2011 is Pivotal for WPS

The 2010 WPS Season certainly was a mixed bag for the fledgling professional league. The loss of the Los Angeles Sol and St. Louis Athletica was shocking and came with little warning to many in the know. The addition of a Western New York franchise is certainly a step in the right direction. It is unclear whether this new franchise will reach the heights of the Philadelphia Independence or struggle like the Atlanta Beat. It is just hard to tell with expansion teams. Let’s explore a blueprint for building this team:

Via Expansion Draft (November 4th): The expansion draft doesn’t offer much help this season due to the incredible number of free agents. I would hope Western New York has the sense to draft defender Heather Mitts, who is a household name in women’s soccer and is a leader on the pitch. Mitts could provide some stability for a young franchise, something that is utterly important.

Via Free Agency: This is a best-case scenario considering the weak pool of unprotected players.  You could build a championship team with free agents alone, but it is always buyer beware. The first priority should be to sign Hope Solo, who is arguably the best woman goalkeeper in the world.  She could easily start for most MLS clubs as well (if she were allowed).  Building the attack would come next with Mitts and Solo as the defensive core.

Two Sky Blue players, midfielder Yael Averbuch and striker Natasha Kai, would bring the new franchise some offensive options and exciting play.  It would also be tough to pass on midfielders Carli Lloyd and Shannon Boxx. Young defender Brittany Bock would be a building block on the backline.

Via WPS Draft: The choices we have suggested above would be rather expensive so the college draft will be ever so important.  Western New York should draft for depth and youth, providing a platform for collegiate stars to become professional ones.  It is unclear what kind of resources this expansion team would immediately have.  They may not want to blow their budget the first year only to make cuts in the second.  The draft will determine the success of the team over the long-term. 

Whatever the case, 2011 will be a “make or break” season for WPS.  I know many doubters thought they wouldn’t make it this far, but the new Western New York club gives us hope for the future of women’s soccer.  There are lots of questions marks, but the league office (even without Commissioner Tonya Antonucci) looks to have strong leadership that weathered restructuring and is now poised to move forward.  Out of fairness, we need to understand that it look over a decade for MLS to become stable so we need to be patient with WPS and wish them the best.