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Atlanta Beat

7. Kylie Wright, M, UCLA
14. Meghan Lenczyk, F, Virginia

Grade: Chupacabra. I have no clue any more about the Beat. I’m running out of rationalizations as to the Beat’s “plan” going forward for 2011 and beyond, mainly because the actions in rebuilding the team are so rarely matching the rhetoric being spewed by the front office these days. We’ve been told the Beat are going with a youth movement. Yet they go and sign Cat Whitehill (29), Keeley Dowling (28), and trade for Heather Mitts (32), to join Tina Ellertson (28) meaning the team will likely have the oldest defense in the league by some margin. We’ve been told the Beat are going to be cost conscious as evidenced by their gutting of last year’s roster, but then see the acquisitions of the aforementioned Whitehill, Miits, and Carli Lloyd, none of whom likely came at a discount.

And then came draft day. Where after the front office had touted Christen Press in the media all the way up to the big afternoon, the team blanched at the opportunity to actually draft Press and traded the pick away along with Johanna Rasmussen for the ever popular 2012 Draft Pick in Beat trades. Beat fans were left scratching their heads once again as the present was mortgaged for a lionized version of the future that may never actually come to fruition. Besides the optics to a success starved fanbase, the actual trade value looks mindbogglingly tilted towards the Artist Formerly Known As The Washington Freedom. Odds are that next year’s pick from the Freedom won’t be as high as the one just traded away, and that’s even before discussing the complete giveaway of Rasmussen, one of the only Beat players to emerge with her reputation intact after last year’s debacle. The least the Beat could have done was receive a couple of the Freedom’s later 2010 picks in return.

The picks themselves weren’t too objectionable. Wright is a pick that won’t set the blood racing but could provide a much needed balance to a team that will likely have to get used to Lloyd’s aversion in playing defense in the center of midfield. The Lenczyk pick is slightly more risky given the fact that the Virginia product was hardly the most consistent performer at her alma matter. The claims that Lenczyk will provide a nice target forward seem a little misplaced as well seeing as how target forwards depend on other attacking players to get into the mix to get on the end of their knockdowns and flicks. The Beat look woefully short of those ancillary attackers at the moment. Asking a first-year forward to spearhead an attack is a very tough ask. Amy Rodriguez couldn’t do it. Neither could Lauren Cheney. Lenczyk isn’t anywhere near that class of player.

Bottom line is that the Beat came into the draft needing to haggle their way into more draft picks to help flesh out the roster. They ended up with fewer picks and a hatful of questions before training camp opens up.

Boston Breakers

6. Keelin Winters, M, Portland
12. Whitney Palmer, F, Oklahoma
19. Katherine Sheeleigh, F, Harvard
24. Tanya Taylor, F, UC-Irvine

Grade: B-. You almost have to defer to Tony DiCicco’s judgment in these situations as he certainly showed a nice eye for talent last year picking up breakout star Jordan Angeli and solid contributor Taryn Hemmings in the later rounds last year. In any event, DiCicco was bound to take Keelin Winters come hell or high water even with the glaring need in defense once the World Cup rolls around. I had thought that the Breakers would somehow finagle a trade down to get both Winters and Elli Reed, but DiCicco was forced to reach a little bit for Winters with the sixth pick. I’m not sure Winters will ever be a superstar, but she’s a gamer with great IQ out on the pitch and will almost surely force her way on the field in some capacity this season.

The other picks are a little less solid upon initial glance. Palmer can run like the wind but is far from a finished product and is hardly the most clinical finisher in front of goal. I can see her having some issues adapting to the WPS game, requiring DiCicco to show a little patience in her development. Sheeleigh was a star at the Ivy League level but could of probably been had in the tryout process if the Breakers really wanted her. Taylor has to prove she wasn’t just a one-year wonder at Irvine. There’s a lot of upside in the final three picks but a lot of downside too. It would’ve been nice to have seen the needs at defense addressed.

Philadelphia Independence

2. Sinead Farrelly, M, Virginia
5. Lauren Fowlkes, D, Notre Dame
9. Jennifer Stoltenberg, F/D, Oregon
11. Caitlin Farrell, D, Wake Forest
15. Lauren Barnes, D, UCLA
18. Bianca D’Agostino, M, Wake Forest
23. Teresa Rynier, M, James Madison

Grade: B. Philly had the most picks in the draft, and it might have driven them a little bit scatterbrained in the end. Getting Farrelly and Fowlkes in the top five was half gameplan, half luck as the Irish defender fell into their laps thanks to the shuffling above. That’s half of the good for Philly, and really, the other half came from getting Barnes down at the fifteenth slot. Barnes had been a possibility at the fifth spot if Fowlkes had been taken, so Paul Riley was likely giddy to see the UCLA defender slip down to him late. Barnes figures to see time as a utility defender and will now likely have a fire under her after her freefall.

