CHICAGO – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) will live stream the 2018 NWSL College Draft via ThornsFC.com, Facebook, YouTube, NWSLsoccer.com and NWSL app on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 a.m. PT, from the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia.
The draft will be held in the CC Grand Ballroom at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and will be open to the public and media. Thorns FC currently hold the eighth and ninth overall picks in the first round.
Host Marisa Pilla, analyst Aly Wagner, analyst Jen Cooper and reporter Jordan Angeli will call the College Draft live from the Pennsylvania Convention Center, providing fans will the latest news, information and insight on each selection. They will also be joined on the live stream by the draft picks, NWSL head coaches and NWSL general managers as well as several special guests.
Marisa Pilla is a sports reporter working in her hometown of Philadelphia. For the last two seasons, she has covered the Philadelphia Union as the sideline reporter and the host of the pregame and halftime shows. Her work has been seen on NBCS Philadelphia, NBCS Washington and recently covered the Big East men’s soccer championship on FS2. In addition to soccer, Marisa has covered the NFL, NBA, college basketball, and college football for multiple outlets.
Aly Wagner is an analyst for Lifetime’s NWSL Game of the Week and FOX Sports as well as a former U.S. Women’s National Team player who won two Olympic gold medals and represented the U.S. at a pair of FIFA Women’s World Cups. Wagner, the No. 1 overall pick at the 2003 Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) Draft, was also a member of the 2001 NCAA Division I national champion Santa Clara Broncos and was named the 2002 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy winner as the country’s top women’s college player.
Jen Cooper is the host of The Mixxed Zone, a weekly women’s soccer podcast hosted by Whatahowler.com, and has served as the color commentator for Houston Dash home broadcasts. She is also the editorial director for the NWSL “Game of the Week” on Lifetime and previously served as an analyst for the 2016 and 2017 NWSL Drafts.
Jordan Angeli is a former NWSL player who spent two seasons in the league and also represented the United States at the U-20 Women’s World Cup. She has now been working in broadcasting for six years including calling NWSL, Colorado Rapids in MLS, USL games along with PAC-12, SEC, WAC and ACC games. She is the founder of THE ACL CLUB, helping athletes through the mental and emotional side of ACL recovery, and hosts the weekly podcast “Show Your Scars” in which she interviews athletes about injury recovery.
