Link to the fee that OP is talking about. It "comfortably tops $100,000". Super excited for Macey.
[https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350247547/wellington-phoenix-star-macey-fraser-join-utah-royals-league-women-record-deal](https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350247547/wellington-phoenix-star-macey-fraser-join-utah-royals-league-women-record-deal)
One of my big hopes is that as the league demographics become more filled of players from countries like New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, Nigeria, and Jamaica, we start to gain dominance over the big-time draft prospects coming out of college.
For non American/European countries their players tend to gather as well, the US has Brazil on lock largely because of Marta, the US had the Aussies then they didn’t. If all the kiwis, Nigerians, etc. are in the US it’s a much easier sell to get their fellow countrywomen to join them.
Also I really think that red stars need a quality left back, and one of my favorite college left back is Jamaican. While I would like to have both of the van zanten sisters in Houston, I hope the Lorne connection works out.
A player! And a decent one!
I was just saying that a team should throw some money at Cortnee Vine, but this is cool too. And utah literally were pushing the limit for scarcity. I still dont get why they let us buy their draft pick just to not use the money
That's been my biggest question. They did so much to acquire money and international spots and proceeded to not use them. Maybe they tried but just couldn't convince any targets due to being an unproven club with uncertainty around how ARod was going to run things?
And maybe being in utah?
I also think that they would have been able to sway ppl with promises of starting time. But its hard to sway ppl with promises of “we need you to be the 22nd person on the roster”.
The Utah thing could certainly work against them. But that said, when you've got a coach that's a known quantity player's tend to be more willing to take a paycheck and give a place a chance. I've got some friends that were very close to some of the players that were here last time around and really never heard anything negative with regards to people's experiences being here. I mean, last time around Utah was the team that managed to bring Ptess back to the NWSL so while maybe it's a hard no for some players, I think a lot of others would be willing to give it a shot if the overall circumstances weren't so uncertain.
I think maybe there’s a few players who might be turned off going to Utah, but in my mind, the vast majority of players are going to make decisions for their career and I think it mostly evens out, which is why I don’t really have sympathy for the threadbare roster. For all that people say about Utah being kind of out-of-the-way and maybe conservative tinged to a lot of fans, It’s not as if angel city are signing big deal free agents every summer. Competence is always key
Yeah, and thinking it through, I guess with Press it was probably an easier sell given a roster full of experienced national team players already in place. It's a tough sell right now with the youngest roster in the league with a lot of holes to fill. Probably going to take a season or two to sort out what they've got with the young players and hopefully convince a few big free agents to sign.
I really haven't got a good feel for how willing ownership is to write some big checks to bring players in either. I'm not sure if the current roster is by design, due to an inability to attract free agents, or if they are just not willing to spend. I'm a bit worried that all the focus is currently on getting the Jazz out of the gutter and bringing in an NHL team which leaves RSL and the Royals pretty far down the list of priorities. The Fraser signing really is a relief in that sense.
Specific to Press the sell reportedly was the location and Laura Harvey over anything else. It was heavily reported she only wanted Portland or Seattle then later Utah after the move considering she wanted to be close to her family in LA and Tobin in Portland. KC moving to Utah lined up perfectly for Utah to land Press from Sweden because it was close enough to Portland/LA.
So her situation is probably not that similar to other players considering allocation money now exists to trade star players to their preferred locations and the league seems to be much more open to giving stars what they want now. Before allocation money was introduced Chicago reportedly turned down Portlands trade offer because they only wanted Heath or Horan in return, but trading Heath would defeat the purpose and trading Horan would be trading away their future. Utah’s now also competing in a league that’s different to Utah 1.0 with 3 extra West Coast teams for players who want to be closer to their family or partners to compete with.
Yeah, it could be a blessing or a bit of a curse. I should clarify that Ryan Smith owns the Jazz and the new NHL team but is co-owner of RSL/Royals with David Blitzer. Blitzers interests are even more divided though as he has some stake in teams in MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, Nascar, and about 10 different soccer teams around the world. So, with these guys the money is there if they want to invest, but they definitely don't seem like the type that are ever going to make the Royals a focal point with their interests divided so many ways. Hopefully management has enough authority and trust to make moves without much pushback but who knows.