It was the four other picks that kept the Independence from receiving top marks. Stoltenberg is a major risk at #9. It may be a case of a great player being shackled by a bad team, but she didn’t do a whole lot of winning at Oregon and may lack the big match pedigree to excel at the highest level. Farrell was another bizarre pick. Philly clearly fancied her, but was there widespread interest in the former FC Twente and Wake Forest player? Her draft position would seem to indicate so, but I’m not really sure they couldn’t have had her in free agency. I’m not very bullish on either D’Agostino or Rynier’s prospects of making it onto a very crowded Independence roster. Both seem like limited upside prospects to me and could struggle.

(The Artist Formerly Known As The) Washington Freedom

3. Meghan Klingenberg, M/D, North Carolina
4. Christen Press, F, Stanford
10. Omolyn Davis, M/F, George Mason
17. Amanda DaCosta, M, Florida State
22. Katie Fraine, GK, Florida

Grade: A-. Jackpot! They may not have a settled home, name, or roster, but the Freedom came out of Baltimore with some mighty promising rookies. Before a pick was even made, the Freedom came out winners in getting Johanna Rasmussen in a trade with the Beat. Then getting Klingenberg and Press with back-to-back picks made the deal even sweeter. Klingenberg should become a fan favorite in fast order with her non-stop motor and tenacity, while Press could excel in a situation where she won’t be feeling the pressure to do it all offensively herself.

But the real masterstrokes of the draft may be the magic Brianna Scurry pulled off in the middle rounds in picking up Omolyn Davis and Amanda DaCosta. While the selection of Davis may have had some scratching their heads, canny followers of the college game and W-League know that Davis was a star on the Freedom Futures last season and was criminally overlooked at George Mason. With a great blend of size and pace coupled with great one-on-one ability, Davis was well worth the pick and international slot she’ll take up and could combine with Press to form a great “little and large” rookie combo up front. DaCosta might have been steaming after being snubbed by so many teams and dropping into the second half of the draft. The Florida State midfielder isn’t going to wow anyone with her physical attributes but is a pure battler and now will have a point to prove to the five other teams who overlooked her.

The only thing keeping the grade from going higher is the odd pick of Fraine with their last selection. The Gators keeper was highly overrated, and passing over Texas A&M;’s Krisin Arnold was puzzling.

Sky Blue FC

16. Alyssa Mautz, M, Texas A&M;
21. Lauren Alkek, D, Oklahoma

Grade: C. You can’t really fault Sky Blue with their picks as having their first pick in the sixteenth slot really handcuffed them as to what they could do. In the second half of the draft, you’re really trying to scoop up players that can fit your system. I’m not sure that either Mautz or Alkek will be contenders for the final roster though. Mautz was a nice player for A&M; for four years but may have stagnated developmentally-wise and the Aggies’ system has hardly produced a litany of WPS contributors. Alkek was straight out of left field. She didn’t even make my initial draft of my Big Board, but the Sky Blue brass apparently thinks they’ve found an unheralded gem.

Western New York Flash

1. Alex Morgan, F, California
8. Elli Reed, D, Portland
13. Rose Augustin, M, Notre Dame
20. Ashleigh Bowers, GK, Niagara

Grade: B+. Can’t really quibble too much with a draft in which you pick up perhaps the best U.S. forward prospect in a decade. Morgan should be an immediate threat up front and will benefit greatly from a partnership with Christine Sinclair. Getting Reed late in the first was a big move as well as the Portland full-back has a lot of upside and should also be a contributor right off the bat and could be vital when the Flash’s stars are away on World Cup duty. Augustin blew up in her senior season and was a major reason the Irish were crowned national champs but may be in a for a bit of tinkering as to her desired position in the pros. She might function effectively in the hole behind Morgan and Sinclair, with her long-range shooting always a threat.

Bowers seems like a wasted pick, not because of any slights on the Niagara keeper’s talents, but because the Flash almost certainly would have landed her as an undrafted free agent.

All-Undrafted Team – Here’s hoping each of these eleven get a shot to shine in training camp:

GK – Kristin Arnold – Texas A&M;
D – Cassie Dickerson – Ohio State
D – Jessica Tsao – Portland
D/M – Megan Jesolva – Cal
D/M – Courtney Wetzel – Oregon State
D/M – Kacey Richards – UConn
M – Ashlee Elliott – Florida
M – Tiffany Tovino – Hofstra
M – Vendula Strnadova – Memphis
M/F – Katie Bethke – Minnesota
F – Danielle Toney – Penn State

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• Soccer, Sports, WPS

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