In advance of Friday’s 2009 WPS Draft, we asked Stacy Wahlberg, who writes for beulahsports.com, how she believes the selections will unfold.  Here was her response.  Follow the 2009 WPS Draft beginning at 10:30am ET on January 16 at womensprosoccer.com .

Icy roads, freezing temperatures, a layer of frost on my deck – nothing says soccer like a cold winter day . . . . well, OK, maybe not.  But the 2009 WPS Draft is just days away on January 16 at the NSCAA Convention in St. Louis (9:30 a.m. CT at Room 276 in America’s Center) and there are issues of concern for any good fan.  While the core of most teams is fairly well established, there are impact players to be had, sleepers to be found and benches to fill out.  Where is your favorite player going?  Who knows, but I’m up for some speculating on this dreary winter afternoon.  How about you?

WPS Mock Draft 2009

1. BOSTON BREAKERS - We’ll start easy, because I think there’s only one answer here.  Rodriguez, they will take USC forward, Amy Rodriguez.  Best player in the draft by far.  It doesn’t matter that Boston seems pretty stacked at forward, it would be a mistake to bypass Rodriguez.  I wouldn’t want to be the coach or GM who took someone else because they didn’t “need” a forward.  She has speed, she can create for herself and others, she can finish from anywhere and very efficiently, she is tactically sophisticated and technically skilled, she has a calm demeanor and is as effective when things are going poorly as she is when things are going well.  She is a complete player and an impact player.  Very simply, she is a star.

Other possibilities:  There are no rational ones.  But let’s pretend.  Notre Dame’s Carrie Dew would work well with this team.  She is a central defender in the mold of Carla Overbeck.  She’s a wonderful leader and keeps her defense on a string.  She’d pair very well with Amy LePellibet in the central defense.  UCLA’s Christina DiMartino would also be a nice fit with this team.  She’s a central midfielder and Boston could use an engine type player so Kristine Lilly, Angela Hucles and the forwards could concentrate on finishing.  She can keep an offense going and she’s got plenty of skills in the attacking third all of her own.  Ultimately though, I really don’t see DiCicco passing on Rodriguez.

2. CHICAGO RED STARS – Megan Rapinoe, M/F, Portland.  I know almost nothing about Emma Hayes and the style she prefers.  What I do know is that she appears to have made all of her previous selections with a style in mind.  This is a team built for speed.  I’m guessing, fast, one touch, offensive soccer.  So, I’m going with a versatile offensive player who can play an attractive one touch style.  Rapinoe can play forward or any position in the midfield and she will play that position with gusto.  She has a tireless work rate and scored one of the most impressive goals of the season against Santa Clara.  The only thing that makes this a slightly risky pick is health concerns with her knees.  If Chicago is willing to take a chance, this could be their choice.

Other possibilities:  A few players come to mind.  First, Christina DiMartino, UCLA, M.  She knows how to play this style – it’s what she played in college.  She’s a creative attacking midfielder who can also finish in the attacking third.  She’s also got a former teammate in Danesha Adams on the roster and I would imagine having former teammates on these rosters would be an advantage in the development and chemistry of these teams.  Second option, Kerri Hanks, F, Notre Dame.  If Chicago decides they have enough depth in the midfield, Hanks is the choice.  She can play in a fast offense and is comfortable with the ball at her feet.  She’d fit in with this team nicely.  Third option, they could go in a completely different direction and shore up the defense. Notre Dame’s Carrie Dew.  I think she’s the best defender in the draft and would be fantastic in the center of this defense.

3. FC GOLD PRIDE (BAY AREA) – Christina DiMartino, M, UCLA.  They need someone to run the offense.  If I felt better that Anja Mittag was going to be on this team at the start of the season and be there all year long, I might make another selection here.  But without that piece of knowledge, I think DiMartino would be a prudent pick.  This team is thin in the midfield and they need a strong personality in the center of the field to make a very diverse set of offensive personalities flow.

Other possibilities:  Carrie Dew, D, ND.  This team is also thin in the central defense – if they go defense, they’ll go with Carrie Dew.  I do like the defensive personalities already on the roster, though and some of the players who generally play on the wing could switch inside if necessary.  I think they need someone who is going to pull that offense together more than anything, so I would guess a central attacking midfielder will go here.  So Notre Dame’s Brittany Bock or Florida’s Ameera Abdullah, might also be possibilities.

4. SKY BLUE FC (NY/NJ) – Jen Branam, GK, UNC.  I had to go off the rails somewhere, this is it.  This team is really pretty solid on all lines at this point so they can take a chance. Cori Alexander is a solid goalkeeper, but Branam could have been a National Team star had she not been derailed by injury. She has good range, is good with her feet in the run of play, has a tremendous kicking game and is solid on her line.  The question, as with all players who have been out of college for more than a year and not playing in a national team program, is whether she’s game ready.  Fitness, mentality, tactics – these are the things a player loses when she’s been out of the game for a few years.  That’s the risk.  It’s one I think I’d take here.  They might be able to wait for the second round to do this, but it’s definitely something I’d be contemplating were I in charge.

Other possibilities:  Carrie Dew again.  If they didn’t have Christie Rampone, I’d select Dew here.  As it is, I think they can make a bigger splash with an elite goalkeeper.  I think a central attacking midfielder could be a good choice here as well.  Bock or Abdullah are possibilities once again.  A defensive midfielder would be an interesting choice here.  UNC’s Yael Averbuch didn’t participate in the WPS Combines, but she would be a good option here as well.  She can play as a holding midfielder or in more of an attacking role.  She’d provide some nice stability and versatility for this group.

