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are we up to speed?

Hello, hello. It’s fucking on! This week our team is finally playing again. Yes! Are you new to the Red Stars? Want a quick refresher? Well, here’s a little summary of how our roster went down this off season, just to get us all up to speed. Word up! Excelsior and all that!

We begin with the fact that three players retired – Jackie Santacaterina, Kecia Morway and Taylor Vancil. All were important parts of this team for various reasons – Santacaterina was a massive presence in our midfield, fabulous for defending and shutting down the opposing offense; Morway was crucial wingback depth and coming into this world cup year, Vancil was going to be our starting goal keeper for a significant chunk of the season. While we don’t know all the personal reasons that went into making their decisions, we can safely assume that the harsh realities of professional women’s sports played a huge factor. To put it bluntly, professional women’s sports pay shit. Unsustainable and insulting shit. And it’s hard for anyone to pay the rent, bills, cost of living on those wages alone. I could go on and on about this. Armchair labor activism is something I hold dear.

Going into the offseason, minus the retirees, our roster looked like this:

2 Jen Hoy FWD
4 Alyssa Mautz M/F
5 Zakiya Bywaters MID
10 Vanessa DiBernardo MID
11 Rachel Quon DEF
13 Michelle Lomnicki DEF
14 Taryn Hemmings DEF
16 Samantha Johnson D/F

1 Karina LeBlanc GK
6 Abby Erceg DEF
7 Shannon Boxx MID
8 Julie Johnston DEF
9 Melissa Tancredi FWD
17 Lori Chalupny MID
19 Adriana Leon FWD
23 Christen Press FWD

That second group consists of the players that have been in their national team camps over the past few weeks. Most will for sure be at the world cup. I would say Boxx and Chalupny are on the bubble and we’ll see if they make the final US roster.

So let’s get to know the players in a few overly general sentences.

Shannon Boxx is a midfielder. You’ve probably heard of her cuz she’s been on the national team forever. She hasn’t played much for the Red Stars so I don’t factor her in as a crucial piece of the team, but she is all about community relations and being an ambassador for the club and all that, so she’s definitely part of the team. She’s good people.

Zakyia Bywaters was the overall number one draft pick in the inaugural season of the NWSL which has kind of been an albatross for her and the team since day one. She generally plays as a winger on the left, has footwork skills, is creative and capable of scoring. However, she is still waiting for her breakout year and she will have to keep waiting as she had an injury to her hip that required surgery and a recovery time that’s longer than the 2015 season. Aggravation. She is on our roster, but won’t count against our 20 player limit.

Lori Chalupny is our captain. She is amazing. That is all. Not really. She’s way creative, the engine of the midfield, good on both sides of the ball, a leader, sometimes a leading goal scorer, very dangerous and intelligent. She’s from St. Louis. Her nickname is Chups (pronunciation?). And she recently found her way back into the national team picture after years of not being talked to because of concussion issues. You can read about the drama and controversy of it all with a quick google. For her sake I hope she makes the final national roster, but for our sake, I hope she doesn’t.

We are all hoping Vanessa Dibernardo will blossom into a full on playmaking midfielder. She’s not quite there yet, but she is very good. Last year was her first year at the professional level. Before that however, she was hot shit at University of Illinois and has been on the U-17, U-20 and U23 USWNT’s. She was on the team that won the U-20 world cup. Also, she’s from Naperville.

Abby Erceg is one of our starting center backs. She is from New Zealand (ask her about Lord of the Rings, Flight of the Conchords and the Dead C) and captains their national team, so she also won’t be here for a chunk of the season. But she was the first player to officially re-sign with the Red Stars shortly after the 2014 season ended. She is the one to stay at home and lock down the backline while Julie Johnston makes her way forward.

Once upon a time Taryn Hemmings was a center back. True story. She also used to make those offensive forays deep into opposition territory. She loved it. Then she tore her acl and was out for a long, long time. But, then she came back last season and seamlessly slotted in at right back, like nothing happened. Fabulous. If you must know one thing, know this, Hemmings is crucial.

Jen Hoy is incredibly fast and killed it at the beginning of last year, putting away goals left and right. But then she got tired out in the middle of the grueling, condensed season and never really got back in form. She and Press need to figure out how to play together and they have struggled to do so. I’m not sure it will happen this year since Press will be gone for a huge chunk of the season and they won’t have much time to figure each other out. Maybe they will. Prove me wrong, please.

Samantha Johnson walked in to the open tryouts last year and walked out a starting center back. Pretty cool. She was supremely solid last year, very cool and composed. Then Vicky Losada of the Western New York Flash busted her face open with a cleat and pretty much ended her season. I will be very happy to see her back this year.

Julie Johnston is ridiculous. We drafted her last year, and although she historically played d-mid, we slotted her into the backline and she took over. Both she and Abby Erceg (and Samantha Johnson) bossed it, although Johnston seems to be the de facto leader of defense. She also loves to make runs forward and score. Very comfortable with the ball at her feet. She will also be kicking it at the world cup. Sadness.

Karina LeBlanc. She is huge in goal. Excellent even. Everyone loves her. If you don’t, I pity you. Since the departure of our dearly beloved Ella Masar (who is now in Houston), LeBlanc has become our media ambassador cuz she is hammy and loves to be on camera and has her own web show during the season. You will see a lot of her.

Adriana Leon is a Canadian national who has insane footwork. Insane. Ridiculous. She generally plays as a winger on the right and loves to take on defenders, break down the defense and find a through pass to an eventual goal scorer. She can also score on her own, but she seems to prefer to make the pass. She’s been a starter for the Canadian national team and will be gone during the world cup. Sadness. Also, her nickname is Dri.

Michele Lomnicki is a Red Stars institution at this point. She plays all over the backline as needed and is decent in all the spots although she generally plays at right back. She was married this offseason and this is the name she is now going by. Before this she went by Michele Wenino, so don’t be confused when you see or hear that.

Alyssa Mautz is a quintessential Red Star. Attacking, hustling, hardworking, not afraid of a challenge, and, um, gritty. She is used generally as a sub on the right midfield or as a forward. She also starts in case of injury.

Christen Press is a massively talented, pacey, creative striker who is capable of making amazingness out of nothing. If you haven’t been paying attention, she is also currently a starter for the USWNT, which is good for her, but bad for us. She used to play with Tyreso in Sweden and made a good run in the UEFA Champions League with them. Cynically, I’m not sure how much she wants to be in Chicago which gives me pause. The USSF told all players based outside of the NWSL that they would only be given consideration for making the USWNT if they played in the NWSL. And shortly thereafter Press returned to the NWSL and went through the allocation process and ended up with us. So, you know, I can’t imagine it was her first choice coming back. But that’s me reading too much into not much of anything. And whatever. She’s a professional. She’ll work for the team and score goals. So, aces.

Rachel Quon is our starting leftback. She’s solid, puts in a good shift, not spectacular, but good to have. She’s been on the bubble of the Canadian national team, but hasn’t been in their camp for the past few months. She will most likely be here for the whole season.

Melissa Tancredi is our starting athletic, aggressive, center, target forward type. She’s good. She plays for the Canadian national team and will also be gone for a lot of the season. People hate her for stomping on Carli Lloyd’s head in a match 100 years ago. But I don’t like Carli Lloyd for punching Vanessa Dibernardo, so it works out.

Draft

We picked up a few more players in the college draft. Unlike MLS, the college draft is a massively important part of roster building in the NWSL. Outside of any ridiculous trades and fancy international players getting picked up, it’s the highlight of the offseason for nerds like me.

The players we drafted are Arin Gilliland, Danielle Colaprico, Sofia Huerta, Cara Walls and Rachel Tejada. We also drafted Nicole Setterlund, but she retired before even coming into camp citing ongoing concussion issues.

