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The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) will live stream the 2017 NWSL College Draft via Facebook and YouTube on Thursday, Jan. 12 at the National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) Convention in Los Angeles.
This marks the second consecutive year the NWSL draft will be live streamed. Selections begin at 3 p.m. EST, and fans can watch live by visiting Facebook.com/NWSL and YouTube.com/NWSL.
The broadcast crew will consist of host Mark Rogondino, analysts Aly Wagner and Jen Cooper and reporter Ashleigh Ignelzi. They will also be joined throughout the live stream by draft picks, NWSL head coaches, NWSL general managers and several special guests.
Rogondino is a well-known sports broadcaster with over 15 years of experience in various sports leagues such as the NBA, NHL and MLS. He was previously a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy broadcast team and called both the 2011 and 2012 Galaxy Championship seasons as the lead play-by-play announcer. Rogondino also has experience covering the NWSL, the U.S. Men and Women’s National Teams and numerous international and college games for FOX Sports 1 & 2, Pac-12 Network, CBS Sports and other various networks.
Former USWNT player and two-time Olympic gold medalist Aly Wagner is currently a soccer analyst with FOX Sports. While playing for the USWNT, Wagner won gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and was a member of the 2003 and 2007 World Cup squads. Her international career included 131 caps, 21 goals and 42 assists. During her collegiate career at Santa Clara University, she helped the Broncos win the 2001 Division I NCAA National Championship and was named the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy winner the following season. Wagner was the first overall pick for the 2003 Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) Draft, and she played several years professionally in both the WUSA and the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league.
Cooper joins the NWSL Draft broadcast team for the second year in a row. She is the host of the Mixxed Zone, a weekly women’s soccer podcast hosted by Whatahowler.com and has been the color commentator for the Houston Dash broadcasts since the club joined the league in 2014. Cooper is also the founder and publisher of Keeper Notes, a Houston-based soccer newsletter and website.
Ignelzi has experience covering national and international soccer for FOX Sports, Sky Sports and FOX Sports Ohio. She served as a sideline reporter for the Guinness International Champions Cup, the USWNT and is currently the sideline reporter for the Columbus Crew of MLS. Ignelzi also has experience reporting for other sports such as college football, basketball and golf, and has won two Emmy’s during her career.
The 2017 NWSL College Draft will be held at the JW Marriott and will be open to the public and media.