NWSL draft went down last night, which is always accompanied by a slew of other moves. Since Andy and I are are the only ones who engage in this, I'll still with Courage news.
The Courage once again reacted to a rookie striker having immediate success as a goal scorer by trading her away. Diana Ordonez got shipped to Houston for picks, an international slot and some allocation money. This is a virtual carbon copy of what they did when Ashley Hatch has a ridiculous rookie season. Honestly, Houston over paid, but without a player coming the other way it won't feel that way ... at least until they use the international slot to sign an impactful player. One this is consistent, Carolina has decided that foreign internationals are cheaper than the US version.
On the upside, the Courage had amassed four first round picks for this draft and they used them all on mature college players. Striker Olivia Wingate from Notre Dame, defender Syndney Collins from Cal, midfielder Clara Robbins from FSU and striker Hailey Hopkins from UVa. I've seen the ACC players a little bit. Wingate and Hopkins are college scorers on pretty much the same level as Ordonez was when she was drafted. Wingate has played for the US in age groups and is the kind of versatile forward the Courage have liked in the past. Hopkins is more of a classic, in the box No. 9. Robbins is very good as well, although it usually takes longer for midfielders to find their footing in NWSL. She's a more skilled version of Emily Gray, the first rounder from 2022. FSU's program has been great and it's largely built on strong midfields.