University of North Carolina's Heath No 1 in WPS draft

By Kate Harman, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: January 16, 2010

As expected, Tobin Heath, a midfielder who helped win three national titles in four years at North Carolina, was picked first by expansion Atlanta Beat in the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer draft held yesterday at the Convention Center.

Heath, from Basking Ridge, N.J., was on the U.S. National Team that won the Olympic gold medal in 2008.

The Boston Breakers then selected forward Lauren Cheney from UCLA with the second overall pick that they obtained from the Independence for national team forward Amy Rodriguez.

The first goalkeeper selected was Alyssa Naeher from Penn State. Chosen by the Breakers with the 11th pick, Naeher was a member of the 2008 U-20 Women's World Cup team that won the title for the first time since 2002.

Naeher's teammate at Penn State, forward Katie Schoepfer went 26th overall to New Jersey's Sky Blue FC.

"I had been told I could go in the first, second or third rounds, so I wasn't sure where I was going to end up," Schoepfer said. "Not that I need to, but I'm going to use this as extra motivation to say 'You should have picked me sooner,' " said Schoepfer.

Other local players selected included Rutgers goalkeeper Erin Guthrie who was picked by FC Gold Pride (32d overall) and fellow Scarlet Knight Jennifer Anzivinio who was taken by the Independence, but was later traded to Sky Blue FC.

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