2000 WUSA Draft
The WUSA Inaugural Player Draft, held before Women's United Soccer Association's initial 2001 season, distributed players to the league's eight inaugural teams. The draft occurred on December 10 and 11, 2000. This took place after each team was allocated three national team players and two foreign players.
Round 1[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun Wen (F) | Atlanta Beat | China WNT | |
| 2 | Liu Ailing (M) | Philadelphia Charge | China WNT | |
| 3 | Fan Yunjie (D) | San Diego Spirit | China WNT | |
| 4 | Gao Hong (GK) | New York Power | China WNT | |
| 5 | Dagny Mellgren (M) | Boston Breakers | Bjørnar | |
| 6 | Wen Lirong (D) | Carolina Courage | China WNT | |
| 7 | Anne Mäkinen (M) | Washington Freedom | Notre Dame | |
| 8 | Thori Staples Bryan (D) | Bay Area CyberRays[1] | Raleigh Wings | North Carolina State |
- 1.^ First American pick.
Round 2[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Julie Murray (F) | Bay Area CyberRays | ||
| 10 | Lindsay Stoecker (D) | Washington Freedom | North Carolina | |
| 11 | Meredith Florance (F) | Carolina Courage | North Carolina | |
| 12 | Keri Sanchez Raygor (D) | Boston Breakers | North Carolina | |
| 13 | Jennifer Lalor (M) | New York Power | San Diego WFC | Santa Clara |
| 14 | Sherrill Kester (F) | San Diego Spirit | Raleigh Wings | Duke |
| 15 | Heather Mitts (D) | Philadelphia Charge | Tampa Bay Extreme | Florida |
| 16 | Kylie Bivens (D) | Atlanta Beat | Santa Clara |
Round 3[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Sharolta Nonen (D) | Atlanta Beat | Nebraska–Lincoln | |
| 18 | Jenny Benson (M) | Philadelphia Charge | Nebraska–Lincoln | |
| 19 | Shannon Boxx (M) | San Diego Spirit | Ajax America Women | Notre Dame |
| 20 | Kristy Whelchel (D) | New York Power | Raleigh Wings | Duke |
| 21 | Karina LeBlanc (GK) | Boston Breakers | Nebraska–Lincoln | |
| 22 | Nicole Roberts (M) | Carolina Courage | Raleigh Wings | North Carolina |
| 23 | Krista Davey (M) | Washington Freedom | Chicago Cobras | North Texas |
| 24 | Amy Walsh (D) | Bay Area CyberRays | Nebraska–Lincoln |
Round 4[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Ann Cook (M) | Bay Area CyberRays | Chicago Cobras | William & Mary |
| 26 | Skylar Little (D) | Washington Freedom | UCLA | |
| 27 | Erin Baxter (M) | Carolina Courage | Tampa Bay Extreme | Florida |
| 28 | Heather Aldama (D) | Boston Breakers | Santa Clara | |
| 29 | (F) | New York Power | Harvard | |
| 30 | Jen Mascaro (M) | San Diego Spirit | Notre Dame | |
| 31 | (F) | Philadelphia Charge | Cal Poly | |
| 32 | Marci Miller (M) | Atlanta Beat | Chicago Cobras | SMU |
| 32 | (D) | San Diego Spirit[2] | Boston Renegades | Santa Clara |
- 1.^ San Diego got an additional "compensation pick" because Joy Fawcett, one of their allocated players, was pregnant.[1]
Round 5[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Nancy Augustyniak (D) | Atlanta Beat | Clemson | |
| 34 | (F) | Philadelphia Charge | Florida | |
| 35 | Gina Oceguera (D/F) | San Diego Spirit | California Storm | Cal Poly |
| 36 | (D) | New York Power | Raleigh Wings | North Carolina |
| 37 | Robin Confer (F) | Boston Breakers | New Jersey Lady Stallions | North Carolina |
| 38 | (M) | Carolina Courage | New Hampshire Lady Phantoms | UConn |
| 39 | (F) | Washington Freedom | California Storm | Santa Clara |
| 40 | (D) | Bay Area CyberRays | Long Island Lady Riders | UConn |
Round 6[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Jacqui Little (M) | Bay Area CyberRays | Santa Clara | |
| 42 | Amanda Cromwell (M) | Washington Freedom | Charlotte Lady Eagles | Virginia |
| 43 | (M) | Carolina Courage | Raleigh Wings | North Carolina State |
| 44 | (M) | Boston Breakers | Stanford | |
| 45 | (D) | New York Power | Stanford | |
| 46 | (M) | Atlanta Beat[3] | UNC Greensboro | |
| 47 | (M) | Philadelphia Charge | North Carolina | |
| 48 | Jaime Pagliarulo (GK) | San Diego Spirit | Maryland Pride | George Mason |
- 1.^ Traded from the San Diego Spirit for a 6th round pick and a 2nd round pick in the February 2001 supplemental draft. Soccer America noted that this trade apparently disrupted the subsequent order of the draft.[1]
Round 7[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | (M) | Philadelphia Charge | Charlotte Lady Eagles | North Carolina |
| 50 | (F) | San Diego Spirit | Ajax America Women | UCLA |
| 51 | (F) | New York Power | Tampa Bay Extreme | South Florida |
| 52 | (D) | Boston Breakers | Boston Renegades | Boston College |
| 53 | (F) | Carolina Courage | Utah Spiders | Brigham Young |
| 54 | Monica Gerardo (M) | Washington Freedom | Ajax America Women | Notre Dame |
| 55 | Jennifer Mead (GK) | Bay Area CyberRays | Boston Renegades | George Mason |
| 56 | (M) | Atlanta Beat | Chicago Cobras | Wisconsin–Milwaukee |
Round 8[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | (M) | Bay Area CyberRays | Ajax America Women | Southern California |
