Odds and ends: WPS, men’s national team, futsal
Notebook cleaning:
The WPS general draft is Monday, starting at 1 p.m., and you can follow it online here. This is for domestic players not part of the national team pool (though some former national team players will be involved) and it’s where the bulk of the team — beyond the three national teamers and up to four foreigners — will come from.
Bob Bradley named 23 players who will come into camp for the national team’s upcoming two World Cup qualifiers. The first game is against Cuba on Oct. 11 in Washington, then they travel to Trinidad for a match on Oct. 15. There are some new faces on the list (see below). Since the Americans can clinch a spot in the next round with a win over Cuba, Bradley will use the regulars in that match, then send most of them back to Europe and use more domestic players for the Trinidad match. If they don’t clinch a spot, which is really unlikely, he may have to bring some of them to Trinidad. Here’s the list:
GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 2/2 SO), Tim Howard (Everton FC: 6/5 SO), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF: 0/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes: 16/2), Danny Califf (FC Midtjylland: 2/0), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96: 17/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC: 1/0), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew: 13/1), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege: 11/0), Michael Orozco (San Luis: 0/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 5/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco: 1/0), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers: 19/4), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach: 5/2), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers: 3/0), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 3/0), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio: 0/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 0/0)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal C.F.: 0/0), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo: 9/4), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF: 0/0) Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC: 11/4), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy: 24/8)
*numbers indicate all-time World Cup Qualifying caps/goals
Finally, the U.S. team at the Futsal World Cup (that’s the kind of indoor soccer played in the rest of the world), which includes former SLU player Joe Hammes, is not doing well in Brazil. After losing to Paraguay 5-0 and Italy 6-1, the Americans need to beat Thailand on Saturday or they’re done. Thailand is the other weak team in the group, so there’s hope the Americans will last at least another day. The match, which starts at 8:30 a.m., can be seen on ESPN360.com.


Curious to know who you put on your ballet for Player of the Year.
Also, any locals likely to be selected in the WPS draft?
Tough to say about locals in the draft. Becky Sauerbrunn will get chosen. Former SLU goalie Meghann Burke I would think would be an option. It will be tough for players who are more than a few years out of college since they haven’t had much of a chance to play recently. I would think there are some recent SLU graduates who might be attractive choices, especially for the local team. But for some who might have started lives outside soccer, it could be tough to go back. Mo Hughes? Dee Guempel? Cassi Winchell? Or do teams just draft every North Carolina, Notre Dame and Portland player they can?
Finally, here’s my POY ballot:
2008 HONDA PLAYER OF THE YEAR BALLOT
1st Place……Tim Howard………………………………………………………………………………
2nd Place……Clint Dempsey………………………………………………………………………………
3rd Place………Oguchi Onyewu…………………………………………………………………………