Jan. 8, 2003

ATLANTA - The stars of tomorrow will be on display as the 2003 WUSA (Women's United Soccer Association) Player Draft will take place on Sunday, February 2 in Atlanta, Ga. The draft will take place at the WUSA headquarters and is slated to begin at 8:30 am (PST).

Comprised of four rounds, the 2003 WUSA Draft will feature the top college and amateur talent in the world of women's soccer. During the first round,each team will have five minutes to make a selection. During rounds two through four, the time to make a selection will be cut down to three minutes. Each team will own two timeouts (consisting of five minutes) and can negotiate trades until time of time of selection.

Due to an off-season trade, the San Diego Spirit will have the first overall pick in the draft. New York is second followed by Boston in the third position. Thanks to off-season trades, Philadelphia will have the first of its three first round picks with the fourth overall selection. The Charge also controls the sixth and seventh picks in the first round. Atlanta will select fifth and Founders Cup II champion Carolina has the eighth and final pick of the first round. San Jose and Washington do not have a draft pick until round two due to off-season trades.

A few of the standouts expected to be selected early in the 2003 WUSA Draft include U.S. national team players Aly Wagner (Santa Clara), Hope Solo (Washington), Christie Welsh (Penn State) and Devvyn Hawkins (Santa Clara).

An overview of WUSA Draft Day 2003 follows:

WHAT: WUSA Draft, Four-round player draft of top college and amateur talent.
WHEN: Sunday, February 2 at 11:30 am ET
WHERE: WUSA League Headquarters at Cox Central Park
WHO: The top college stars along with select international and domestic players
COVERAGE: For complete coverage during the WUSA Draft Weekend, go to www.WUSA.com.
DRAFT RULES:During the first round, after each pick, the next team has no longer than five minutes to make its selection.
- During rounds two through four, after each pick, the next team has no longer than three minutes to make its selection.
- There will be a five-minute break between rounds.
- Trades can be negotiated until time of selection.
- Each team owns two timeouts (consisting of five minutes each).

The following is the current draft order for the 2003 WUSA Draft (subject to change):

First Round
1) San Diego+
2) New York+
3) Boston
4) Philadelphia*
5) Atlanta
6) Philadelphia
7) Philadelphia**
8) Carolina
+ - New York sends M Jen Lalor and F Wynne McIntosh along with the Power's first-round pick in the 2003 WUSA Draft (first overall) to the Spirit for M Shannon Boxx and Sherrill Kester, D Margaret Tietjen and San Diego's first-round pick in the 2003 WUSA Draft (second overall).
* - Philadelphia trades F Mandy Clemens for San Jose's first-round pick (fourth overall) in the 2003 WUSA Draft.
** - Washington trades its first pick in the 2003 WUSA Draft to Philadelphia for future considerations.

Second Round
9) New York
10) Atlanta*
11) Boston
12) San Jose
13) Atlanta
14) Philadelphia
15) Washington
16) Carolina
*-Atlanta trades D Anna Kraus to San Diego for its second-round pick in the 2003 WUSA Draft (10th overall).

Third Round
17) San Diego*
18) San Diego
19) Boston
20) Washington**
21) Atlanta
22) Philadelphia
23) Washington
24) Carolina
* - New York sends M Sherrill Kester and its third-round pick in the 2003 WUSA Draft (17th overall) to San Diego for GK Carly Smolak.
**- (2001) San Jose trades F Jacqui Little and third pick in the 2003 WUSA Draft (20th overall) to Washington for F Pretinha.

Fourth Round
25) New York
26) San Diego
27) Boston
28) San Jose
29) Atlanta
30) Philadelphia
31) Washington
32) Carolina