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| Received On: 7/6/2021 |
My first return this period came from NWSL forward, Cece Kizer.
Kizer was drafted by the Houston Dash with the 13th overall pick of the 2019 NWSL College Draft out of Ole Miss University. Kizer's collegiate career was nothing short of amazing from start to finish, as her official Ole Miss page details quite well. From her freshman year where she ranked as one of the best freshmen in the college ranks and ranked in the top 5 in the SEC in points/goals/points per game, her junior season where she became the first from her alma matter to get named a United Soccer Coaches All American, through her senior year where she became Ole Miss' all time leader in career goals and points. Since turning pro Kizer later became a member of the Racing Louisville football club in an expansion draft and became one of their key core members of the future. Notably she scored the first ever goal for the club this past April, forever leaving her mark.
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| Received On: 7/6/2021 |
Next up are a couple of returns from another Racing Louisville FC forward, Emina Ekic.
Ekic was drafted by the Louisville FC fifth overall out of the University of Louisville in the 2021 NWSL Draft. Ekic's collegiate career was quite impressive as it proceeded a very decorated high school career that saw her take home Gatorade Player of the Year honors two years in a row. Her Louisville Cardinals page is incredibly detailed and a lengthly list of awards and honors she earned. Chief among them is her ACC Offensive Player of the Year Award in her senior year. Going into the draft she had the talent and track record to more than justify being taken at such a high spot in the draft, throw on top of it the fact that she would be getting drafted by her home team (Ekic hails from Louisville, KY and went to the University of Louisville to boot after all) it was a very nice moment for all. Ekic scored a goal and an assist in the first ever game the Louisville club won on 5/21/2021, here's to many more awesome moments like that for the hometown hero.
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| Received On: 07/10/2021 |
Next up is a return from Cleveland pitching prospect Lenny Torres.
Torres was drafted by the Cleveland baseball team in the first round of the 2018 MLB Player Draft out of Beacon High School. The Poughkeepsie native (yup, he's practically a neighbor) is armed with a mid-90's fastball that has been clocked at 98 mph, as well as a slider and changeup. Torres suffered a bit of a setback in his first few seasons due to requiring Tommy John surgery in 2019, but he's still young enough that he can make up for lost time and show the world just what made him a stellar weapon as a potential starter. Hopefully one day he can be on an affiliate that plays against the Hudson Valley Renegades and he gets a warm hometown welcome.
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| Received On: 7/17/2021 |
Here's a return from forward Ashley Hatch.
Hatch was originally drafted by the North Carolina Courage as the second overall pick of the 2017 NWSL College Draft out of Brigham Young University. During her time at BYU she'd set school records en route to routinely being considered the best player in her conference, winning several Player of the Week honors and eventually being named one of the best in the country all making for a great resume. After turning pro she was part of a fun Courage team that went all the way to the Championship Finals in 2017 but lost to the Portland Thorns. Although Hatch won the NWSL Rookie of the Year Award. Hatch was eventually traded to the Washington Spirit in exchange for Crystal Dunn, earlier this season Hatch scored two goals against her former team during a 2-0 win for the Spirit.
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| Received On: 07/21/2021 |
Next up is a return from Morgan Weaver.
Weaver was drafted by the Portland Thorns as the second overall pick in the 2020 NWSL draft out of Washington State University. While at WSU she immediately had an impact as she appeared in all 19 matches as a freshman and led her team with eight goals, 17 points and an assist. Three of those goals were game winners. From there on she'd improve and play pivotal roles in program history, such as when she scored the only goal in a 1-0 upset against the number one ranked UCLA in 2018. She made her professional debut just last year in June of 2020, and this season she has been a crucial part of a Thorns team that is currently in first place and looking to keep it that way.
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| Received On 7/26/2021 |
Here's a return from Louisville midfielder, Taylor Otto.
Otto was drafted by the Racing Louisville FC in the second round of the 2021 NWSL draft out of North Carolina University. While at NC Otto redshirted in her freshman year to compete in the U20 World Cup in 2016 and really got going in the collegiate ranks in her sophomore season as she'd play in all 22 games and even recorded a hat trick. In her junior and senior seasons she'd play crucial roles while in the NCAA tournament and ACC tournament, when all was said and done she'd won All-ACC honors during all four years of her collegiate career. She made her NWSL debut earlier this season back in April.
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| Received On: 7/28/2021 |
My last return this month is an awesome signature from midfielder, Bri Visalli.
Visalli was originally drafted by the Chicago Red Stars in the second round of the 2018 NWSL Draft out of Pepperdine University. Her freshman year was a sign of things to come as she played in 22 of all 23 games and scored seven points en route to a WCC All Freshman team nomination, by the time she was a senior she became an All-American and also won West Coast Conference Player of the Year Honors. Despite this she was never really given a chance at the professional level in Chicago and she wound up leaving the Red Stars and went to play for West Ham United in FA WSL (the highest level women's soccer league over in England), Visalli has both American and British citizenship BTW. She made her professional career debut with West Ham and was part of a team that made it all the way to the finals before losing to Manchester City. Visalli was on the move shortly after and went to Birmingham City for 2019. Her season was shortened due to her recovering from surgery for a medical condition but she did eventually return to the field. Visalli returned to the NWSL as a member of the Houston Dash in 2020 and so far her second time in the league has been better for her compared to the first. Fingers crossed that it only gets better from here on out.
And those were my returns this past month. Big thanks to Ms. Kizer, Ekic, Hatch, Weaver, Otto and Visalli, and Mr. Torres for the awesome autographs.
As always thank you (the readers) for stopping by. Take care.
2021 TTM Count: 33
Sources:
NWSL all over the place! Cool successes.
ReplyDeleteA nice change of pace I'd say.
DeleteI just bought a box of NWSL cards when I saw them at Target. Hoping to pull an Alex Morgan and some of the Japanese ladies that are in the league.
ReplyDeleteGood luck.
DeleteOh wow fun. One of these days I need to kit a Gothams game.
ReplyDeleteIs "kit"-ting something a phrase people say?
Deletesomehow wrote kit instead of hit…
Delete