| 58 | (GK) | Washington Freedom | Portland Rain | Portland |
| 59 | (M) | Carolina Courage | Chicago Cobras | Utah |
| 60 | (F) | Boston Breakers | San Diego WFC | UC Berkeley |
| 61 | Kerry Connors (F) | New York Power | Boston Renegades | UConn |
| 62 | (M) | San Diego Spirit | Maryland Pride | William & Mary |
| 63 | Michelle Demko (M) | Philadelphia Charge | Tampa Bay Extreme | Maryland |
| 64 | Julie Augustyniak (D) | Atlanta Beat | Clemson |
Round 9[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | (GK) | Atlanta Beat | Texas A&M | |
| 66 | (M) | Philadelphia Charge | Tampa Bay Extreme | North Carolina |
| 67 | (M) | San Diego Spirit | Long Island Lady Riders | UConn |
| 68 | (D) | New York Power | Boston Renegades | Massachusetts |
| 69 | (D) | Boston Breakers | Portland | |
| 70 | Mikka Hansen (F) | Carolina Courage | Fortuna Hjørring | Santa Clara |
| 71 | (F) | Washington Freedom | UCLA | |
| 72 | (M) | Bay Area CyberRays | Washington |
Round 10[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | Lisa Náñez (D) | Bay Area CyberRays | California Storm | Santa Clara |
| 74 | Justi Baumgardt (M) | Washington Freedom | California Storm | Portland |
| 75 | Kristin Luckenbill (GK) | Carolina Courage | Dartmouth | |
| 76 | (F) | Boston Breakers | Wisconsin | |
| 77 | Tammy Pearman (F) | New York Power | Maryland Pride | George Mason |
| 78 | (D) | San Diego Spirit | Boston Renegades | Notre Dame |
| 79 | (GK) | Philadelphia Charge | Stanford | |
| 80 | Kelly Cagle (M) | Atlanta Beat | Raleigh Wings | Duke |
Round 11[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | (D) | Atlanta Beat | Maryland Pride | North Carolina State |
| 82 | (M) | Philadelphia Charge | Long Island Lady Riders | UConn |
| 83 | (F) | San Diego Spirit | California Storm | Portland |
| 84 | Ronnie Fair (M) | New York Power | Boston Renegades | Stanford |
| 85 | (F) | Boston Breakers | San Diego WFC | San Diego |
| 86 | (M) | Carolina Courage | Boston Renegades | North Carolina |
| 87 | (D) | Washington Freedom | Maryland Pride | William & Mary |
| 88 | Venus James (M) | Bay Area CyberRays | UCLA |
Round 12[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | (M) | Bay Area CyberRays | Santa Clara | |
| 90 | (M) | Washington Freedom | Clemson | |
| 91 | Ásthildur Helgadóttir (M) | Carolina Courage | Breiðablik | Vanderbilt |
| 92 | Angela Hucles (F) | Boston Breakers | Hampton Roads Piranhas | Virginia |
| 93 | (F) | New York Power | Hartford | |
| 94 | (M) | San Diego Spirit | California Storm | Santa Clara |
| 95 | (F) | Philadelphia Charge | Three Kings United | Stanford |
| 96 | Emily Burt (F) | Atlanta Beat | Stanford |
Round 13[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97 | (F) | Atlanta Beat | Texas A&M | |
| 98 | Beth Keller (F) | Philadelphia Charge | Chicago Cobras | Clemson |
| 99 | (D) | San Diego Spirit | Ajax America Women | Azusa Pacific |
| 100 | Emily Janss (D) | New York Power | Maryland Pride | Maryland |
| 101 | (F) | Boston Breakers | Denver Diamonds | Nebraska–Lincoln |
| 102 | Staci Wilson (D) | Carolina Courage | Raleigh Wings | North Carolina |
| 103 | (F) | Washington Freedom | Maryland Pride | Maryland |
| 104 | (D) | Bay Area CyberRays | California Storm | Fresno State |
Round 14[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 105 | (M) | Bay Area CyberRays | North Carolina State | |
| 106 | Carrie Moore (D) | Washington Freedom | Hampton Roads Piranhas | William & Mary |
| 107 | (F) | Carolina Courage | Dartmouth | |
| 108 | Lindsay Massengale (D) | Boston Breakers | California Storm | Clemson |
| 109 | (GK) | New York Power | Nebraska–Lincoln | |
| 110 | (M) | San Diego Spirit | Ajax America Women | UC Berkeley |
| 111 | Laurie Schwoy (M) | Philadelphia Charge | North Carolina | |
| 112 | (F) | Atlanta Beat | Nebraska–Lincoln |
Round 15[]
|
Pick |
Player |
WUSA Team |
Previous Team |
College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 113 | Dayna Smith (D) | Atlanta Beat | Denver Diamonds | Santa Clara |
| 114 | Laurie Hill (M) | Philadelphia Charge | California Storm | UC Santa Barbara |
| 115 | (D) | San Diego Spirit | California Storm | Portland |
| 116 | (F) | New York Power | Boston Renegades | Portland |
| 117 | (M) | Boston Breakers | San Francisco Nighthawks | Whitworth |
| 118 | Silvana Burtini (F) | Carolina Courage | Raleigh Wings | Capilano |
| 119 | Louise Lieberman (M) | Washington Freedom | Ajax America Women | UCLA |
| 120 | (M) | Bay Area CyberRays | Stanford |
Draft notes[]
The draft was preceded by an invitation-only combine held over five days at Florida Atlantic University.[2] Although over 500 players applied, only 198 were invited to take part in supervised training and scrimmages.[3] Around 40 of the players had previously been competing in the pro–am Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL),[4] while most of the others were competing at W-League level.[5]
