(Nov. 12, 2008) -- It’s that time of year, the air is crisp, the leaves are changing colors and the women’s college soccer season is hurtling toward the College Cup. This is a fun time of year for any women’s soccer fan, but this year, there’s an added twist. With Women’s Professional Soccer on the horizon, it’s time to start daydreaming about that perfect player to fill out your team’s starting line up. And what better circumstances to judge a young player’s poise under pressure than the College Cup. So, I’ve put together a favorites list. This is a collection of my top ten collegiate seniors – players to keep an eye on in the NCAA tournament and beyond. This is a favorites list, not a “best of” list. I haven’t had the chance to see everyone play this year so a “best of” list would be suspect at best. Besides, “best” is in the eye of the beholder, my favorites are just my favorites, and who can argue with that?
Ameera Abdullah , Florida , M – The conduit. The attacking midfielder through whom the offense is run. Florida is at its best and most organized on possessions where Abdullah has a touch on the ball. Think of her as Homare Sawa Lite. She’s got great field vision and is a very accurate passer, both over distance and in tight spaces. She is comfortable with the ball at her feet. She can take on defenses and make 1 v. 1 attacks on goal herself. She wins balls in the midfield and has a tremendous work rate, which is often reflected by fantastic plays on the defensive end. She elevates the play of everyone else on the field. Exactly the kind of player I want playing in my team’s midfield.
(Brad Smith/isiphotos.com)
Yael Averbuch holds the NCAA record for the fastest goal ever scored. She netted a goal from midfield four seconds into a match in 2006.
Yael Averbuch, UNC, M – A 5’11” central midfielder who is surprisingly agile and good with the ball at her feet. In past years, she’s played a more traditional defensive midfielder role. In both games I saw this year, she was playing in the attacking midfield in support of the forwards. She’s very good defending in the air, she uses her size well to gain possession of the ball, she sees the field well and is good at spreading the ball wide and to the forwards. She takes a good corner kick, but with her height, I would imagine her next coach would prefer she be a target. She’s a very calming influence in the center of the field and I would imagine at the next level, she’ll be playing a more traditional holding midfielder role.
Greer Barnes, West Virginia, D – A wing defender who very aggressively supports the attack. The first time I saw her play she spent so much time in the attacking third of the field, it took me twenty minutes to figure out she was the left back. She makes great decisions in the offensive third, is good with the ball at her feet and can thread the ball through the middle of the field fairly efficiently. Defensively, she’s got good size and can shield attackers off the ball. She can defend well 1 v. 1 so long as she keeps the attacker in front of her. She’s very poised on the ball when she needs to clear it under pressure. My only concern about her game is that she’s not quite as fleet of foot as one would hope, but she’s probably fast enough to be a rock solid wing defender in the WPS.
Carrie Dew, Notre Dame, D – Probably my favorite player on this list. She’s an old school, no nonsense, tough as nails defender. She has tremendous 1 v. 1 defending ability, she is quick with the double team, she’s great defending in the air. She’s the anchor of a stifling Notre Dame defense. She reminds me a lot of Carla Overbeck, but she might be a better athlete and is able to contribute a bit more offensively. And the toughness can not be questioned – against Penn State, she took a ball at point blank range, square in the face – she didn’t even flinch. Most games, I imagine you wouldn’t even notice she was there – and for a central defender, that’s exactly what you want. Take a look at Notre Dame’s goals against average and you’ll know the kind of year Carrie Dew had this year. I expect her to be an immediate starter in the new league
Kerri Hanks, Notre Dame, F – One of the best offensive talents in the country. She’s at her best when she’s taking on defenders 1 v. 1. She’s got a great nose for the goal. She’s got great field vision and is as proficient at setting up her teammates as she is getting goals for herself. She’ll probably be the second offensive player taken in the draft behind Amy Rodriguez. An emotional player, Kerri Hanks is supremely talented and when things are going well, there are few players I’d rather have on my team.
(J. Brett Whitesell/isiphotos.com)
After missing much of the past two seasons with ACL injuries, Megan Rapinoe is healthy and has tallied four goals and 10 assists heading into the NCAA tournament.
