Three Gators Selected in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) Draft

Three University of Florida players - Ameera Abdullah, Megan Kerns and Stacy Bishop - were selected Friday in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) draft. The draft was held in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) convention at the Cervantes Convention Center/America's Center.

The FC Gold Pride selected Abdullah as the 31^st overall pick in the fifth round. The St. Louis Athletica picked Kerns in the eighth round (51^st pick). Bishop was the 69^th pick overall in the 10^th round by the Boston Breakers. The draft consisted of 10 rounds with the seven teams selecting one player in each round. The selection order for the draft was determined by a lottery held Oct. 16, 2008.

Two former Gators - Heather Mitts (Boston Breakers) and Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom) - have already been assigned to WPS teams. The U.S. Women's National Team members were allocated to the various WPS teams in September.

Abdullah earned NSCAA All-America third team honors in 2008 and 2006. She was also named a Soccer America MVP as a senior. In 2008, Abdullah was second among the Gators in points (25), shared UF's assists lead (9) and was third with eight goals. She was named to the All-Southeastern Conference first-team in 2008 and also was placed on the SEC All-Tournament team. In the opening weekend of SEC regular-season play, Abdullah scored the first two goals in Florida's 5-1 win versus Tennessee, earning her a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week. Abdullah finished holding the No. 7 position on Florida's Career Points chart with 25 goals, 18 assists for 68 points. She was also named to the 2008 NSCAA All-Southeast Region first team.

Kerns was named to the All-SEC first-team in 2008 and also was placed on the SEC All-Tournament team. She led UF in 2008 with 35 points, 13 goals and five game-winning goals and shared first in assists. She turned in three goals in UF's 6-1 win at Alabama and her first collegiate hat-trick earned her three weekly honors, including the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. Kerns finished holding the No. 8 position on Florida's Career Points chart with 22 goals, 18 assists for 62 points. Kerns earned NSCAA All-Southeast Region third team honors as a senior and freshman.

Bishop earned All-America honors in both of her seasons with the Gators. She was a NSCAA/adidas All-America third-team selection in 2006 and a fourth-team selection by SoccerBuzz.com in 2007. She led the Gators in goals, assists and points in 2006 and 2007. On Florida's All-Time Career Points chart, Bishop is No. 9 with 22 goals, 16 assists for 60 points. Bishop was a two-time All-SEC first team as a Gator and earned All-SEC second team honors in 2004 at LSU. She was the most valuable player of the 2007 SEC Tournament. As a senior, Bishop was a semifinalist for the Missouri Athletics Club’s Hermann Trophy, an award for the nation’s player of the year. She graduated from UF in the fall of 2007 with a degree in Health Education and Behavior--Health Promotion,

The opportunity for players to be a part of the WPS's first season still exists for players not selected in the draft. Beginning in February, teams will also hold local try-outs in their respective markets.

Play for the WPS season begins Sunday, March 29 when the Los Angeles Sol plays host to the Washington Freedom at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.