On Jan. 18, the Boston Breakers selected four players in the 2013 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Draft at the NSCAA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind.
Overall, the NWSL clubs picked 32 players in the draft as the eight teams begin to take shape.
Last week, the Breakers were allocated seven national team players from the USA, Canada and Mexico as part of the structure of the new league.
Casey Short, No. 5
With the the Breakers' first pick (No. 5 overall), they selected Florida State defender/midfielder Casey Short. The Naperville, Ill., native anchored a back line in 2012 that set a school record for shutouts (17), goals against average (0.62), and fewest goals (4) allowed in Atlantic Coast Conference games.
Short played with Boston Breakers and U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT) forward Sydney Leroux on the 2010 U.S. team that reached the quarterfinals of the U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. Short has been in the USWNT system since 2004 with the U-14s and played with the U-23 team in 2011 at a tournament in Sweden. She scored one goal in a 4-0 win over Sweden in the final match of the tournament.
"With Casey Short, we have a player that’s versatile," said Breakers head coach Lisa Cole. "She can play out wide on the left, she can play centrally, and she can play as a holding mid, so that fills a role for us there."
Mariah Nogueira
With their second pick in the draft (No. 13 overall), the Breakers picked up a solid defensive midfielder in Mariah Nogueira from Stanford. Nogueira also has a knack for scoring as evident in her 21 goals and 15 assists for the Cardinal. She played in 99 games (94 starts) at Stanford and also has experience on the national level with the U.S. U-23s.
"[Nogueira] is a ball-winner, she’s going to be competitive, she’s going to be able to man that midfield for us," said Cole. "I think we have a future international star and a good pro in that position."
Jo Dragotta
With their third pick (No. 21st overall), the Breakers selected University of Florida forward Jo Dragotta, who scored seven goals and had 11 assists in 82 games with the Gators. In 2012, Dragotta was an NSCAA All-South Region first team selection and named to the All-Southeastern Conference first team Appeared on SEC All-Tournament team.
Maddy Evans
With their fourth pick of the draft (No. 29 overall), the Breakers selected midfielder Maddy Evans, who played with the Breakers reserve team, Aztec MA of the WPSL. At Penn State, Evans started all 27 games in 2012 and scored 11 goals and eight assists during her four year career.
"Maddy's been a part of our program, our reserve team, our Under-23 team in the past and has been in training with the Breakers, so she'll probably be our first developmental player to make the pros," Cole said. "She adds versatility. She can play on the flank, she can play in the attack spot, and as a holding midfielder."
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