Independence Add Rapinoe

The Philadelphia Independence have signed USWNT midfielder Megan Rapinoe to a contract. She has 21 caps and 8 goals for the national team.

Rapinoe was originally selected as the 2nd overall pick in the 2009 WPS draft by the Chicago Red Stars. In 2009, she scored two goals and three assists for the Red Stars in her rookie season. She followed that with a goal and two assists in 2010. She became a free agent when Chicago suspended operations for the 2011 season.

Rapinoe was a star at the University of Portland, where she scored 30 career goals. This was in spite of losing nearly two full seasons to ACL injuries. Her twin sister, Rachael, was her teammate at Portland. Rapinoe was a member of the 2005 Pilots national championship team.

Sky Blue Signs Nogueira

Casey Nogueira, who spent last season with the Chicago Red Stars, has signed with Sky Blue FC. The forward out of North Carolina was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Sol in 2010 and then selected by Chicago in the dispersal draft.

Nogueira scored three goals and four assists last season for the Red Stars. At North Carolina, where she was known for her clutch scoring, she had 55 career goals. Nogueira has capped five times for the USWNT.

DiMartino Signs with Philly

Midfielder Tina DiMartino has re-signed with the Philadelphia Independence. DiMartino scored four goals for the Independence in 2010.

DiMartino was originally a 1st round draft choice by FC Gold Pride in 2010 and started 18 games for them in 2009, earning one assist. She was then traded to Los Angeles, but never saw action for the Sol as they disbanded before the 2010 season. After Saint Louis took her in the dispersal draft which followed, she played six games for Athletica, starting five. She joined Philadelphia when Athletica suddenly folded in May of 2010.

DiMartino is known for being very good with the ball at her feet. With Lori Lindsey and Caroline Seger, she helped form one of the best midfield groups in the league last season. She played college soccer for UCLA. Her sister Gina also played for Philadelphia last season.

Sky Blue Completes Loan Agreement for Sjögran

Sky Blue has signed a loan agreement that will bring Swedish national team midfielder, Therese Sjögran, to the New Jersey club. The loan is part of an affiliation agreement between Sky Blue FC and LdB FC Malmö.

Sjögran scored five goals in 2010 to help lead Malmö to the Swedish league title. She also led the team in assists with 13. She has scored 80 career goals in 254 matches in the Damellsvenskan.

Sjögran has capped 160 times for the Swedish National Team dating back to 1997. She was a member of the 2003 Swedish team that placed runner-up to Germany in the World Cup. Sjögran turns 34 in April.

Sundhage Names 26 Players for Four Nations Camp

USWNT coach Pia Sundhage has called 26 players to camp in early January in preparation for the 2011 Four Nations Tournament, which will include the US, Canada, Sweden, and China. Several young players are included in that group.

Meghan Klingenburg (UNC), Kristie Mewis (Boston College), Sydney Leroux (UCLA), and Alex Morgan were included on the list from the college ranks. Of those, only Morgan has capped for the senior team.

The list also includes several WPS rookies from the 2010 season. They are goalkeepers Alyssa Naeher and Ashlyn Harris, defenders Whitney Engen and Brittany Taylor, midfielders Jordan Angeli and Tobin Heath, midfielder/forward Kelley O'Hara, and forward Lauren Cheney. Heath is returning to the team for the first time since suffering an injury last spring.

Also returning to camp will be goalkeeper Hope Solo, who is recovering from shoulder surgery and missed Concacaf qualifying, as well as the home-and-home series against Italy.

Sundhage named eight veterans who will be on the roster for the tournament, but will not have to attend camp. Fifteen players from this camp will be added to those eight for the trip to China.

Three USWNT Players Are Signed

'Tis the season to be jolly and free agents seem to be the gift of choice to fans for teams around WPS. Three more free agents signings have been announced, all members (or former members) of the USWNT.

The Flash have added yet another top free agent to their roster by signing midfielder Yael Averbuch. Averbuch makes the move from Sky Blue and her home state of New Jersey to the new Western New York franchise. She was originally a first round draft selection by Sky Blue in 2009 and she helped lead the team to the WPS championship in that year.

Averbuch has been a regular member of the USWNT over the past two years. She has 13 caps and one goal for the United States. The tall midfielder was a star for the University of North Carolina in college.

Another former Sky Blue player heading elsewhere is forward Tasha Kai, who will take her lethal scoring abilities down the road to Philadelphia. Kai has scored 11 WPS goals over the past two seasons, in spite of being plagued by injuries. She is considered one of the most exciting players in WPS.

Kai was a gold medalist with the 2008 US Olympic team and has 24 goals and 67 caps to her credit for the USWNT. She was a top college player at the University of Hawaii.

