A Proud Representation for US Youth Soccer
US Youth Soccer alumnae players selected in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft and 2016 NWSL College Draft, are on their way to fulling their dream of having a professional career in the beautiful game.
Six of the top 10 players selected in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft have US Youth Soccer ties, including the first overall pick and 2014 US Youth Soccer National Champion, Jack Harrison.
Harrison, who will ultimately end up playing professional soccer in the same state he played youth soccer after being traded to NYCFC, won three US Youth Soccer Region I Championships and the 2014 US Youth Soccer National Championships with Manhattan SC PSG 96 (NY-E). Harrison also won the Golden Ball at the 2014 National Championships, given to the most valuable field player.
“It was a great experience under coach Wilson [Egidio] who did a great job with training, which was obviously great for my development especially being so young,” Harrison said. “Playing in all of the different tournaments, whether it was regionals or nationals, it was a great experience, and I’m glad I could share it with the guys on [Manhattan PSG]. They are amazing guys. I still keep in contact with them now, and they have been so supportive.”
The 2016 MLS SuperDraft took place in the Baltimore Convention Center in conjunction with the US Youth Soccer Workshop at the NSCAA Convention. Of the 20 players who were drafted in the first round, 12 played youth soccer in the United States, and 10 have US Youth Soccer backgrounds.
Joshua Yaro, the second pick in the draft, played club soccer for Santa Barbara SC (CA-S) and represented Cal South at the 2011 US Youth Soccer ODP Championships. Yaro’s former college teammate and fellow Philadelphia Union draftee, Keegan Rosenberry, is a US Youth Soccer National League alum, and reached the finals of the 2011 National Championships with Penn Fusion (PA-E).
“I played for Penn Fusion for the longest time; for me I was never part of a true academy system. So my US Youth Soccer club was the closest thing I had to that, and for us we felt we could compete at the academy level,” Rosenberry said. “To be with teammates with top class talent and coaches that run their organization in a professional way, it was a lot easier to transition to Georgetown. It was a lot easier to develop as a player. Obviously it was an honor to be a part of and it helped my development as a player. “
Rounding out the top 10 were a trio of former US Youth Soccer ODP Players in the fourth pick Brandon Vincent (CA-S), eighth pick Andrew Tarbell (LA) and 10th pick Jordan McCrary (GA).
“Going through tryouts for [US Youth Soccer] ODP at the youth level puts pressure on you. So you have to learn and grow up quickly,” Tarbell said. “The higher levels up you get, the more pressure and things like that there are. There were some fantastic times in my life for development with the coaching staff and the organizations there. A huge part of my development came from the Olympic Development Program.”
“ODP was great. Tony Annan was one of my coaches, and coaches like that are the reason why I am where I am,” McCrary said.
14th pick Kyle Fisher and 16th pick Cole Seiler both played club at CESA (SC), where they played in multiple Region III Championships and National League events. Emmanuel Appiah, who was selected with the 15th pick, won a National League title and played in the 2010 National Championships with Blast FC (OH-S).
Of the 36 Americans drafted at the 2016 NWSL Draft in Baltimore, 34 grew up playing US Youth Soccer, with a majority having competed in multiple US Youth Soccer programs.
With the first overall pick, the Portland Thorns selected Virginia defender Emily Sonnett, who played her youth soccer with NASA Elite (GA). Sonnett won the Golden Ball while helping NASA 12 Elite II to the 2013 US Youth Soccer Under-19 National Championship, and she credited her youth coaches for helping her advance to where she is today.
“Winning the National Championship at the U-19 level is a great way to go out [in your youth soccer career],” Sonnett said in a September 2015 interview with US Youth Soccer. “It was a goal my teammates and I had for a very long time. To be able to come back and finish up by winning was great.”
All 16 Americans drafted in the first two rounds played US Youth Soccer, and 15 participated in US Youth Soccer ODP and 13 were part of teams that advanced to at least the Regional Championships stage of the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series.
Each of the eight American players selected in the first round of the draft participated in both US Youth Soccer ODP and the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series.
Sonnett’s NASA team also competed for multiple years in the US Youth Soccer National League, where she finished as the leading scorer in her age group in the 2010-11 season. Including Sonnett, three of the first five Americans drafted played in the National League — No. 3 pick Christen Westphal played for Internationals (OH-N) and No. 7 pick Cheyna Williams competed in the league with United FA (GA).
This marked the second straight season that the No. 1 overall draft pick in the NWSL Draft was an alumna of US Youth Soccer NCS, US Youth Soccer National League and US Youth Soccer ODP. In 2015, Morgan Brian was selected first overall after having competed in all three programs as a youth player.
In all, the 2016 NWSL Draft featured 29 US Youth Soccer ODP alumnae, 30 players who competed in the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series and 11 players who were part of US Youth Soccer National League teams.
The first two goalkeepers selected in the draft — picks No. 26 Britt Eckerstrom and No. 27 Abby Smith — also hold a unique connection. In addition to each having played in multiple US Youth Soccer programs, both keepers were finalists for the 2009 US Youth Soccer Save of the Year award.
2016 MLS SuperDraft
–Round 1–
1. Jack Harrison – NYCFC (E-NY) *#
2. Joshua Yaro – Philadelphia Union (CA-S)^
3. Keegan Rosenberry – Philadelphia Union (E-PA) *#
4. Brandon Vincent – Chicago Fire (CA-S)^
8. Andrew Tarbell – San Jose Earthquakes (LA)^
10. Jordan McCrary – New England Revolution (GA)^
14. Kyle Fisher – Montreal Impact (SC) *#
15. Emmanuel Appiah – Colorado Rapids (OH-S) *#
16. Cole Seiler– Vancouver Whitecaps FC (SC) ^*#
17. Ryan Herman– FC Dallas (WA) ^
2016 NWSL Draft
— Round 1 —
No. 1 – Emily Sonnett – Portland Thorns FC (GA) ^*#
No. 3 – Christen Westphal – Boston Breakers (OH-N) ^*#
No. 4 – Carson Pickett – Seattle Reign FC (FL) ^*
No. 5 – Cari Roccaro – Houston Dash (E-NY) ^*
No. 7 – Cheyna Williams – Washington Spirit (GA) ^*#
No. 8 – Janine Beckie – Houston Dash (CO) ^*
No. 9 – Michaela Hahn – Western NY Flash (FL) ^*
No. 10 – Samantha Witteman – Orlando Pride (CA-S) ^*
^ = US Youth Soccer ODP, * = US Youth Soccer NCS, # = US Youth Soccer National League
(US Youth Soccer State Association in parentheses)
