PHILADELPHIA — The NWSL draft started out as expected, but it only took a few minutes for the night to erupt into an even bigger spectacle at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Angel City FC used the No. 1 pick on the player everyone thought they would: Alyssa Thompson, an 18-year-old high school senior at Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles who already has debuted for the senior U.S. national team. Last week, Angel City sparked a multi-team trade to land the No. 1 pick, and the ability to stay home helped convince Thompson to turn pro now.
Barely a breath after NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman announced the pick, she announced a blockbuster trade: Gotham FC landed U.S. national team veteran forward Lynn Williams from the Kansas City Current in exchange for the No. 2 pick. The Gotham fans in the room who came down from north Jersey were shocked, and so was everyone else on hand.