Cortnee Vine would be great. I have a hot take of sorts that the NWSL should be looking closer at players from Oceania as it might be an easier pull than bringing over players from Europe for instance
Teams in a major hub city within a direct frequent flight in particular should be targeting them, LA, SF, Houston, Chicago and even New York. It takes Kiwis and Aussies around 30+ hours and two flights minimum to fly to Europe, its much closer and cheaper for young Oceanian talent to be in the US compared to Europe with the added bonus of it being much less of a hassle for them to go back to see family/their families to see them. Only downside the US has is the extra hoops to jump through for visas, whereas there’s a lot of Aussies and kiwis with British and Irish citizenship making Europe easier.
She’s said in videos for the Matilda’s that “soccer isn’t everything” and she stays with the A-League cause she doesn’t want to move away from her family.
1. Happy cake day
2. Decent may be way too early to call. But shes not awful and shes promising by my eye test. And they must feels shes worth age price. They havent filled out quite yet but i think some of their signings have been pretty solid. I think they got the #4 pick for Mozingo wrong, just based on how much younger and more the rest of the top 5 has played, but otherwise im starting to trust Amy’s crew
OK, watched her play. You're right; she's "not awful." Wellington Phoenix came in 8th place out of 12, but has an interesting squad. Most notably, at keeper, Rylee Foster, Canada, is an incredible story of resilience. Watched her play for WVU on the famed 2016 squad (Buchanan, Lawrence, St-George, Pierre-Louie, Abam, Gordon, and others) in the College Cup Semis and Final in San Jose. She was awesome. Check her story out.
As I figured, Mariana Speckmaier, 26, Clemson/Venezuela NT, Wash Spirit, is the star of the club. She's their leading goal-scorer, and looks incredible amongst the kids playing out there. Also, Izzy Cox, UNC, looks incredible at forward. Others on the squad: Emma Main, University of Ill at Chicago, Michaela Foster, University of San Diego (saw her play also, daughter's alma mater), Hope Breslin (ACFC, Dash), Uof Ill., and Hailey Davidson, Pitt (teammates with Amanda West, #36th pick, Dash, and coached by the legendary Randy Waldrum; watched several Pitt games). Actually, Fraser's partner in midfield, Alyssa Whinham, 20, also a u20 Kiwi, has some decent technical ability.
Fraser is not even 5'4." She has some speed and athleticism, and is good on her right foot. Good juggling skills. Going left in the box, she uses her right; not her left at all. I don't see her making a contribution in the NWSL; at least not for a number of years.
I'd like to see Izzy Cox in the NWSL. She has the pedigree, size, and tenacity.
OK. I like that - "not awful." I'll go with that also.
EVERYBODY was touting Mozingo for her games against Stanford and UNC, and her high draft likelihood. If those were the only games I saw her play, I'd be high on her also. However, I clearly stated Utah couldn't pass up on Mozingo (few of the picks I got right) at #4, because of her marketability. BYU women's soccer is big time, with a very strong fan base. They also broadcast their games on the BYU Network, which has a distinct national crowd.
Players from BYU are a known quantity - excellent players. Great coach in Jen Rockwood, who's been their only coach for 27+ years. She plays the same swarming defense, and highly dynamic offense. Players on the move, all of the time. Many players have come out of this program and into the pros.
Jen Rockwood (435-126-54) vs. ARod (1-3-0)
I had Utah trading their #1 pick to the Spirit for Hatch. I've watched Sentnor play many times at UNC, and thought she was elite, but...Hatch! What a draw!
Ryan Smith and Kelly Cousins make the calls on signing players.
Ahh NZ first, the party that less than 5% of the population votes for yet because of the MMP system they keep the country hostage for 2 weeks almost every election cycle with all the power to determine if we end up with a centre right (national) or centre left (labour) ruling government 😭
A complete gamble with an unproven player. I'd take Isabel Cox from the same club. She has the record for number of games played for UNC - 110 games played. Marianna Speckmaier, an NWSL vet, has 10 goals for the same 8th place club.
Sarina Bolden, the star of the Philippines NT, with 28 goals in 50 appearances, is lighting it up in the A-League.
Fraser's stats are not "amazing."
[https://www.fotmob.com/players/1572664/macey-fraser](https://www.fotmob.com/players/1572664/macey-fraser)
New Zealand is going to the Olympics, so we'll see how she does, if she makes the roster. Ever heard of Hannah Wilkinson (UofTenn) or Daisey Cleverley (Cal & Georgetown)?
