot but it looks like preseason camp will open with a fairly completed roster.

And hopefully that roster is good enough to get back to the playoffs and make a run at the 2010 WPS Championship.

Bookmark to:

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.

Bookmark to: