expansion un-draft recap
Friday’s expansion draft was the first significant step (hopefully) in NWSL roster shake-up this offseason. The hope is the conclusion of the draft means free agents will begin to sign now that teams won’t have to put them on their Protected Players list. In our latest post about free agency, I foolishly suggested player signings would move quickly, having assumed recently signed players would be exempt from being included in the expansion draft (would be a good rule!).
A quick rundown of how the expansion draft works: Every team is allowed to protect 9 players from the expansion draft. Those lists came out a couple days before the draft. Players not protected were available to be picked by either Bay FC or Utah Royals FC. Teams were also allowed to make deals with the expansion squads to avoid having a player taken. One of the deals Wave made was sending Kaleigh Riehl to Utah in exchange for Utah not taking one of their players from the unprotected list. But this also meant Bay FC could potentially take 2 players from Wave’s unprotected list.
Make sense? Doesn’t matter, none of this eventually mattered to SDWFC, but we’ll get into that later.
Firstly, read a more in-depth piece about why the current edition of the Expansion Draft is silly and stinks from Jeff Kassouf here.
It’s important to read the article because it gives context and perspective to what occurred (and is still happening) during and after. The best summation comes off the top of the article:
“Teams obviously dread it, because some new, shiny object has come along to pick apart the squad they worked hard to build. Players loathe it, because in a league that has historically offered them no direct right to choose where they play, they could be told to pack up and move without consent from them or their current team, as a trade scenario could at least offer.”
A reminder that NWSL free agency is only in Year 2 of existence, in regards to “a league that has historically offered [players] no direct right to choose where they play…”
Before the draft, I made a list of players I hoped Wave would protect. Riehl was the only difference between my list and the teams (they protected Kristen McNabb). Of course, Riehl was moved before the official list came out. I never updated it with my replacement choice but it would have been Kyra Carusa or Sierra Enge.
Why protect Riehl?
While Abby Dahlkemper looked phenomenal in her return to play late last season, she had a pretty serious back injury and hasn’t tested it in a full season grind. I’d like Casey Stoney and Co. to ease her back (hehe, or boo idc) and Riehl has been a godsend of a stopgap there. But she’s also too good to be a spot starter and deserves to play full time somewhere. So we salute you, Kaleigh Riehl, for your sacrifice, your service, and we wish luck except anytime you play the mighty Wavé.
Why protect Carusa?
I understand why they protected McNabb: with protection from Utah already, you assume Bay FC wouldn’t take both Sofia Jakobsson and Carusa, so you’re comfortable leaving them unprotected. Keeping McNabb also means only having to fill the right back position this offseason–Christen Westphal is a free agent and all potential replacements (Cheyenne Shorts, Chai Cortez, Mia Gyau) are no longer on the team. [Sheesh, just realized they currently have only 3 experienced defenders on the roster] Back to Carusa, she is the only out-and-out striker on this team. When Alex Morgan had her goal-scoring yips, I hoped Stoney would move to pairing them up top so maybe some of these chances got divided up between the two. Something I’d like to see in 2024 is Stoney subbing on Carusa for a central midfielder and pivoting formations rather than the usual winger for winger move Stoney usually does. Need Carusa playing consistently in a familiar role and not on a wing like she did against Louisville last game of the season.
Why protect Enge?
She was the 13th pick in the 2023 NWSL draft and saw decent playing time on a tough roster to break, getting into 14 games between league and Challenge Cup matches. She is also the only player aside from Naomi Girma that can move seamlessly between CB and CM. Speaking of Girma, we here at this site believe in the power of friendship, and the power between Enge and Girma is celestial in capacity. The pair played at Stanford together, and recently traveled to London together to visit fellow San Diegan and future Wavé star Catarina Macario. We root for besties and bestie activities here.
The Expansion Un-draft
Bay FC ended up taking Rachel Hill, passed a few times, called some timeouts and eventually with the final pick took Enge. That had to be brutal to sit through–feeling secure and safe with what the rest of your offseason looks like, then having that feeling pulled out from under you at the last possible moment.
But then Sunday, Wave did the funniest thing:
welcome back, @sierraenge 🌊
— San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) December 17, 2023
we have reacquired Enge from the Houston Dash following the NWSL Expansion Draft.
Initially, it looks like a lot to give up for a player you could have protected, but let’s break it down:
Bella Briede (3rd Rd pick, 2022) had her playing time drastically decrease this season, from 1,150 minutes in 2022 to only 254 this past season. Seems no longer in Stoney’s plans.
$60,000 in allocation money is what Wave received in the Riehl deal so that’s a lateral move.
The 3rd round pick might be the most costly, but even the chances of that aren’t very high. Here are a few notable 3rd round picks from previous drafts:
Shortly after, San Diego acquired forward Elyse Bennett from Utah, who had been the 2nd pick in the Expansion Draft. This will be Bennett’s 3rd team in 3 years (1st Rd, 2022) but hopefully her most permanent one.
Bennett brings a presence Stoney may have undervalued going into last season. Wave’s inaugural roster included Katie Johnson, a veteran striker off the bench who was a presence in the air and could bully her way through chaos in the box. When she left, Stoney’s replacement for her was Hill, who did not offer the same attributes. When Carusa came in midseason, she offered skills closer to Johnson’s and her impact was immediately felt. Bennett is a similar fox in the box, with most of her goals coming off headers or crashing runs into the box to tap in low crosses. Standing at 5-10, and probably the 2nd-tallest player on the roster, Wave have the potential to spam late-game crosses to Bennett, Morgan, Carusa, and Taylor Kornieck-soon-to-be-Finley when chasing games.
Here’s a look at similar players to Bennett via FB Ref:
Not bad company having a shortlist with a 2023 rookie of the year finalist and an American footie god.
All in all, ̶4̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶s̶ 3 players from last season’s roster are on expansion teams:
Bay FC Utah Royals FC
Rachel Hill, F Kaleigh Riehl, D
̶S̶i̶e̶r̶r̶a̶ ̶E̶n̶g̶e̶,̶ ̶M̶ Madison Pogarch, D
The Stoney Wagon is moving so get in losers, we’re going roster shopping.
[I should really write this 2023 season recap before the new year huh?]