It was recently announced that we officially signed Gilliland, Colaprico and Huerta. Which isn’t surprising. Arin Gilliland is a highly rated true leftback who provides a lot going forward; Danielle Colaprico is a creative midfielder who Rory Dames is looking to play on the left; Sofia Huerta seems to be a solid forward who likes to play out wide and should complement our current strikers. Cara Walls is a forward and Rachel Tejada is an attacking midfielder, both would most likely be depth. One of them might still be signed and the other will probably feature on our reserves.

For a slightly, and I mean slightly, more in depth overview of the draftees you can look here.

Open Tryouts

To help cover the huge gaps that will be created in our roster by the world cup we invited ten players from an open tryout: Jayden Barrett, Michele Dalton, Jackie Esterkamp, Monica Gonyo, Valerie Gonyo, Natalie Horner, Leigh Jakes, Kelley McCloskey, Giuleana Lopez and Lillie Toaspern.

The only thing I’m fairly certain of is that Michele Dalton will most likely be our number two goalkeeper. Look for her to be officially signed soon. I have no real idea if any of the other players will make it. I would think maybe one of the others makes it and now that Bywaters will be missing. And my guess is that we will probably see Lillie Toaspern get picked up since she is another offensive minded midfielder. For a quick rundown of the tryoutees you can look here.

The deal with the roster is that we can have 20 contracted professional players, but we can have ten unpaid amateurs on the reserve team that we field in the WPSL.

Stop for a minute. Read that last sentence again. Unpaid. UNPAID. Let that sink in. Okay, now finish reading.

These select ten volunteers will be able to be called up to replace injured or missing (in World Cup) players. So look for a bunch of these draftees and open tryout types to be on the roster for the reserve team. We will be calling them up. Unpaid internship? That’s resume building.

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johnston! press! yes!

i don’t care much for national teams. but i do care when players from teams i support play – especially when they commit acts of ruleage! way to be julie johnston and christen press.

for what it’s worth – i do generally wish for good results for the uswnt. particularly this summer when a good result at the world cup could go a long ways in helping boost the popularity of the nwsl teams. so, do it. that said, i generally wish for good results for every women’s national team on the planet.

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preseason guests

Let me introduce a brand new feature. One that I’ve been doing all along, but will now give an official name to:

I googled that shit so you don’t have to!

Yesterday the Red Stars revealed who their preseason camp guests are. Let’s get to know them, shall we?

First up is Jayden Barrett. A forward/midfielder who played for University of Tennessee and Slammers FC out of Newport Beach, California.

If I learned anything from these two videos, she is massively strong, look at those pushups. Holy shit! And it seems like her style of play is similar, aggressive, ball winning in the final third and creating dishing the ball out to receive it back and finish. Again, look at those pushups.

details

Next up is goalkeeper number one – Michele Dalton. She of Mount Prospect fame. Played for UW Madison (2011 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year) and Philadelphia Fever and UMF Selfoss in Iceland.

Then there’s Jackie Esterkamp, a midfielder, who played with Cincinnati Christian University and the Cincinnati Saints. That’s all I know. Mystery.

Our other guest goalkeeper is Monica Gonyo. Monica Gonyo from New Berlin, Wisconsin (too bad not New Glarus, but that’s just me) who played for Loyola University here in Chicago, who has a twin who also is a guest of the Red Stars, who has a highlight video.

Valerie Gonyo, who is the twin sister of Monica Gonyo, who is a defender who played for Loyola Chicago as a centerback and center forward, who has a write up about her twinsie lifestyle here, who, most importantly is trialing as a defender.

Another defender, Natalie Horner. University of Kentucky team captain and University of Michigan, but most recently University of Kentucky where she played as a forward, but here in Redstarlandia she will be trialing as a defender – I would guess outside back, but I don’t know what I’m talking about. Never do.

Watch her score a goal in this quick video. Do it!

Another defender – I love defenders right now. Leigh Jakes. Out of McDonough, Georgia. Has a wikipedia page, dig? Although she’s got Northwestern roots, she’s been kicking it in Scandinavia the past few years with Falköpings KIK in Sweden, Kokkola F10 and most recently NiceFutis, both in Finland. Most importantly though, she was a Red Star back in 2011 WPSL days.