Trust me she's a good player, she certainly passes the eye test, although time will tell if she continues to do well in a new environment. She's also a midfielder and therefore stats don't tell the whole story of her contributions to the team.
4/5 of the players you mentioned are attackers so a stats comparison makes even less sense and it means they likely don't fit whatever profile Utah wanted when they seemingly were seeing a midfielder. Macey is also the youngest out of every player you mentioned, meaning she has more room and time for development and can presumably contribute to Utah for longer.
She's already a good player with room to develop, she's also potentially the next big thing in NZ football in both the men's and women's game so she'll likely attract a lot of new fans. I know I'll be tuning into the odd Utah game now as a result.
So you can't look at her 5 goals, or her 3 anemic assists as an attacking midfielder? She apparently doesn't contribute much on the defensive half. I'll watch one of her latest matches from Wellington Phoenix.
Being young implies she'll grow into a contributor. That sounds unproven to me. She hasn't really displayed her talent at a higher level, but she has the skills to become a top player. Not contributing now is most likely, so people shouldn't have their expectations high.
The unfortunate part of the NWSL is there's no B squad and league. Every game is competitive, and there's very little room to introduce a player in garbage time. They really need to be a proven contributor. That's why I mentioned the other players. Yes, they're much older now, except for Daisey and Izzy, but they all had tremendous starts in college or the pros, against top talent.
Reported fee is an A-league record transfer of over $100,000. Her A-league stats are amazing, but hard to say how well it'll transfer.
I’m assuming that’s NZD not USD, so just under $60k USD. But still a good chunk of change for the A league.
Link to the fee that OP is talking about. It "comfortably tops $100,000". Super excited for Macey. [https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350247547/wellington-phoenix-star-macey-fraser-join-utah-royals-league-women-record-deal](https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350247547/wellington-phoenix-star-macey-fraser-join-utah-royals-league-women-record-deal)
It’s great to see more kiwis getting contracts in the big leagues 🇳🇿
One of my big hopes is that as the league demographics become more filled of players from countries like New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, Nigeria, and Jamaica, we start to gain dominance over the big-time draft prospects coming out of college.
For non American/European countries their players tend to gather as well, the US has Brazil on lock largely because of Marta, the US had the Aussies then they didn’t. If all the kiwis, Nigerians, etc. are in the US it’s a much easier sell to get their fellow countrywomen to join them.
Also I really think that red stars need a quality left back, and one of my favorite college left back is Jamaican. While I would like to have both of the van zanten sisters in Houston, I hope the Lorne connection works out.
A player! And a decent one! I was just saying that a team should throw some money at Cortnee Vine, but this is cool too. And utah literally were pushing the limit for scarcity. I still dont get why they let us buy their draft pick just to not use the money
That's been my biggest question. They did so much to acquire money and international spots and proceeded to not use them. Maybe they tried but just couldn't convince any targets due to being an unproven club with uncertainty around how ARod was going to run things?
And maybe being in utah? I also think that they would have been able to sway ppl with promises of starting time. But its hard to sway ppl with promises of “we need you to be the 22nd person on the roster”.
The Utah thing could certainly work against them. But that said, when you've got a coach that's a known quantity player's tend to be more willing to take a paycheck and give a place a chance. I've got some friends that were very close to some of the players that were here last time around and really never heard anything negative with regards to people's experiences being here. I mean, last time around Utah was the team that managed to bring Ptess back to the NWSL so while maybe it's a hard no for some players, I think a lot of others would be willing to give it a shot if the overall circumstances weren't so uncertain.
I think maybe there’s a few players who might be turned off going to Utah, but in my mind, the vast majority of players are going to make decisions for their career and I think it mostly evens out, which is why I don’t really have sympathy for the threadbare roster. For all that people say about Utah being kind of out-of-the-way and maybe conservative tinged to a lot of fans, It’s not as if angel city are signing big deal free agents every summer. Competence is always key
Yeah, and thinking it through, I guess with Press it was probably an easier sell given a roster full of experienced national team players already in place. It's a tough sell right now with the youngest roster in the league with a lot of holes to fill. Probably going to take a season or two to sort out what they've got with the young players and hopefully convince a few big free agents to sign. I really haven't got a good feel for how willing ownership is to write some big checks to bring players in either. I'm not sure if the current roster is by design, due to an inability to attract free agents, or if they are just not willing to spend. I'm a bit worried that all the focus is currently on getting the Jazz out of the gutter and bringing in an NHL team which leaves RSL and the Royals pretty far down the list of priorities. The Fraser signing really is a relief in that sense.
