Three-team trade sends Lloyd home to New Jersey
Forward Beckie also bound for Sky Blue FC; Press heading to Houston from Chicago
In a blockbuster move that will bring relief for both player and club, the Dash on Thursday traded away two-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year Carli Lloyd.
As part of a three-team trade with the Chicago Red Stars and Sky Blue FC, the Dash parted ways with Lloyd and Canadian international forward Janine Beckie. Lloyd and Beckie both landed with Sky Blue FC.
In return, the Dash received U.S. national team forward Christen Press and one international roster spot from Chicago. The teams also swapped the Nos. 6 and 7 draft picks in Thursday’s NWSL draft, with the Dash trading down.
While the Dash did announce the Chicago portions of the trade involving draft picks and the international spot, the three teams had not yet announced the players involved in the deal. Sources not authorized to speak publicly confirmed the details to the Chronicle.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that another aspect of the trade sends reigning NWSL Player of the Year Sam Kerr from Sky Blue FC to Chicago.
The trade of Lloyd ends her drama-filled three-year stay in Houston.
The Dash acquired Lloyd in an October 2014 trade before she was a world player of the year. She played 27 games over three seasons, missing time for the World Cup in 2015, an injury in 2016, and a stint in England plus
another injury in 2017.
Lloyd showed flashes of brilliance in Houston, tallying 11 goals and three assists, but rarely showed interest in playing for the Dash.
After the 2016 Olympics, she attended a concert in New York and posted photos of it on social media rather than returning to Houston for a rescheduled game. After her injuries in 2016 and 2017, she left Houston to do her rehabilitation in her home state of New Jersey. Sky Blue FC is based in Piscataway, N.J.
Rather than start the 2017 season with the Dash, Lloyd signed a short-term contract with Manchester City. She missed the first eight games of the NWSL season.
In Beckie, the Dash lose a player they picked No. 6 overall in the 2016 draft but who has yet to translate her Canadian national team success to the NWSL. Beckie, who owns the record for fastest goal scored in Olympic history, had five goals and three assists in 38 appearances over the last two seasons.
Press, 29, comes to Houston after four highly productive seasons with the Red Stars. She scored 36 goals the last four seasons, leading Chicago with 11 goals last season and eight goals in 2016. She also has 44 goals in 96 appearances with the U.S. national team since 2013.
The Dash also added five players via the draft, most notably picking University of Nebraska midfielder Haley Hanson at No. 7 overall. Hanson scored 19 goals and added seven assists over her four-year career with the Cornhuskers. She participated in the U.S. U-23 women’s national team training camp in 2017.
The Dash also picked Washington forward Kimberly Keever, Virginia forward Veronica Latsko, North Carolina midfielder Abby Elinsky and Washington goalkeeper Sarah Shimer.
With the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, the Washington Spirit took Stanford midfielder Andi Sullivan, who already has played with the U.S. national team.
Houston native Michaela Abam, who played for West Virginia University, was the No. 4 overall pick by Sky Blue FC. She told the Chronicle last week she will consider playing overseas.