Sports Then and Now

With the Los Angeles Sol discontinuing operations in Women’s Professional Soccer and the players being divvied up among the remaining eight franchises in a distribution draft tomorrow, experts and fans alike have been speculating the order of picks.

One major question floating around the soccer world is: where will Marta go?

The Brazilian international was the top goal-scorer in the WPS in 2009 and lead the Sol to the league championship. Her technical play and nose for the goal makes her a dangerous forward, and her consistency in scoring will be a huge asset to her new team.

No one quite knows what the team General Managers will do tomorrow, and with speculations and rumors being tossed around, it’s anyone’s game. Some of the best players in the world are available, but it is unclear who will go first, let alone who will be selected one-two-and three.

With assistance of fellow Bleacher Report writer, Lauren Green, I used my own knowledge of the game and the league, and created a list of who might be the first ten draft picks.

1. St. Louis Athletica: With a huge trade coming on Monday, the Athletica exchanged key defender Kia McNeill, steady midfielder Angie Kerr (formerly Woznuk), and draft pick Amanda Poach for the Atlanta Beat’s first overall pick in the dispersal draft. A trade of this magnitude could only suggest one thing: Marta. With the Athletica looking to improve their goal scoring, the Brazilian would be a clear asset. However, recent rumors have indicated that St. Louis are looking to add midfielder Shannon Boxx to their roster. Boxx has international experience, regional roots (Notre Dame alumna) and a less expensive salary. She also has a nose for the goal and a powerful presence in the midfield (think Michelle Akers). St. Louis pick: Shannon Boxx Read the rest of this entry →

In the wake of a rather gray day in the brief history of the WPS, following yesterday’s announcement of the league’s decision to discontinue operation of the Los Angeles Sol, Atlanta Beat General Manager Shawn McGee was quick to remind fans of the WPS a few very important lessons.

Lessons like ‘When you fall down you need to brush yourself off and get back up’ and ‘Every problem has a soft spot’ and everyone’s favorite, ‘What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger’ resonated from McGee’s message during a phone interview this afternoon. Read the rest of this entry →

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (January 28, 2010) – After several weeks of negotiations with a potential new ownership group fell through at the last minute, Women’s Professional Soccer discontinued operations of the Los Angeles Sol on Thursday. The rights to the 19 players currently held by the Sol will be dispersed during a special draft for the league’s eight franchises on Thursday, February 4 and will be announced later in the day.

“While it’s regrettable to lose the Los Angeles market as part of our WPS footprint, we are pleased to have two new teams coming into the league in 2010,” said WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci. “The league and our ownership committee worked incredibly hard over the past month to complete the transaction. In the end, we ran out of time and came up short of where we needed to be funding-wise for the Sol in 2010.” Read the rest of this entry →

Forward Michelle Enyeart grew up in a small town that isn’t exactly known to be a soccer hotbed.

In fact, Hemet, CA is hardly known at all.

But this small “city” located roughly between Palm Springs and San Diego has produced a name that is known to soccer experts and soccer fans across the country.

Enyeart has a soccer resume that is both extensive and impressive.

Some of the major points in her career include playing with the nationally-ranked Laguna Hills Eclipse Soccer Club, competing with the youth national teams (U-23, U-20, U-19, U-16), and participating in a full national team training camp. Read the rest of this entry →

After a last place finish in their maiden season in the WPS, the FC Gold Pride has taken a giant step to add some punch to their much maligned offense by acquiring All-star mid-fielder Camille Abily from the Los Angeles Sol.

Abiliy, a proven goal scorer and play-maker, scored eight goals and added one assist last season for the Sol. She was the team’s second leading scorer, two goals fewer than her teammate Marta, who scored ten times. The FC Gold Pride scored a total of 17 goals as a team, while finishing with a record of 4-10-6. Read the rest of this entry →