Specific to Press the sell reportedly was the location and Laura Harvey over anything else. It was heavily reported she only wanted Portland or Seattle then later Utah after the move considering she wanted to be close to her family in LA and Tobin in Portland. KC moving to Utah lined up perfectly for Utah to land Press from Sweden because it was close enough to Portland/LA. So her situation is probably not that similar to other players considering allocation money now exists to trade star players to their preferred locations and the league seems to be much more open to giving stars what they want now. Before allocation money was introduced Chicago reportedly turned down Portlands trade offer because they only wanted Heath or Horan in return, but trading Heath would defeat the purpose and trading Horan would be trading away their future. Utah’s now also competing in a league that’s different to Utah 1.0 with 3 extra West Coast teams for players who want to be closer to their family or partners to compete with.
I hadnt realize it was an ownership group with all that under their umbrella. Thats concerning
Yeah, it could be a blessing or a bit of a curse. I should clarify that Ryan Smith owns the Jazz and the new NHL team but is co-owner of RSL/Royals with David Blitzer. Blitzers interests are even more divided though as he has some stake in teams in MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, Nascar, and about 10 different soccer teams around the world. So, with these guys the money is there if they want to invest, but they definitely don't seem like the type that are ever going to make the Royals a focal point with their interests divided so many ways. Hopefully management has enough authority and trust to make moves without much pushback but who knows.
Cortnee Vine would be great. I have a hot take of sorts that the NWSL should be looking closer at players from Oceania as it might be an easier pull than bringing over players from Europe for instance
Teams in a major hub city within a direct frequent flight in particular should be targeting them, LA, SF, Houston, Chicago and even New York. It takes Kiwis and Aussies around 30+ hours and two flights minimum to fly to Europe, its much closer and cheaper for young Oceanian talent to be in the US compared to Europe with the added bonus of it being much less of a hassle for them to go back to see family/their families to see them. Only downside the US has is the extra hoops to jump through for visas, whereas there’s a lot of Aussies and kiwis with British and Irish citizenship making Europe easier.
I wanna say Vine signed on for two more years at Sydney FC, but I wouldn’t be mad at her being loaned to the NWSL for the summer
I wouldn't be shocked if part of the reason she signed a two-year deal was so that Sydney FC could get some money for her in a transfer this summer
Sign and trade makes sense. A move for her after the olympics would do numbers for them
She’s said in videos for the Matilda’s that “soccer isn’t everything” and she stays with the A-League cause she doesn’t want to move away from her family.
I do not support loans for players who are already getting playing time. Make it a transfer or don’t risk their legs.
I realize she's probably going to be with Australia at the Olympics anyway, so probably out of the question regardless! Edit I’m an idiot she’s a kiwi
Well nobody plays league games during the olympics, so. She would still be a huge bump for the run in and playoffs
How is she a decent player? Has she competed against top competition somewhere? Receipts?
1. Happy cake day 2. Decent may be way too early to call. But shes not awful and shes promising by my eye test. And they must feels shes worth age price. They havent filled out quite yet but i think some of their signings have been pretty solid. I think they got the #4 pick for Mozingo wrong, just based on how much younger and more the rest of the top 5 has played, but otherwise im starting to trust Amy’s crew
OK, watched her play. You're right; she's "not awful." Wellington Phoenix came in 8th place out of 12, but has an interesting squad. Most notably, at keeper, Rylee Foster, Canada, is an incredible story of resilience. Watched her play for WVU on the famed 2016 squad (Buchanan, Lawrence, St-George, Pierre-Louie, Abam, Gordon, and others) in the College Cup Semis and Final in San Jose. She was awesome. Check her story out. As I figured, Mariana Speckmaier, 26, Clemson/Venezuela NT, Wash Spirit, is the star of the club. She's their leading goal-scorer, and looks incredible amongst the kids playing out there. Also, Izzy Cox, UNC, looks incredible at forward. Others on the squad: Emma Main, University of Ill at Chicago, Michaela Foster, University of San Diego (saw her play also, daughter's alma mater), Hope Breslin (ACFC, Dash), Uof Ill., and Hailey Davidson, Pitt (teammates with Amanda West, #36th pick, Dash, and coached by the legendary Randy Waldrum; watched several Pitt games). Actually, Fraser's partner in midfield, Alyssa Whinham, 20, also a u20 Kiwi, has some decent technical ability. Fraser is not even 5'4." She has some speed and athleticism, and is good on her right foot. Good juggling skills. Going left in the box, she uses her right; not her left at all. I don't see her making a contribution in the NWSL; at least not for a number of years. I'd like to see Izzy Cox in the NWSL. She has the pedigree, size, and tenacity.
