Carli Lloyd Allocated by U.S. Soccer; Janine Beckie, Adriana Leon and Kailen Sheridan Allocated by Canada Soccer
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) announced today its official list of allocated players for the 2018 season, with Sky Blue FC having four players who will participate as Federation Players this year. Midfielder Carli Lloyd was allocated to Sky Blue FC by U.S. Soccer, while forwards Janine Beckie, Adriana Leon and goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan were allocated to the club by Canada Soccer.
“Players who bring international experience are very valuable to the team as a whole,” said Denise Reddy, Sky Blue FC head coach. “We will look for these players to give significant contributions to our training environment on a daily basis, and they will play an important role in the development of our team over the course of the upcoming season.”
Sheridan returns to Sky Blue FC as a Federation Player for the second consecutive year after the former Clemson University standout was taken with the no. 23 overall selection in the 2017 NWSL College Draft. She has been in the Canada Women’s National Team system since she was 15-years-old, officially making her debut for the senior team in March of 2016. The Ontario native quickly inserted herself into the Sky Blue FC Starting XI in 2017, making the start over the first 22 matches of her rookie campaign. She played a total of 1,980 minutes in net, which was tied for third-most in the NWSL. Her nine wins were the fourth-most in the league, while her 84 saves were the third-highest mark among NWSL goalkeepers.
Lloyd was acquired by Sky Blue FC in January following a three-team trade with the Chicago Red Stars and Houston Dash. The New Jersey native played her college soccer at Rutgers University and made her debut for the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2005. Now approaching 250 international caps and 100 international goals, Lloyd has historically been known to rise tallest on the grandest of stages. She scored the game-winning goal in the Gold Medal Match of both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and she also registered a hat trick in the opening 16 minutes of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup 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.
Beckie was also part of the trade where Sky Blue FC acquired Lloyd. A dual-citizen of Canada and the United States, she 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, Beckie 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.
Leon was selected by Sky Blue FC in the 2018 NWSL Dispersal Draft after having her best season in the league last year, where she finished second on the Boston Breakers with six goals and recorded a team-best six assists. The Ontario native began her NWSL career in 2013 with Boston, but she spent most of her first three seasons with the Red Stars. She then made the move to the Western New York Flash ahead of the 2016 campaign before joining FC Zürich Frauen of the Swiss Nationalliga A in August of that year. After three years with the Canada U-20 Women’s National Team, Leon made her senior debut in 2012. She represented Canada at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup that was played in her native country, and she has registered eight goals in 44 international appearances.
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