The draft assigned the rights of 15 players to each team. Teams could contract up to five of the players immediately, to start promotional work in their home cities.[6] WUSA's vice president of legal affairs, Rob Kaler, had decided the draft order by randomly selecting envelopes containing each team's logo in a lottery.[7]
In November 2000, WUSA's vice president of player relations, Lauren Gregg, secured five Chinese players after flying to China for delicate negotiations with a somewhat reluctant Chinese Football Association (CFA) and the players' clubs.[8][9] All five players went into the draft and were selected with five of the first six picks.[10] Top pick Sun Wen was in Rome on the second day of the draft, collecting her award as joint-FIFA Female Player of the Century.[11]
Gregg had traversed the globe since May 2000, trying to sign elite players identified by WUSA commissioner Tony DiCicco.[12] She was not always successful: Norway's Marianne Pettersen accepted a competing offer from Europe's only professional club Fulham,[13] while FFC Frankfurt blocked an approach for their German–American defender Steffi Jones.[14]
American players who had found success overseas, including Colette Cunningham, Denise Reddy and Jill Rutten, reportedly attended the combine but were not selected in the draft. Brazilian goalkeeper Andréia Suntaque and Dutch midfielder Nathalie Geeris were also in attendance but not picked.[15] Each team was restricted to four foreign players, including the two already allocated by the league.[16]
As well as foreign players and combine attendees, college players in their senior year were eligible for the main draft, although a further supplemental draft – specifically for college players – was arranged for February 2001.[17]
Many players, who were typically graduates from leading Universities, faced a substantial drop in salary, even if they made it on to a team's final 20-player roster. A collective bargaining agreement between the players and league allowed a minimum annual wage of $25,000, beneath an average salary of $40,000.[3] After some deliberation, last pick Carmel Murphy decided not to take up her place at Bay Area CyberRays, in favor of going to medical school.[18]
See also[]
- List of top-division football clubs in CONCACAF countries
- List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada
- List of WUSA drafts
- 2001 WUSA season
References[]
- ^ a b "WUSA: Draft results from Day 1". Soccer America. December 10, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ Brousseau, Dave (October 24, 2000). "Wusa To Scout, Draft At Boca In December". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ a b Trecker, Jerry (December 11, 2000). "Wusa Hopefuls: Time To Put Present On Hold". Hartford Courant. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "Over 40 WPSL Players Invited to WUSA Combine". Women's Premier Soccer League. November 25, 2000. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "Rating the eight WUSA teams" (PDF). Soccer America. December 25, 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "Building The Wusa". Hartford Courant. December 11, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "WUSA: Atlanta has first pick in draft". Soccer America. December 6, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "US League Makes Last Bids for Chinese Women Soccer Stars". People's Daily. November 25, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ Wahl, Grant (June 19, 2001). "Soccer". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "Sun to shine in Atlanta". CNN Sports Illustrated. December 10, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ Yan, Li (December 12, 2000). "Sun Wen Elected FIFA Woman Player of the Century". People's Daily. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ Stossel, Scott (June 2001). "As American as Women's Soccer?". The Atlantic. 287 (6). Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ Merritt, Stephanie (April 8, 2001). "Something for the ladies". London: The Guardian. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ French, Scott (February 14, 2002). "WUSA: Join the Party". Soccer America. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "After five-day combine, inaugural eight teams prepare for first draft". Soccer Times. December 9, 2000. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ Glier, Ray (August 22, 2002). "Foreign talent flocks to WUSA". USA Today. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "Former Notre Dame Player Kara Brown Selected On Second Day Of WUSA Draft". University of Notre Dame. December 12, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "WUSA Preseason: Murphy trades C-Rays for med school". Soccer America. March 2, 2001. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
External links[]
- Women's United Soccer Association drafts
- 2001 Women's United Soccer Association season