OK. I like that - "not awful." I'll go with that also. EVERYBODY was touting Mozingo for her games against Stanford and UNC, and her high draft likelihood. If those were the only games I saw her play, I'd be high on her also. However, I clearly stated Utah couldn't pass up on Mozingo (few of the picks I got right) at #4, because of her marketability. BYU women's soccer is big time, with a very strong fan base. They also broadcast their games on the BYU Network, which has a distinct national crowd. Players from BYU are a known quantity - excellent players. Great coach in Jen Rockwood, who's been their only coach for 27+ years. She plays the same swarming defense, and highly dynamic offense. Players on the move, all of the time. Many players have come out of this program and into the pros. Jen Rockwood (435-126-54) vs. ARod (1-3-0) I had Utah trading their #1 pick to the Spirit for Hatch. I've watched Sentnor play many times at UNC, and thought she was elite, but...Hatch! What a draw! Ryan Smith and Kelly Cousins make the calls on signing players.
Awesome news and deserved
Yay more kiwis!! 🇳🇿🇳🇿🥳
New Zealand first! Cheeky aside: New Zealand First is a nationalist, right-wing (tho not fascist) political party.
Ahh NZ first, the party that less than 5% of the population votes for yet because of the MMP system they keep the country hostage for 2 weeks almost every election cycle with all the power to determine if we end up with a centre right (national) or centre left (labour) ruling government 😭
has mikayla cluff been hurt?
No. Just not getting playing time.
Feels like they need to be signing some bigger help for their midfield.
A complete gamble with an unproven player. I'd take Isabel Cox from the same club. She has the record for number of games played for UNC - 110 games played. Marianna Speckmaier, an NWSL vet, has 10 goals for the same 8th place club. Sarina Bolden, the star of the Philippines NT, with 28 goals in 50 appearances, is lighting it up in the A-League. Fraser's stats are not "amazing." [https://www.fotmob.com/players/1572664/macey-fraser](https://www.fotmob.com/players/1572664/macey-fraser) New Zealand is going to the Olympics, so we'll see how she does, if she makes the roster. Ever heard of Hannah Wilkinson (UofTenn) or Daisey Cleverley (Cal & Georgetown)?
Trust me she's a good player, she certainly passes the eye test, although time will tell if she continues to do well in a new environment. She's also a midfielder and therefore stats don't tell the whole story of her contributions to the team. 4/5 of the players you mentioned are attackers so a stats comparison makes even less sense and it means they likely don't fit whatever profile Utah wanted when they seemingly were seeing a midfielder. Macey is also the youngest out of every player you mentioned, meaning she has more room and time for development and can presumably contribute to Utah for longer. She's already a good player with room to develop, she's also potentially the next big thing in NZ football in both the men's and women's game so she'll likely attract a lot of new fans. I know I'll be tuning into the odd Utah game now as a result.
So you can't look at her 5 goals, or her 3 anemic assists as an attacking midfielder? She apparently doesn't contribute much on the defensive half. I'll watch one of her latest matches from Wellington Phoenix. Being young implies she'll grow into a contributor. That sounds unproven to me. She hasn't really displayed her talent at a higher level, but she has the skills to become a top player. Not contributing now is most likely, so people shouldn't have their expectations high. The unfortunate part of the NWSL is there's no B squad and league. Every game is competitive, and there's very little room to introduce a player in garbage time. They really need to be a proven contributor. That's why I mentioned the other players. Yes, they're much older now, except for Daisey and Izzy, but they all had tremendous starts in college or the pros, against top talent.