Women's Soccer

On Thursday the NWSL held their fifth college draft in Los Angeles, California. In a week that saw two of the ten franchises change hands to new ownership, the focus shifted back to the players. 

Notable events and stats from the draft: 

The Boston Breakers had five of the first eleven picks in the draft, as they look to rebuild their last-place team from 2016. 

USC had three players taken in the first round, and five overall from the total of 40 draft picks. They claimed the school’s second national title in 2016. 

Apparently January is the time of year to purchase a NWSL club, in case you had been considering it. Following Monday’s announcement that the Western New York Flash had been purchased and relocated to North Carolina, the league announced yet another club being sold. This time, the two-time NWSL champions FC Kansas City were getting a new owner. 

U.S. Soccer has announced that they will host the second annual SheBelieves Cup. From March 1-7, 2017, four out of the five top ranked teams in the world will travel to the northeast region of the U.S. to compete. Germany, France and England will join the USA in the most elite international tournament of the year. USA is currently ranked number one in the world, with Germany coming in second, France in third and England in fifth. 

Carli Lloyd had quite the year before adding another international award to her name. Early in 2016, Lloyd released her autobiography When Nobody Was Watching: My Hard-Fought Journey To The Top Of The Soccer World. It was a book that reflected on her family falling-out as well as the struggles and sacrifices she encountered as she rose to the top. 

As the NWSL moves toward the start of the 2017 season, the Seattle Reign have announced another signing. Typically, that is standard news for this time of the year. However, with the new player being a keeper, and looking at the rest of the roster, where does that leave Hope Solo’s future? 

The two weeks leading into the 2017 NWSL College Draft have been tumultuous to say the least. Top star Alex Morgan is off to France through the summer. The 2015 MVP, Crystal Dunn, signed a new deal with Chelsea in England.

The NWSL could use a positive headline in the next few weeks. First, the NWSL lost its biggest star in Alex Morgan, who is moving to play at Lyon through the summer. Her parent club, the Orlando Pride, will open their brand new stadium without their biggest attraction. 

Crystal Dunn is one of the most explosive players in the USWNT player pool and has been one of the best players in the NWSL in the past few seasons.

Now she's heading to England to play for Chelsea, following USWNT teammate Alex Morgan (at Lyon in France) to Europe.

2016 was a great year for the NWSL as the league marked a record fourth season for professional women’s soccer in America. Meanwhile, the US Women’s National Team had a disappointing year, finishing medal-less in Rio following the high of winning the World Cup in 2015. 

Here is a look at the key dates throughout 2017 for both the league and the national team: 

January 1st - Collective Bargaining Agreement Ended

In the weeks around the holidays the NWSL has been fairly quiet in player movement or league news. However, the league office made a big addition last week, and one that cost the USL a successful leader.

Last week the NWSL announced the Amanda Duffy would become the new managing director of operations for the league. Duffy joins the NWSL leaving a great position at a rising USL franchise, Louisville City FC.