Seven Tar Heels Drafted By WPS.
Four of the first eight picks were Tar Heels beginning with Tobin Heath, a senior midfielder, who was taken first overall by the Atlanta Beat. Following Heath was fellow senior Whitney Engen, a defender who was taken with the fourth pick in the draft by the Chicago Red Stars.
To round out the top eight, senior midfielder Nikki Washington and senior forward Casey Nogueira were taken fifth and eighth, respectively, by the Los Angeles Sol.
UCLA’s Lauren Cheney was the second pick in the draft, going to the Boston Breakers. The #3 pick was 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy winner Kelley O’Hara of Stanford going to FC Gold Pride.
Two more Tar Heels were taken in the second round as redshirt junior forward Jessica McDonald was chosen with the fourth pick, going to the Chicago Red Stars and senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris was chosen eighth by Athletica, which is based in St. Louis, Mo.
To finish out the slew of Tar Heels taken in the draft, four-year starter Kristi Eveland, a defender, was taken as the seventh pick in the fourth round by DC Freedom.
All six seniors for the Tar Heels helped to solidify the North Carolina dynasty by winning three out of four NCAA championships throughout their careers, while McDonald, a junior college transfer, was a major factor in both national championships during her two years at Chapel Hill.
Wake Forest forward Kaley Fountain went in the second round to FC Gold Pride, while South Carolina All-America defender Blakely Mattern was the first player chosen in the third round, going to the Atlanta Beat.
2010 WPS Draft
FIRST ROUND
1. Atlanta Beat – Tobin Heath, M, North Carolina
2. Boston Breakers # – Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
3. FC Gold Pride – Kelley O’Hara, F, Stanford
4. Chicago Red Stars – Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
5. Los Angeles Sol # – Nikki Washington, F, North Carolina
6. Sky Blue FC – Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
7. Washington Freedom – Nikki Marshall, D/M/F, Colorado
8. Los Angeles Sol # – Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
9. Los Angeles Sol – Kiersten Dallstream, F, Washington St.
10. FC Gold Pride # – Ali Riley, D, Stanford
11. Boston Breakers # – Alyssa Naeher, GK, Penn State
SECOND ROUND
12. FC Gold Pride # – Becky Edwards, D/M, Florida State
13. Philadelphia Independence – Malorie Rutledge, M, LSU
14. Los Angeles Sol # – Michelle Enyeart, F, Portland
15. Chicago Red Stars – Jessica McDonald, F, North Carolina
16. Boston Breakers – Jordan Angeli, D, Santa Clara
17. Saint Louis Athletica # – Kristina Larsen, F, UCLA
18. Washington Freedom – Carly Dobratz, M, Washington State
19. Saint Louis Athletica – Ashlyn Harris, GK, North Carolina
20. FC Gold Pride # – Kaley Fountain, F, Wake Forest
THIRD ROUND
21. Atlanta Beat – Blakely Mattern, D, South Carolina
22. Los Angeles Sol # – Kiki Bosio, F, Santa Clara
23. Atlanta Beat # – Shameka Gordon, D/M, West Florida
24. Chicago Red Stars – Kelsey Davis, GK, Portland
25. Los Angeles Sol – Estelle Johnson, D, Kansas
26. Sky Blue FC – Katie Schoepfer, F, Penn State
27. Washington Freedom – Beverly Goebel, M, Miami
28. Saint Louis Athletica – Amanda Poach, M, Santa Clara
29. Sky Blue FC # – Melissa Clarke, M, LSU
FOURTH ROUND
30. Atlanta Beat – Jill Hutchinson, F, Wake Forest
31. Philadelphia Independence – Kelly Henderson, D/M, Boston College
32. FC Gold Pride – Erin Guthrie, GK, Rutgers
33. Chicago Red Stars – Michele Weissenhofer, F, Notre Dame
34. Boston Breakers – Katherine Reynolds, D, Santa Clara
35. Sky Blue FC – Danielle Johnson, D, Ole Miss
36. Washington Freedom – Kristi Eveland, D, North Carolina
37. Saint Louis Athletica – Veronica Perez, M/F, Washington
38. Los Angeles Sol – Mary Casey, GK, Maryland
ROUND FIVE
39. Atlanta Beat – Mallori Lofton-Malachi, GK, South Florida (traded to Philadelphia)
40. Philadelphia Independence – Carrie Patterson, F, Georgia (traded to Atlanta)
41. FC Gold Pride – Ashley Bowyer, M/D, Ohio State
42. Chicago Red Stars – Sophie Reiser, M/F, Columbia
43. Boston Breakers – Cynthia Morote-Ariza, F, Loyola-Chicago
44. Sky Blue FC – Meagan Snell, F, Santa Clara
45. Washington Freedom – Lauren Robertson, GK, Ohio State
46. Saint Louis Athletica – Carolyn Blank, M/D, WVU
47. Los Angeles Sol – Lindsay Browne, M/F, Clemson
ROUND SIX
48. Atlanta Beat – Kasey Langdon, F, Oklahoma St.
49. Philadelphia Independence – Jennifer Anzivino, D/M, Rutgers (to Sky Blue FC)
50. FC Gold Pride – Elizabeth Harkin, D, Arizona State
51. Chicago Red Stars – Fiona O’Sullivan, M/F, San Francisco
52. Boston Breakers – Carly Peetz, D, Nebraska
53. Sky Blue FC – Kelly Isleib, M, Utah
54. Washington Freedom – Mara Osher, D/M, Boston Univ.
55. Saint Louis Athletica – Sarah Teegarden, M, Wisconsin-Milwaukee
56. Boston Breakers – Gina DiMartino, M/F, Boston College (pick traded from Los Angeles Sol)
ROUND SEVEN
57. Atlanta Beat – Shaneka Gordon, F, West Florida
58. Philadelphia Independence – Caitlin Farrell, D, Wake Forest
59. FC Gold Pride – Lauren Wilmoth, D, UCLA
60. Chicago Red Stars – Jackie Santacaterina, M, Illinois
61. Boston Breakers – Casey Brown, D, Boston University
62. Philadelphia Independence – Danielle Collins, D/M, William & Mary
63. Washington Freedom – Caitline Miskel, M/F, Virginia
64. Saint Louis Athletica – Elizabeth Redmond, M, Duke
65. Boston Breakers – Taryn Hemmings, F, Denver
#Pick acquired in trade.