Complete Draft Results
ST. LOUIS, Mo. --- University of Portland standout Megan Rapinoe and Pilots’ assistant coach Lisa Sari were selected Friday in the inaugural Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) Draft. Rapinoe was the No. 2 overall selection taken by the Chicago Red Stars. Sari was taken in the seventh round, 66th overall, by the Los Angeles Sol.
Rapinoe and Sari join four other players with UP ties that have already been placed with WPS teams. Olympic Gold Medalist Stephanie Cox will team with Sari in Los Angeles; Christine Sinclair is with FC Gold Pride (Bay Area), Angie Woznuk is with St. Louis Athletica and Cori Alexander was taken by Sky Blue FC (New York/New Jersey).
Cox was among 21 players from the USA Women’s National Team allocated to the league’s seven franchises on September 16, while Sinclair was the eighth pick in the International Draft on September 24. Woznuk and Alexander were selected in the WPS General Draft on October 6.
Rapinoe graduated in December after earning All-America honors as a senior in 2008. The West Coast Conference Player of the Year, Rapinoe finished the year with five goals and 13 assists. She missed most of the previous two seasons with knee injuries, but still capped her career among the school’s top 10 list in both points (88) and assists (28). She is also one of just eight players in school history with 30 goals and 25 assists. Prior to her injury issues, Rapinoe was making a push for a USA National Team spot and has since been invited to the USA WNT training camp.
Sari was a four-year starting midfielder for the Pilots and helped the team to an undefeated 2005 NCAA Championship run. She scored 10 goals with 15 assists in a holding midfield role for Portland. Sari has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Pilots and will continue that role while playing professionally.
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.