5. LOS ANGELES SOL – Carrie Dew, D, Notre Dame.  They need an anchor for the defense, she’s a fantastic one.  In my opinion, she’s the second best player in this draft and she only fell this far on my board because the teams selecting second, third and fourth had greater needs.  She is the best central defender I have seen in the college game in a long, long time.  She can dictate a game from the back.  She reads the game brilliantly, she generally connects well with the midfield, is able to start the offense out of the back, and she is a nice target on set pieces.  She has a maturity and a calm that sets the tone for her defense in good times and bad.  There is no panic in this player.

Other possibilities:  I think they could use some speed on the wing.  Allie Long, M, UNC could be an option here.  Depending on how she looked at the combine, Sheree Gray, M, Penn State, would be an interesting pick here.  I always felt she never quite realized her potential with Penn State.  She did have moments of absolute brilliance.  I’m just not sure if I’d take the chance on her in the first round though.  I would imagine Kerri Hanks would be on LA’s radar if she is still available.  I’m not sure LA needs another forward, but Hanks definitely has the skill set to play on the midfield flank.  If she’s willing, she could be a dangerous weapon on the outside.

6. SAINT LOUIS ATHLETICA – a defender, any defender.  If I’m Saint Louis, I’m saying a little prayer that Carrie Dew falls this far, but I’ll be surprised if she does.  Saint Louis is very thin on defense.  Any one of a number of defenders could go here.  Illinois’s Emily Zurrer, West Virginia’s Greer Barnes, Florida State’s Sarah Wagenfuhr, Florida’s Melanie Booth, Stanford’s Marisa Abegg – without being at the combine, I have no clue who to pick, but it would be the defender who has the strongest defensive skillset left on the board.  If I have to come up with a name, I’ll pick Emily Zurrer.

Other possibilities:  I repeat, pick a defender, any defender . . .

7. WASHINGTON FREEDOM – Greer Barnes, D, West Virginia.  The Freedom needs some wing play and Barnes is tremendous out of the back.  She’s not terribly fleet of foot, but she does get into the offense very effectively and reads the game well enough to get back on defense when needed.  And, she’s local-ish.  That seemed to be very important to the Freedom with their prior selections.

Other possibilities:  The Freedom are a little light in the athleticism and speed departments so some speedy wings in either the midfield or on defense would be good selections here.  Allie Long, M, UNC would be a nice selection.  I’d rather see Washington go with a defender though.  With the questionable health of Cat Whitehill as she is working her way back from an ACL tear, having another defender of starting caliber on the roster would be wise.  Another option is to just select the best player available.  Somehow I got down to the seventh pick and I still have Kerri Hanks on my draft board.  She’d provide some speed for this team, and she’d be a steal with this selection.  Since this is a snake draft, the Freedom could pick up the defender of their choice on the turn.

Potential Sleepers: 

With a start up league, anyone who hasn’t been playing for a year or two is a question mark.  If some of those players have kept their skills current, they could be real finds and tremendous additions to any team.  In addition, some of the players mentioned in my mock draft above could be sleepers if they drop.  My top five sleepers are as follows:

Ameera Abdullah, M, Florida.  Florida’s offense was at its best when it ran through Abdullah.  She is a tremendous distributor, sees the field well and made the Florida forwards look a little bit better than they actually were. She’s a player who I always felt would be a star if she asserted herself more.  If there’s a coach out there who could flip that switch with her, convince her that she’s one of the best players on the field and she should defer to no one, I think she could be a gem.

Brittany Bock, M, Notre Dame.  She was not at her best in the College Cup because of an injury that kept her from participating in the WPS Combines.  She’s the kind of player who very quietly makes her team better though.  Early in the season when Bock was 100%, Notre Dame was one of the smoothest most professional looking offenses I have seen at the collegiate level.  They looked far less than that in the Big East Tournament and College Cup. The difference was Brittany Bock.  A team like FC Gold Pride, with all of those diverse offensive personalities would really benefit from a midfielder like Bock to pull it all together.

Jen Branam, GK, UNC.  As I discussed above, she was National Team caliber before she was injured.  If she goes after the first round, stays healthy and is even 80% of what she was, she will be the steal of the draft.

Katie Larkin, F, BYU.  She has the potential to be a great spark off the bench or a third forward in a three-forward formation.  She is a very efficient goal scorer who can score in a variety of ways.  She can create for others as well as for herself.  She reads goalkeepers very well.  She has the indefinable “it” that special players have.  I think she’s going to surprise some people.

Maggie Tomecka, M, UNC.  An old favorite of mine.  No clue how she looks at this point, if she’s game ready, if she’s fit.  If she is, she has the potential to be one of the top holding midfielders in the league.  She is a tall defensive midfielder of the Shannon Boxx variety.  She is tough defensively, both on the ground and in the air, is a strong ball winner, sees the field well and is able to switch the point of the attack fairly efficiently.  She is a high risk, high reward proposition.  She has the potential to be brilliant.  At the same time, it’s been a few years since she’s played competitively so it has the potential to be a wasted draft pick as well.  I’d bank on brilliance though; I absolutely loved the way she played in college.

Stacy Wahlberg is a freelance writer and can be reached at beulahbbell@yahoo.com . More of her work can be found at www.beulahsports.com . The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Women’s Professional Soccer or womensprosoccer.com .