Jaimel Johnson , Tennessee , GK – A ‘keeper with great range and the best kicking game at the collegiate level that I saw all year. She is extremely confident in goal and is decisive in her decision making. That is key for a goalkeeper. Even if it might not be the best decision, once a keeper commits, she has got to go with it. Nothing like changing your mind half way to the ball, to confuse your defense and insure the goal scores. She reminds me a lot of Hope Solo when Hope was her age, but she’s probably not quite as adventurous off her line. Sometimes she makes an easy save look hard, but at the same time, she can make the hard ones look easy . . . so if she winds up on your team, you might just want to up your heart meds and go with it
Nkechi Kanu, Cal, D – Not sure she’s even going to get drafted, probably should have picked Emily Zurrer here, but this is my “it’s my list, I’ll pick who I want to” selection. I just like this player. She’s a very poised and confident wing defender who serves a great ball into the center of the field and is good at getting into the attack. She’s a very savvy defender who is good at stripping the ball from larger players. She has an extremely high work rate and is running up and down that flank for a full 90. I just like her calm and confidence on the pitch. My concern? Size. She’s a small 5’3”. The players she meets at the next level will be a lot stronger than those in the Pac-10. I’m not sure how she’ll handle it, but I hope I get the chance to find out.
Katie Larkin, BYU, F – At first blush, she appears to be a pretty standard collegiate forward. A really good one, but the type of forward most Top 25 teams have. But very simply, Larkin is better than advertised. What sets her apart is a tremendous work rate. She covers the entire field, she helps on defense, she is extremely disruptive on offense. She is perpetual motion. She’s an efficient scorer, and she also takes on defenses to set up her teammates. She’s very good at pulling the goalkeeper off her line, waiting until she commits and then passing to an open teammate. She destroyed Georgia doing this in an early season matchup. She is probably the least known player on my list and probably won’t be a star in the league, but teams could do worse than having Katie Larkin as a third forward in a three-forward lineup, or on the bench as a supersub either in the midfield or up top.
(Brad Smith/isiphotos.com)
The Offensive MVP of the 2007 College Cup, Amy Rodriguez is seeking to lead USC to back-to-back NCAA titles.
Megan Rapinoe, Portland, M – A very versatile midfielder who has got a forward’s nose for the goal. She can play in the middle of the field or on the flank. She has a deft touch on the ball and is tactically quite sophisticated. She’s very poised in front of goal with an extremely quick trigger. Her running volley against Santa Clara was one of the best goals I saw all year. She is an impact player . . . and when I say impact, I mean both figuratively and literally, because she will hit you, she will hit you hard, she will hit you often. Her jersey will be grass stained before five minutes have ticked off the clock. She is the prototype “leaves it all out on the field” player. She’s really not brutal with it though, she just never steps off the accelerator to avoid a collision. While that recklessness is a large part of why she’s such a special player, and will undoubtedly be a huge part of what endears her to the home crowd at the next level, it’s also what worries me about her. Can she stay healthy playing the style she plays? No idea on that one, but I certainly would be in favor of her finding that out while wearing my home team’s uniform.
Amy Rodriguez, USC, F – Favorite list, best of list, whatever. I think this is a player about whom we can all agree – she’s a program changing talent who should be an immediate starter when she gets to the pros. If you’ve only seen her with the National Team then you’ve only seen a fraction of what she can do. She’s a far more well rounded player than she’s been able to show on the international level to date. She has tremendous 1 v. 1 ability, but she is far more than a forward with breakaway speed who sits up top waiting for someone to feed her the ball. She can and does go into the midfield to win the ball, to spread the ball around and to set up her teammates. She is a very accurate passer over distance and she can thread a ball through defenders as well as the very best midfielder. She can help on defense and despite her 5’4” frame, she doesn’t get pushed off the ball very often. She can score from anywhere, in any fashion and knows it. She is, very simply, a star. If USC is going to do anything in the tournament this year, it will be because of her play. And when draft day comes, even if your team is stocked with forwards, this is the player you want your GM to take.
Which college seniors are your favorites? Who will you be watching during the NCAA Tournament in hopes that your WPS team selects them during the 2009 WPS Draft? Let us know at the Fan Corner.
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.
