A trade between the Los Angeles Sol and Saint Louis Athletica, announced on May 8, had defender Kendall Fletcher packing up her bags and leaving sunny LA for St. Louis, Mo. Fletcher, along with forward Christie Welsh were traded to the Athletica in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2010 and a first round draft pick in 2011. Fletcher, who was picked third in the second round of the 2009 WPS Draft, played in only one game for the Sol.  Women’s Professional Soccer spoke with Fletcher about how the transition from the Sol to the Athletica has been for her both on and off the field.

Women’s Professional Soccer: How has the move been for you from a tactical stand point in terms of learning the playing style and adjusting to the playing style of the Athletica?

Kendall Fletcher: It’s actually been a pretty easy transition. I think I understand the style [the team] wants to play. I remember the first time we played Athletica, when I was on the Sol, I was really impressed with their style. I really liked how they played because they were very aggressive, they were very dynamic and they just worked hard all over the field and that fits my style of play really well. So for me tactically, it was a pretty easy transition. Working with Jorge and just getting through the language barrier was an adjustment at first, as I think it was for everyone, but it’s actually a lot easier then you might think. I think because of the language barrier that we actually communicate a lot more and we do it a lot better than most teams.

WPS: I know you’ve played with teammates Lori Chalpuny, Angie Woznuk, Hope Solo and Kerri Hanks before. How have you been fitting in with your teammates? Has that been an easy transition for you since you already knew some of the players on the team?

KF: It’s been a really easy transition. The one great thing about this team is that they’re a pretty close knit team and they enjoy each other on the field and off the field, so stepping in on this team has been a lot of fun for me. Getting to play with some of my old teammates especially Lori has been awesome. I always enjoyed playing with Lori because she’s the type of player that, when you play with her, you just want to play better, you want to play harder and she makes you a better player by playing with her. It has also been nice getting to know new players like Eniola Aluko and other internationals. Just being teammates with them for an extended period of time has been a lot of fun and getting to know them not only on the field but off the field as well.

WPS: Why do you think the Athletica and Head Coach Jorge Barcellos wanted you in his program? What is the best quality you bring to the playing field?

KF: Jorge likes to play with a lot of passion. I think you can see that in him on the sidelines and it definitely comes across in practices, but I think he just wants to play with passion and play with heart and that is something that I can bring. I also bring a lot of communication onto the field and that is something they were looking for after losing Daniela. You can’t really replace Daniela; she is something special, but I can bring that energy, that passion and that work rate in the midfield.

WPS: You mentioned how it has been great to hang out with and meet your new teammates off the field.  What exactly do you do off the field? What do you do for fun in St. Louis?

KF: I’m still trying to sort that out, but I’ve kind of gotten myself settled in now. We hang out a lot with the girls, we’ll go get something to eat and we’ll go watch movies. It’s nice to go to St. Louis Cardinals games every now and then. We also like to explore what’s going on - we’ll go down to the loop and things like that. The team really enjoys St. Louis a lot and all it has to offer. It really depends on the time we have and what we’re doing, but I’ve seen a little bit and I expect to do a lot more.

WPS:  How important is your upcoming game against the Freedom?

KF:  I think it’s another great matchup. Going into the Boston game we were tied [with the Breakers in WPS standings], so it was a great head to head match. Now again, with the Freedom, they’re right there on our heels in terms of the standings, so it’s another head to head match. Whoever comes out of the game on top can steal a place ahead in the standings, so I think it is going to be huge. Coming off a great game like Boston, we want to continue that momentum of playing great and improve on what we need to improve on. It’s especially important going into LA. We only want to take it a game at a time, so Washington is our focus, but if you get a good result there you’re building your confidence for two games going into playing the top seeded LA next Wednesday.

The Saint Louis Athletica will match up against the Washington Freedom this Saturday at Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo. Kickoff is scheduled for 2pm EST. The Athletic will then host the Los Angeles Sol next Wednesday, June 24th. Kickoff will start at 8pm EST.