Sophie Reiser is the newest member of the Chicago Red Stars and was the #42 pick in the 2010 WPS draft. From Columbia University Sophie is the first ever Ivy League player to be drafted in WPS. Below is Sophie’s account on her trip from New York to Philadelphia for the WPS Draft, NSCAA convention and all of the exciting events that took place.

 

"Going into draft day I had the opportunity of getting to attend the event, as the travel from New York to Philadelphia is not long, and some of the people at Columbia that have been incredibly supportive of me playing soccer - my coaches, athletics administrator, and one of our professor's, Sunil Gulati - encouraged me to come down. Taking the train down from New York to Philadelphia for the WPS draft was surprisingly a pretty calming ride. I'd been waiting for draft day, the 15th of January, to come for so long and spent so much energy and time being nervous thinking about it for the previous few weeks that by the time it actually came I felt surprisingly relaxed knowing that what would happen that day was completely out of my control. I was in great company in the draft room with one of our athletics directors from Columbia, Jackie Blackett, keeping my mind at ease as she usually does. This helped the first hour of the draft fly by. I knew that the draft would be pretty long, but the wait was exciting hearing all of the great players that got picked, and I was really looking forward to seeing the Red Stars coaches again as I had the chance to meet them at an open tryout in Chicago back in December. 
 

Following the announcement of the Red Stars choosing me in the fifth round, it was really exciting getting to take pictures with head coach Emma Hayes and the staff as well as answer questions from the reporters. Being the first player to get drafted from the Ivy League attracted most of the attention, and I was thrilled to be able to represent the League. Other questions were about how I would fit in with Chicago, and with WPS teams in such a wide variety of cities, I couldn't have been happier to be going to such a great organization. Later that day I got to meet some of the other new players, Whitney Engen and Jill Loyden, as well as current player Ella Masar, which was great. It was pretty surreal as we were able to sign autographs and stickers for some of the Red Stars fans that came out to the NSCAA convention.  All of the girls were such pros at it and it was a fun experience. Getting my first glimpse of the team and the program on draft day was so exciting, I can't wait to meet the rest of the team and relive it all throughout the season. I am so thankful to have had so much support from my school, with Kevin McCarthy, Jackie Blackett, and Professor Gulati being a part of the process with me and being so encouraging. I know that a lot of players outside the first round don't get the chance to come to the draft, but I was really fortunate to get that opportunity and had a great time meeting some of the other Red Stars players, supporters, and staff after the draft.  Chicago is going to be a great fit for me - the city sounds fantastic and we are going to have a great team this year."

 

-Sophie Reiser