Sky Blue FC I St. Louis United
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- Graduated University of Portland women’s soccer players Cori Alexander and Angie Woznuk were two of the 28 players selected in the Women’s Professional Soccer General Draft on Monday morning. They will join former Pilot teammates Stephanie Cox and Christine Sinclair in the newly formed league, which will kickoff play in the spring of 2009.
Cox was among 21 players from the USA Women’s National Team allocated to the league’s seven franchises on September 16. She will play for the Los Angeles franchise. Sinclair was the eighth pick in the WPS Initial International Draft on September 24 and will play for the Bay Area team.
Monday’s WPS General Draft was open to both domestic and international players. Alexander, a goalkeeper who played for the Pilots from 2003-06, was picked with the final pick in the first round, seventh overall by Sky Blue FC (New Jersey). Woznuk, a four-year starter for the Pilots who graduated following the 2007 fall season, was taken with the 15th overall pick by St. Louis.
One of the many All-American goalkeepers in Pilot history, Alexander is the school’s all-time leader in saves (263) and shutouts (39) and is fifth in goals-against average (0.59). She helped the Pilots to an undefeated 2005 national championship season, most notably by stopping two PK’s in the NCAA semifinal shootout with Penn State. Her performance earned her the tournament’s Defensive MVP award.
“The development of players at the University of Portland obviously has its origins with my old friend, the late Clive Charles,” Sky Blue FC head coach and general manager Ian Sawyers said. “His legacy lives on with these players. Every time a player is selected from the University of Portland, they carry a little piece of Clive with them, and maintain the standards he set, and that Bill Irwin and Garrett Smith have carried on.”
Woznuk was a three-time All-American midfielder for the Pilots who ranks sixth in school history with 34 assists. A member of the USA National Team pool, Woznuk scored the game-winner in UP’s 4-0, national championship victory over UCLA in 2005. She earned West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2007.
The WPS also announced today a multi-year television agreement with Fox Soccer Channel. The agreement, which begins next April, provides rights for the exclusive WPS Sunday night game of the week as well as the league All-Star Game on Fox Soccer Channel, while postseason coverage will reach over 80 million homes nationally on Fox Sports Net’s owned and affiliated regional sports networks. A minimum of 20 games will be broadcast on the network over the course of the regular season and the WPS All-Star Game on Fox Soccer Channel. The Fox Sports Net’s postseason coverage features all games: two semifinal games on August 15/16 and the WPS championship game the weekend of August 22/23. The contract is three years with a fourth-year option.
WPS teams will continue to evaluate talent in preparation for the Post-Combine Draft, scheduled for the week of January 14, 2009. The league will kick off its inaugural season in April.
About Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS)
The mission of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) is to be the premier women’s soccer league in the world and the global standard by which women’s professional sports are measured. Play kicks off in the spring of 2009, with WPS teams based in the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. The league will expand in 2010 with the inclusion of Atlanta, Dallas, and Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.womensprosoccer.com.
