Sky Blue FC Also Received No. 6 and No. 13 Overall Selections in 2018 NWSL College Draft
Sky Blue FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) announced a blockbuster trade today with the Chicago Red Stars, as the New Jersey club acquires two-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year and New Jersey native Carli Lloyd, Canada international Janine Beckie and Princeton University graduate Jen Hoy from the Red Stars. Additionally, Sky Blue FC obtained the no. 6 and no. 13 overall picks in the 2018 NWSL College Draft, which the club used to select defender Amandine Pierre-Louis and goalkeeper Casey Murphy on Thursday in Philadelphia, Penn. In exchange, Chicago received forward Sam Kerr and midfielder Nikki Stanton, as well as getting the no. 15 pick today in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.
Lloyd grew up in Delran, N.J., and played her college soccer at Rutgers University. She made her debut for the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2005, and she is now approaching 250 international caps and 100 international goals. Historically, Lloyd has been known to rise tallest on the grandest of stages, scoring the game-winning goal in the Gold Medal Match of both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. She was also responsible for one of the most phenomenal performances in FIFA Women’s World Cup history when she registered a hat trick in the opening 16 minutes of the 2015 Final against Japan. She finished the competition with six goals and received the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament, which was the first FIFA Women’s World Cup championship for the U.S. WNT since 1999. She capped off 2015 by being voted the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, again winning FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year accolades in 2016. She was also voted the runner-up to the award in 2017.
A dual-citizen of Canada and the United States, Beckie spent the first three years of her life in Saskatchewan before moving to Colorado. Collegiately, she attended Texas Tech University and became the all-time leading goal-scorer in program history by registering 57 career goals. After playing with the Canada U-20 Women’s National Team, she made her debut for the Canada senior team in 2015. The eighth overall selection in the 2016 NWSL College Draft, Beckie scored three goals in the 2016 Rio Olympics to help Canada earn the Bronze Medal. In two seasons with the Houston Dash, Beckie recorded five goals and three assists on 33 starts over 38 appearances.
Born in Pennsylvania, Hoy attended Princeton University in New Jersey and was selected by the Red Stars with the no. 25 overall pick in the 2013 NWSL College Draft. In five seasons with Chicago, she was one of the most consistent offensive performers for the club, tallying 15 goals and 10 assists on 51 starts over 72 matches played. Internationally, Hoy competed with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the U-23 level.
Kerr played her third season with Sky Blue FC in 2017 and was named the NWSL Most Valuable Player after scoring 17 goals and winning the 2017 Golden Boot. The Perth native was also named to the NWSL Best XI and became the league’s career goal leader (43).
Originally a member of the Sky Blue FC Reserve Team in 2014, Stanton eventually earned herself a professional contract with the full squad later that year. Over the past four NWSL seasons, she has made 20 starts in 41 appearances.
+++
Sky Blue FC recently announced that the team will be holding its 2018 open tryouts on February 14-15 at Sportika Sports. The registration process for the tryouts is now open, and interested players can sign up today online.
2018 Sky Blue FC season and half-season tickets are on sale now, and fans can purchase them today by calling 888-SBFC-TIX (888-723-2849). For all of the latest news on Sky Blue FC, follow us on social media: @SkyBlueFC
