FC Kansas City Adds Four New Faces In NWSL Draft

Last Friday the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) held their inaugural college draft. Each of the league’s eight teams made four selections including our newest professional soccer team, FC Kansas City, which had the 3rd pick in each of the rounds.

FCKC midfielder Lauren Cheney has a gold medal and after last week’s NWSL draft, she has four new teammates. (Photo Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)

I know it’s been eight days since the draft, but let’s take a belated look at the new faces that joined FCKC anyway.

As a group they bring a great deal of firepower to the team’s attack. The team’s first three selections have shown a knack for putting the ball in the back of the net, both in college and high school. Their fourth pick gives them an additional player on the back end to play defense alongside Becky Sauerbrunn.

As the new professional team in town, FC Kansas City also smartly targeted local products with their third and fourth round selections which should help bolster local interest in the squad.

First Round (3rd Overall): midfielder Kristie Mewis

The 5’8″ Mewis hails from Hanson, MA and played her college soccer at Boston College. Her resume is filled with accolades from each of her four years at BC. As a Freshman she earned All-ACC Freshman honors and was named to the Top Drawer Soccer.com and Soccer America All-Rookie Teams in his first year. In her sophomore season she captured even more of the spotlight as a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and was also an All-ACC First team selection among other honors. In 2011 she was again a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and also spent time training US Women’s National Team. By the time she wrapped up her senior year, which included 16 goals and 12 assists, Mewis was Boston College’s all time leading scorer. She finished with 39 goals and 38 assists.

Mewis is at her best on the attack and has already logged playing time with midfielder Lauren Cheney and the two other women’s national team players that were allocated to FC Kansas City which will certainly help as they work to form a cohesive unit in FCKC’s debut season. Cheney, Sauerbrunn and Barnhardt will have additional time to gel with the team’s top draft pick since Mewis was one of 29 players asked to attend a U.S. National Team training camp as the team prepares for two games this February.

Second Round (11th Overall): midfielder/forward Erika Tymrak

Tymrak grew up in Bradenton, Florida and stayed close to home by playing collegiately for the Gators. Like Mewis, the 5’5″ Tymrak is an offensively minded player who finished in the University of Florida’s all time top-10 in goals, assists and points. Her 40 assists rank third in school history while her 32 goals and 104 points place her eighth and sixth respectively. In addition to her experience in the SEC, she was a part of the U.S. National Team that participated in the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup while she was in high school.

Third Round (19th Overall): midfielder/forward Whitney Berry

FCKC stayed local in the third round with their selection of Berry who grew up in the Wichita area and played for the University of Kansas. She is the Jayhawks all time leader in assists with 32, is tied for third in goals with 23 and her 78 points is second. Berry scored 166 goals and added 40 assists in her time at Goddard High School.

Fourth Round (27th Overall): defender Nia Williams

Like Berry, Williams is a local product that played for St. James Academy in Lenexa, KS and attended Missouri State University. She started 69 games in her four year career with the Bears and is also the daughter of FCKC assistant coach Huw Williams.