Old timey college highlight reel? Yes.

We’re getting there, we’re getting there, don’t worry. Three more, starting with midfielder Kelley McCloskey, who was also a guest at camp Red Star, last year. University of San Diego. And that’s about all I know.

Interview from her senior year? Why not.

Giuleana Lopez is another University of Kentucky type who is trialing as midfielder/forwarder. From Beach Park or Waukegan, IL, so local. But mysterious.

And finally, which is good, cuz I’m a little burned out and ready to get off the computer. Lillie Toaspern. From Denver. Currently in her senior year at Washington University where she played attacking mid/forward.

Highlight video? Check.

Another senior interview? Sure thing.

So there you go, for real. That’s all I got for now. But, you should check all white kit for updates, cuz he will break all this down much better than I with thoughtful analysis and all. But, at least I compiled some google for you. Word up.

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retirement

Kecia Morway

So the big news of the off season, aside from the draft, is the retirement of three Red Stars.

First, Kecia Morway announced her retirement a few weeks back. While it sucks to see her go, her retirement doesn’t leave a huge hole in our roster. She was solid defensive depth and could play on either side. Then today came the news that draftee and Canadian national, Nicole Setterlund would be retiring due to concussion issues. Again this one doesn’t hurt too much considering she never played with us or even officially signed. But I had figured she would be one of our starting center backs, pairing up with Samantha Johnson while Julie Johnston is off at the turf cup. So that is kind of a knock to our depth/roster needs.

And then in the same press release came the news that our back up goal keeper, and starting goal keeper for a chunk of this season, Taylor Vancil, was retiring from professional soccer.

Suck city.

Taylor Vancil

This is a problem. With LeBlanc also gone at the turf cup, I wasn’t worried because Vancil has been outstanding whenever she was called on to play. I thought this would be her time to shine and get a ton of experience and fight for first team minutes and all that. But, the economics of women’s sports reared its head again and now we are left in a bind. A while back there was a facebook post that mentioned that two goalkeepers from the open tryouts were invited to join the Red Stars for the preseason and as of now it seems like that one or both of them will be the backup keeper while LeBlanc is away. I really, really hope they work out. Really. I hadn’t been too concerned going into the season, but now, I’m a little concerned. We will see. Hopefully there will be a bunch of news coming out starting next week since preseason officially starts on Monday. Hopefully. It’s been so so quiet. around these parts. You thought I’d put a Bjork song here cuz of that didn’t you. Well. I thought about it. Now you can think about it.

Anyways. Massive thanks to Taylor Vancil for her amazing number two ways!

And big ups for Kecia Morway, here’s two for her!

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there is nothing

Note – I wrote this before Taylor Vancil and Nicole Setterlund retired. But I spent a few minutes on it, so here it is. 

Normally the offseason is a time for ridiculous speculation and comings and goings and news upon news. But this offseason has been a time of silence. A time for isolation and endless winter. Introspection? Maybe. But there hasn’t been much to introspect. We’ve had news of our draftees when that went down, but nothing since then. All we really know is that half our team is out playing with their national teams. Karina LeBlanc, Adriana Leon and Melissa Tancredi are off with Canada. Abby Erceg is off with New Zealand. Shannon Boxx, Lori Chalupny, Julie Johnston, Christen Press are with the US team. And Vanessa Dibernardo and Danielle Colaprico are with the US U23 team. Did I miss anyone?

There were the open tryouts a little while back, but we haven’t heard anything about that. No signings – not from our draftees, tryouts, splashy internationals or anything. There just isn’t that much to talk about. Which is why I’m writing about nothing. At least the preseason starts on Monday. Maybe we’ll know something then. In the meantime here are some meaningless formations. Cuz I love meaningless formations. Who should play where.

