NWSL Announces List of 55 Allocated Players
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has announced the list of 55 U.S., Canadian and Mexican National Team players that will be allocated to the eight clubs.
Once the allocation process is completed, the club location for all 55 players will be announced on Friday, Jan. 11.
The breakdown of players by country:
United States (23)
Goalkeepers (4): Nicole Barnhart, Ashlyn Harris, Jill Loyden, Hope Solo
Defenders (7): Rachel Buehler, Ali Krieger, Amy LePeilbet, Heather Mitts, Kelley O’Hara, Christie Rampone, Becky Sauerbrunn
Midfielders (8): Shannon Boxx, Lauren Cheney, Tobin Heath, Lori Lindsey, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly, Megan Rapinoe, Keelin Winters
Forwards (4): Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach
Canada (16)
Goalkeepers (2): Karina LeBlanc, Erin McLeod
Defenders (6): Melanie Booth, Robyn Gayle, Carmelina Moscato, Lauren Sesselmann, Rhian Wilkinson, Emily Zurrer
Defender/Midfielder (1): Bryana McCarthy
Midfielders (4): Kaylyn Kyle, Diana Matheson, Sophie Schmidt, Desiree Scott
Midfielders/Forwards (2): Adriana Leon, Jodi-Ann Robinson
Forward (1): Christine Sinclair
Mexico (16)
Goalkeepers (2): Aurora Cecilia Santiago Cisneros, Pamela Tajonar Alonso
Defenders (5): Alini Lisi Garciamendez Rowold, Jennifer Marie Ruiz Brown, Luz del Rosario Saucedo Soto, Rubi Marlene Sandoval Nungaray, Marylin Viridiana Diaz Ramirez
Midfielders (5): Veronica Raquel Perez Murillo, Teresa Noyola Bayardo, Lydia Nayeli Rangel Hernandez, Teresa Guadalupe Worbis Aguilar, Dinora Lizeth Garza Rodriguez
Forwards (4): Maribel Dominguez Castelan, Monica Ocampo Medina, Renae Nicole Cuellar Cuellar, Anisa Raquel Guajardo Braff
Some thoughts on the list of players:
* Originally, the number of allocated players was set at 52 (24 U.S, 16 Canada, 12 Mexico). Mexico was asked to add four players to the list so the distribution could be even (56 players total, 7 to each of the 8 clubs).
* As you notice above, the U.S. only listed 23 players. Who’s missing? Olympic alternates Meghan Klingenberg and Christen Press are both committed to playing for Tyresö FF in Sweden.
* With the U.S. listing 23 players, that obviously means one team will have one less U.S. national team player. It will be interested to see how that plays out and whether that team will be awarded
* Players with Portland ties:
- Abby Wambach (recently purchased a home in Portland)
- Megan Rapinoe (former University of Portland player now playing in France with Olympique Lyonnais – she’ll return to NWSL about a month into the season)
- Christine Sinclair and Sophie Schmidt (also former University of Portland players)
- If those four somehow get allocated to Portland, that will be quite a coup for Thorns FC.
With the club location for all 55 players coming up on Friday, who do you think goes where?