Meanwhile, the Boston Breakers have resigned outside defender Stephanie Cox. Cox was originally allocated to Los Angeles and she helped anchor the defense that led the Sol to the league's regular season title back in 2009. When the Sol folded, she was signed by the Boston Breakers, where she scored her first WPS goal last season.

Cox, also a gold medalist in 2008, is considered one of the most consistent defenders in the women's game. She has 64 caps with the USWNT and starred in college for the University of Portland.

The signing of Cox follows several other Breakers' signings. Earlier they added forward Kelley O'Hara, midfielder/forward Niki Washington, and defender Rachel Buehler. They have also announced the resigning of Kasey Moore.

Atlanta Signs Whitehill; Independence Ink Three to Contracts

The Atlanta Beat have signed USWNT defender Cat Whitehill to a contract. Whitehill was one of the original USWNT allocations in WPS, spending her first two seasons with the Washington Freedom.

Whitehill, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, was originally allocated to Washington in 2008. She has scored four goals and four assists in her WPS career. The former North Carolina star has 134 career caps for the USWNT, scoring 11 goals.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Independence signed a trio of young veterans to contracts, all defenders. Kia McNeill and Leigh Ann Robinson both signed with Philadelphia after spending the 2010 season with Atlanta. Estelle Johnson, a defender on last year's Independence, has also resigned with the Independence.

McNeill, known as a tough defender who is strong in the air, was originally drafted by Saint Louis in January, 2009 out of Boston College. After a solid season with Athletica, she was traded to Atlanta where she spent the entire 2010 season. She has compiled over 3000 minutes in the WPS over two seasons. McNeill will most likely play central defender, although she has played outside on occasion.

Robinson was originally drafted by FC Gold Pride in January, 2009, after a successful college run at the University of San Diego. Her only career WPS goal was a game winner against Sky Blue on May 3, 2009. She was then the first selection in the expansion draft by the Atlanta Beat. Robinson plays outside defense and will get into the attack from that position.

Johnson was a draft choice of the Los Angeles Sol in 2010 and was then selected by Philadelphia in the dispersal draft following the Sol's demise. She appeared in 13 games last season, starting 10 for the Independence. Johnson played college soccer at the University of Kansas.

Seger Traded to Western New York

Our Game Magazine is reporting that the Philadelphia Indepedence has traded Caroline Seger to Western New York for draft picks in both the 2011 and 2012 draft. Seger, a member of the Swedish National Team, helped lead the Independence to the WPS finals before losing to FC Gold Pride in the championship match.

Seger had a goal and five assists in 18 matches for Philadelphia last season. She has capped 77 times for Sweden and has scored 12 goals.

Our Game Magazine is a webmagazine that promotes women's soccer and has several players on their staff. Please check out their website.

Lloyd and Trotter Join Beat

Atlanta added two more players to the fold on Friday. USWNT midfielder Carli Lloyd and India Trotter were signed by the Beat.

Lloyd has been a regular starter for the national team for several years and is probably most known for her overtime goal against Brazil in the 2008 Olympics which gave the gold medal to the United States.

She was allocated to Chicago in 2008, but had a fairly disappointing season for them in 2009, scoring just two goals in 16 matches for the Red Stars. She was then signed by Sky Blue FC, but an injury put her out for most of the season, as she managed just 200 minutes of action in five matches.

Lloyd is known to have one of the most powerful shots in women's soccer. She recently celebrated her 100th cap with the USWNT in Chicago against Italy. She has scored 22 goals for the national team, with none being any bigger than the game winner in the Olympic finals.

Trotter was originally drafted by Saint Louis in the 2008 general draft, but opted not to play in WPS during the 2009 season. She did finally join Athletica for the 2010 campaign. She played sparingly for Athletica before their demise, but did start seven matches for Sky Blue after being signed midseason by the New Jersey franchise.

Trotter is multi-dimensional, able to play several positions on the field. She has played with FFC Frankfurt of the Frauen Bundesliga, after completing a very successful college career at Florida State University.

WNY Flash Add Engen to Roster

It seems like the Western New York Flash are making player announcements almost daily and this time, they added one of the league's most talented young defenders in Whitney Engen. Engen was an All-American at North Carolina and started all 24 matches as a rookie for the Chicago Red Stars. She missed only four minutes of action all season.

The Red Stars drafted Engen with the 4th overall pick in the 2010 draft. She will likely play central defender on the Flashes' talented back line, which also includes recent signees Kandace Wilson, Ali Riley, and Candace Chapman.

Beat Sign Larsen

The Atlanta Beat have announced the signing of attacking midfielder/forward Kristina Larsen. Larsen started for UCLA in her college playing days and was drafted in the 2nd round in last year's draft by Saint Louis Athletica. She suffered a stress fracture which sidelined her during the early part of the 2010 season and when Athletica disbanded, she joined Pali Blues of the W-League. She appeared in one game for them in 2010 after recovering from her injury.