4-2-3-1 Stylee:

Hoy
Bywaters / Dibernardo / Colaprico
Hemmings / (I wish we had Santacaterina)
Gilliland / Setterlund / Johnson / Wenino
Vancil

It could be all the Swansea soccer I’ve been watching for the past few years, but I really like the 4-2-3-1 system. I think because it allows for a lot of pressing and attacking. However given that we are kind of depleted for world cup reasons, I don’t know if we have the right midfield for it. I think Hemmings could move up into a holding midfield role, someone to disrupt the plays. She started as center back for us before moving out to right back last year. She’s good with the ball at her feet, has speed and likes to get forward. I think she would be comfortable in the midfield. Who to play next to her though. That I’m less sure about. One thing I know is that I wish we had Jackie Santacaterina these days. She would’ve been an aces destroyer. As it is, maybe it would be best in this scenario if we did

Hoy
Bywaters / Colaprico / Mautz
Hemmings / Dibernardo
Gilliland / Setterlund / Johnson / Wenino
Vancil

This would allow Hemmings to stay as holding mid and Dibernardo could be a deep lying playmaker and Colaprico could be an advanced playmaker. I kinda like the potential of this one.

4-4-2 Stylee:

Hoy / Huerta
Bywaters / Colaprico / Dibernardo / Mautz
Gilliland / Setterlund / Johnson / Hemmings
Vancil

I think we will probably kick it 4-4-2, cuz that seems to be how we roll. Always. Flat 4-4-2. Maybe this year will be different. But if not, I think we’ll see something like this. Colaprico has mentioned that Rory Dames wants her out wide, but given our lack of center mids during world cup I think she and Dibernardo would pair up best in the middle.

4-3-3 Stylee:

Hoy / Huerta / Colaprico
Bywaters / Dibernardo / Mautz
Gilliland / Setterlund / Johnson / Hemmings
Vancil

I kinda dig this one. It could provide a lot of fluidity and pressing action. That’s a lot of offense though and puts a lot of pressure on Dibernardo to hold the midfield defense together. Don’t know if she can or not.

What about you? How do you think we should line up? Y’know, without really knowing anything?

cricket music by walter de maria.

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rosterness

It is said that US and Canadian national players will theoretically be playing in the first three to four games of the season. The NWSL season starts on April 10 but Red Stars don’t start until the following week on the April 18. Which means that we’ll have a little bit longer to incorporate our players after they return from national team duties. But then there are those May friendlies (Ireland – May 10; Mexico – May 17; Korea – May 30) that take them away again and then the World Cup starts on June 7. Although there will be a break during the group stage that ends on June 19, I assume Canada and the US will progress out of their groups – meaning that they could both continue on in the knockout stage for the rest of June. Out of the group stage or not, my hope is that the national players will start the season off as subs since they won’t be spending much time with us during the pre-season. That way the players who will be here for the whole season will have ample time to season and gel.

So again, here is everyone who is potentially going to go off to the turflandia cup:

1 Karina LeBlanc GK
6 Abby Erceg DEF
7 Shannon Boxx MID
8 Julie Johnston DEF
9 Melissa Tancredi FWD
11 Rachel Quon DEF
17 Lori Chalupny MID
19 Adriana Leon FWD
23 Christen Press FWD

And here, again, are our draftees:

Arin Gilliland DEF
Danielle Colaprico MID
Sofia Huerta FWD
Cara Walls FWD
Nicole Setterlund DEF
Rachel Tejada FWD

We did do pretty swimmingly in the draft and our many of our depth problems were solved. The only glaring exception is goalkeeper and if I had to guess we will take an un-drafted, under-the-radar type. And/or someone who came up through the Eclipse system. Or something.

So here’s my current (and without any pre-season performance based knowledge, gut-level only) preferred starting XI:

Hoy / Huerta
Bywaters / Colaprico / Dibernardo / Mautz
Gilliland / Setterlund / Johnson / Hemmings
Vancil

And that leaves Walls, Setterlund, Tejada, Morway, Wenino and Brock as reserves. Not bad. I’m still hoping we can find a few international veterans to help out all the youth. I’m a fan of all the youth for sure, but I think they can use some veteran knowledge, presence and composure when the shit goes down. And it will. Of everyone who will definitely be around all season, I think Hemmings is our elder statesperson, which is crazy cuz she’s only cuz she’s 28.

