Monday, October 06, 2008
By: Washington Freedom
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 6, 2008) – As the team-building process continues across the league, Washington Freedom Head Coach Jim Gabarra knew he wanted to do what he could to add players from his W-League squad to the domestic and international talent he had already assembled for play in Women’s Professional Soccer in 2009.
So when he ended up with two of the first three picks in the WPS General Draft on Monday, he knew those picks would be familiar faces. By selecting midfielder Sarah Huffman No. 1 overall, defender Becky Sauerbrunn No. 3 overall, Lori Lindsey No. 17 overall and defender Emily Janss No. 28 overall, the newest members of the Freedom now find themselves moving on with the team instead of having to move.
“We’re fortunate that we can get four of the players who have been around here the past couple of years,” said Gabarra, whose W-League team won the 2007 championship and reached the semifinals in 2008.
Heading into the draft, Gabarra wanted to balance keeping players from previous Freedom squads in Washington with what the team needed, while being mindful of what players and positions would be in high demand.
“The way I see it, and I could be wrong, most teams needed wide players and defenders with the exception of Los Angeles and New Jersey/New York – they needed goalkeepers as well,” Gabarra said. “Huffman’s value to us is her versatility. She did very well for us in a wide midfield role. In Norway she is playing wide forward and she can also play as a wide defender.”
Filling the need for a player on the outside with Huffman, Gabarra then addressed the need for a defender with Sauerbrunn’s selection.
“Becky’s a solid defender that’s been in with the National Team, she played in China in the Four Nations Cup,” Gabarra said. “I think she will be a good pairing next to Cat [Whitehill].”
Having been with the Freedom since the 2003 WUSA championship season, Lindsey also remains in Washington and should be another attacking midfielder Gabarra thinks can challenge for a starting job.
“Lori’s a link to the WUSA and she’s sacrificed and invested a lot with the Freedom the past five years,” Gabarra said. “She’s someone who will do anything to play the game.”
Janss is also a former WUSA player, playing with the New York Power from 2001-2003, and also fills the need at defense. Like Lindsey, Janss is one of the longest tenured members of the Freedom, having joined the team in 2004, and has sacrificed a lot to play with the team in the past.
“She’s someone with strong local ties, a very versatile wide player,” Gabarra said. “She’s a very attack-minded defender but can also play midfield. She’s done very well adjusting to defender.”
Gabarra’s picks had a decidedly local ACC flair – Huffman, Sauerbrunn and Lindsey all graduated from the University of Virginia while Janss graduated from the University of Maryland – which he hopes will help fans relate to the team more.
“A lot of it is local ties,” Gabarra said. “You want players your fans can relate to. We’ve had a good working relationship with Virginia. Steve Swanson likes the way some of our youth players are being developed.”
With the four players drafted Monday, the Freedom now have 13 players to which they have the WPS playing rights for, including six international players. Per league rules teams are allowed to roster up to five international players and maintain the rights to a sixth player for one year.
On Friday, the Freedom added the rights to Norwegian forward Lene Mykjåland through the league’s discovery process. The Freedom also acquired the rights to Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod through the discovery process. During the international draft Washington acquired the rights to Japan’s Homare Sawa, France’s Sonia Bompastor and Louisa Necib and Australia’s Lisa De Vanna.
WPS will hold combines on the West and East coasts in the month of December before holding the next draft in January. In February teams will hold tryouts in their markets to fill out rosters in preparation of the opening of camp in March.
Washington Freedom 2009 Season Tickets are now on sale. To purchase your seat at the Maryland SoccerPlex visit www.washingtonfreedom.com or call Danielle Hitzeman or Marc Dombek at (202) 547-KICK.