While at UCLA, Larsen scored 33 goals for the Bruins and was their leading goal scorer during her junior year in 2008 with 13. Along with current WPS star Lauren Cheney, she helped lead the Bruins to the NCAA semifinals four consecutive years.

Larsen joins what is currently a fairly sparse roster in Atlanta after the blockbuster trade that sent Eniola Aluko, Angie Kerr, and Tobin Heath to Sky Blue FC. Currently, the only other players signed for 2011 are Lori Chalupny, Lauren Sesselmann, Tina Ellertson, and Johanna Rasmussen. Atlanta is expected to make more roster announcements shortly.

Western New York Building Fast with Signings

Although there has been some bad news for WPS lately, it's full steam ahead for the league's newest entry, the Western New York Flash. The Flash announced three more signings today, after adding four players last week. Midfielder McCall Zerboni, defender Candace Chapman, and goalkeeper Brittany Cameron are the newest members of the expansion Flash.

Zerboni, a 2009 draft choice of the Los Angeles Sol, has three career assists. After spending the 2009 season as primarily a reserve for the Sol, she moved into the starters role for the Atlanta Beat in 2010. Zerboni played her college soccer at UCLA.

Chapman, a defender for the Canadian National Team, spent 2009 with the Boston Breakers, before moving to FC Gold Pride as a starting defender in 2010. She started 21 matches for the 2010 WPS champions.

Cameron was selected by Los Angeles out of the University of San Diego and spent 2009 as a developmental goalkeeper. She moved up to the role of backup for FC Gold Pride in 2010, starting three matches for them, winning all three and earning one shutout.

Western New York had already signed three other Gold Pride players in Christine Sinclair, Ali Riley, and Kandace Wilson. Wilson and Riley were the starting outside backs for the 2010 champions, while Sinclair was their second leading scorer with 10 goals. Riley, a member of the New Zealand National Team, was WPS 2010 Rookie of the Year. Sinclair is Canada's all-time leading scorer.

Other signings include multi-dimensional Brittany Bock, who has spent time with both Los Angeles and Washington, and Ashlyn Harris, who was drafted by Saint Louis and then signed by Washington in 2010. Harris started 9 games for Washington after Erin McLeod went down with injury and she posted a 1.11 goals against average with four shutouts.

The Flash chose two players, Beverly Goebel and Kaley Fountain, in the expansion draft. Goebel was a 2010 draft choice for Washington and scored one goal while playing 16 games for the Freedom and starting 9. Fountain was drafted by Gold Pride, later signing as a free agent for the Atlanta Beat.

Red Stars Out...Hope for 2012 Return

The Chicago Red Stars have announced that they will not be part of WPS for the 2011 season. The team's owners were not able to attract the additional investors needed to compete in the coming season. Unlike other WPS teams that have folded, the Red Stars plan on keeping the organization running in hopes of fielding a team in 2012.

WPS will move forward with a six team league in 2011. For all intents and purposes, the league will become an east coast league, in location if not in talent. All six teams are in the eastern time zone and Atlanta will now be both the farthest west and farthest south franchise in WPS.

Red Stars' players will become free agents immediately.

Sky Blue Obtains Aluko, Kerr, and Heath from Beat

Sky Blue FC completed a blockbuster trade sending two draft picks and future considerations to the Atlanta Beat for Eniola Aluko, Tobin Heath, and Angie Kerr. Atlanta received the number four and number eight selections in the 2011 draft and unnamed future considerations.

Aluko has been one of the top offensive players in WPS over the past two seasons. She scored nine goals in 2010, splitting time between Atlanta and Saint Louis, after scoring six in the 2009 campaign for Athletica. She is also a top forward for the English national team. She will turn 24 in February.

Heath was the number one overall draft selection in 2010, but played just three games before suffering a season-ending injury. Before that, she was a star for perennial college power North Carolina, helping them to three national championships. Heath was also a gold medalist in the 2008 Olympics for the USWNT.

Kerr, formerly Angie Woznuk, has also spent time with the USWNT. She was drafted by Saint Louis in the 2008 general draft and played all of 2009 for Athletica, before being traded to Atlanta before the 2010 season. She played in 22 games for Atlanta last season, starting 19 of them. She scored one goal and posted three assists. Before that, Kerr was a top college player at Portland.

This trade follows several other moves by Sky Blue FC. They've just finished signing Allie Long (formerly with the Washington Freedom), Carolyn Blank (formerly with Saint Louis Athletica and Atlanta Beat), and Anita Asante (originally with Sky Blue, but formerly with Saint Louis Athletica, Chicago Red Stars, and Washington Freedom).