There is one problem with all this. Our roster is currently at 25 and unless the roster limit is magically increased (and it fucking should!) sometime before the season starts we need to be down to 20. Which means, so much for depth. Who will be forced out? I have no idea. I hate to see any of them go, cuz I like everyone on this team so far. I wonder if there will be some sort of loophole thing where some of our draftees are technically signed with with our reserve/youth team and then we can call them up as needed during the time of absenteeism without them counting against our roster limit. Or something. What say you?

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red stars draft action! finally!

This is quick and dirty cuz I was swamped with real life today, but I wanted to get something out there about our draftees. I will have more thoughtful thoughts later on next week prolly. But in the meantime here’s a roundup of info and links about our new players in order of appearance.

Arin Gilliland

all white kit sez –

5 – CHI – Arin Gilliland – D – Kentucky

Lord only knows what Chicago does with this pick or even if they keep it. In all honesty, the Red Stars need a right-back more than a left-back if Rachel Quon isn’t here for the WWC, but I’m assuming they move Taryn Hemmings in the middle when Julie Johnston and Abby Erceg are away. There aren’t any elite right-backs in this class either, meaning Chicago may look to fill the left-back spot first. Gilliland probably isn’t letting go of a starting spot once she gets hold of one, and the Kentucky talisman should help stretch play and open up the offense, which was pretty stale at times last season. I wouldn’t be shocked if Chicago plumped for Kristin Grubka here too. They need some center-back cover, and the drop from her to the next option is big.

equalizer sez –

Moving to outside back, the first two off the board look to be Arin Gilliland and Jaelene Hinkle. Last season, the fast and athletic Gilliland moved from left back to forward when the Wildcats were struggling offensively and moved back to defense when the team had the opposite problem. In both positions, she delivered exactly what the team needed.

and some articles/profiles:

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/11629905/since-losing-mom-journey-renewal-kentucky-arin-gilliland

http://www.kentucky.com/2014/10/30/3511114/uk-womens-soccer-arin-gilliland.html

videos, too? yes!

Danielle Colaprico

all white kit sez –

7 – WNY – Danielle Colaprico – MF/F – Virginia

Versatility helps everyone make a mark after the first handful of elite prospects, and Colaprico’s ability to play multiple roles is probably going to see her stick for a long time on rosters in her pro career. She literally played all four midfield positions with Virginia in a 4-4-2 diamond this season and can play higher on the wing in a 4-3-3 as well. That’s the role I see her in at this level, and her service from out wide could provide the club with a different dimension in the offense if they take Williams or another speedster as well.

equalizer sez –

Danielle Colaprico certainly saved the best for last. The Virginia player saw time at all four positions in the midfield and showed that she can excel no matter where she lines up. Despite her small stature she’s shown she can more than hold her own against much taller players.

articles/profiles

http://equalizersoccer.com/2014/09/26/danielle-colaprico-virginia-versatile-nwsl-future/

http://www.richmond.com/sports/college/article_1237f604-eb98-5c56-8368-3811866e8789.html

videos, even? yes!

Sofia Huerta

all white kit sez –

8 – CHI – Sofia Huerta – F – Santa Clara

I think the Huerta hype is overblown, but there aren’t many great forwards in this class, while teams usually trip over themselves to reach for offense. The Red Stars are pretty much down to Jen Hoy and Hayley Brock come WWC time, with both players more vertical threats. Huerta offers up the ability to run the channels and stretch play with her pace and athleticism, which could be a godsend for a side that may struggle for consistency in the midfield. It also isn’t out of the question that the Red Stars might reach for her at #5.

equalizer sez –

The big surprise of this year’s crop of forwards came last month when it was announced that Sofia Huerta would forego a future with the Mexican National team and attempt to earn a spot with the U.S. national team in the future. The speedster, who slices and dices defenders will be one of the first forwards of the board.

articles/profiles, and a wikipedia. what?

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/11819539/santa-clara-sofia-huerta

http://www.santaclarabroncos.com/sports/w-soccer/2014-15/bios/huerta_sofia_a2fa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Huerta

videos? yes, please!

Cara Walls

all white kit sez –

25 – SBFC – Cara Walls – F – Wisconsin

They need defenders, but there aren’t many great options at this point in the draft. They also need some forwards for when the club gets gutted come WWC time, and Walls is probably the best left on the board at this point. Her metric numbers are a little wonky, but when she’s on, Walls can fill it up.

articles/profiles

http://www.fcwisconsineclipse.com/Interviews/851612.html

http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/cara_walls_765566.html

videos? you bet!

Nicole Setterlund

all white kit sez –

20. Nicole Setterlund – MF (DMC), D (CB) – Washington State

The metronome. Shows that you don’t necessarily need a sledgehammer to get the job done if you’ve got a pair of scalpels that can do the business. Powerful in the air, with a bit of a touch in front of goal, and with a solid passing range, Setterlund looks like an underrated gem. Setterlund played some at center-back this season, and it’ll be interesting to see if a suitor tries her out there. She looks more libero than towering inferno, but some clubs might prefer that. Hopefully, a club is wise enough to use an international slot for her.

articles/profiles

http://www.wsucougars.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=207917729

http://canadasoccer.com/?t=roster&pid=2913

http://www.sounderswomen.com/home/807232.html

video shmideo

Rachel Tejada

all white kit sez –

28. Rachel Tejada – F – Illinois State

Mid-major scoring machine. Tejada burst onto the scene as a freshman, started scoring, and didn’t stop for four trophy-laden seasons as Illinois State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on two occasions. Metrics reveal that Tejada grades out pretty well in terms of efficiency, keeping her shots per goal under six and hitting the target nearly fifty-eight percent of the time. The lack of goals against top opposition is a worry, but for mid-majors, that’s always going to be a tough ask. Probably needs some seasoning, but could be worth a punt late in this draft.

articles/profiles

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-tejada-leading-illinois-state-in-soccer-tourney-20141119-story.html

http://soccerstl.net/2013/08/05/rachel-tejada-leads-wpsl-recognition-for-fire-ice/

http://goredbirds.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=1477

dig that all white kit had info about all these players. that site is thorough, knowledgeable, appreciated!

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it. is. happening. again. the preseason walks among us

Here is what we know as of now going into this officially official NWSL new year off season thing.

Players In for Awesomeness reasons

2 Jen Hoy FWD
3 Kecia Morway DEF
4 Alyssa Mautz M/F
5 Zakiya Bywaters MID
7 Shannon Boxx MID
10 Vanessa DiBernardo MID
11 Rachel Quon DEF
13 Michelle Wenino DEF
14 Taryn Hemmings DEF
16 Samantha Johnson D/F
20 Taylor Vancil GK
21 Hayley Brock FWD

Players Out for World Cup reasons

1 Karina LeBlanc GK
6 Abby Erceg DEF
8 Julie Johnston DEF
9 Melissa Tancredi FWD
17 Lori Chalupny MID
19 Adriana Leon FWD
23 Christen Press FWD

The line up as of now – assuming that Boxx and Quon don’t go.

Hoy / Brock
Bywaters / Boxx / Dibernardo / Mautz
Quon / Hemmings / Johnson / Wenino
Vancil

Depth

Morway – who can spot left or right fullback

I’m just using a 4-4-2 as a baseline, I have no idea as to how we will actually line up. Although, personally, I always love some variation of a 4-5-1. We’ll see. Also, maybe this year, this little tidbit can be included in broadcasts for us line up nerds.

I feel like our starting xi as of now is decent. Filled with decency from top to bottom. And in a season where it will be a battle for utility supremacy, this is a good place to be in. I think a combination of Brock as target / holdup forward and Hoy as speedy all out striker could be good. They both have shown that they can play those roles well. The question will be if they can do it over the long haul.

A midfield of Bywaters on the left being speedy and footwork crafty, working her way to the touchline, feeding into the forwards and taking shots herself; Mautz doing a more direct thing and also attacking on the right; Boxx as holding mid and Dibernardo as defacto CAM has potential.

I have no qualms about our backline as this exact backline has worked well before. Hemmings and Johnson are both solid centerbacks and Quon and Wenino are both solid fullbacks. Solid.

Vancil as starting goalkeeper doesn’t concern me too much. She has shown that she has what it takes to be a, again, decent goalkeeper. I think it’ll take her a few games to get her flow going, but I think that will come. I expect it to take a few games for all back up keepers.

The problem for us and for all the other teams comes from the lack of depth. And I mean lack. LACK. We have Morway who can play both fullback positions and can and will probably spot at centerback as well. And that is it. For real. No more depth as of now. Where will our depth come from? From the big fancy ass draft that’s going down on Friday the 16th.

Where do we need backup help the most? Fucking everywhere! So it’ll be tough. Hopefully we can also get some international players as well. Some diamond in the rough types who won’t be turfing it up in Canada. The Red Stars have the following five picks as of now:

Round 1 – 5th and 8th
Round 3 – 23rd and 27th
Round 4 – 32nd

With those five, I would like to see us try and get three midfielders, one pure defender and one goalkeeper. I feel like we can convert a midfielder to an fullback or forward if need be and help with our depth there. Popular opinion seems to be that this particular class is weak in the forward department, so I don’t feel like we need to use one of our picks there. Popular opinion also seems to be that this class is good in the fullback department. So, let’s get one! And then a decent goalkeeper.

What others are saying:

Our Game’s take on what the Red Stars need:

What Chicago Needs

With possibly seven players missing time because of the World Cup, the Red Stars will need to make the most of their first-round picks. And with Lori Chalupny back into the U.S. National Team fold, getting a rock in the central midfield is crucial. The problem is there isn’t a guarantee a deep-lying midfielder like Sam Mewis (UCLA) will be on the board when Chicago’s first pick rolls around.

Do the Red Stars try and convert someone to a holding midfield role or do they worry about that later and add a creative midfielder like Shea Groom (Texas A&M) or Danielle Colaprico (Virginia)? I wouldn’t be overly surprised if Chicago uses one of its third-round picks on a goalkeeper. Taylor Vancil is a solid goalkeeper to take over when Karina LeBlanc is unavailable but Chicago will need to add a reliable number two that can step in when needed.

A mock draft over at playing for 90 has us going for midfielder Danielle Colaprico and defender Kristin Grubka with our first round picks. I’m cool with that. The Equal (don’t read the comments) lizer says this about Colaprico –

Danielle Colaprico certainly saved the best for last. The Virginia player saw time at all four positions in the midfield and showed that she can excel no matter where she lines up. Despite her small stature she’s shown she can more than hold her own against much taller players.

Once A Metro concurs that we will go for Kristin Grubka and adds Arin Gilliland to the mix saying –

Gilliand is responsive both as a scorer and sweeper, so in a World Cup year, she’s the perfect antidote if Lori Chalupny and certainly Christen Press are off to this summer’s World Cup. Gilliand is also currently training with the U-23 USWNT squad so there’s room for real growth here. She’s a desirable choice at no. 8.

Apparently she’s played at forward and fullback which definitely helps out with our depth concerns.

I will admit I don’t know any more about the draftees than you do, so I’m not going to hazard my own mock draft. I suggest that for an overview of the draftees and / or the various needs of the teams, you should check out the following articles:

our game
all white kit
equalizer (don’t read the comments)

What do you all think? What are our needs? Who should we go for? Any thoughts about non-turf internationals? Let’s do it?

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marta (and press)

holy shit. it may be an unpopular opinion, but i do love marta. so check out her hat trick against the us. also – christen press made a second half appearance and created a good chance for herself. but my favorite part of it was her dummy look to the right. like, i’m looking hard to make a pass, but not really, surprise, i’m not even gonna look at the goal to take this shot. yes! also also, lori chalupny played for thirty minutes in the first half. hooray for her!