Sky Blue FC officially begins 2018 preseason

On Monday, February 19, Sky Blue FC officially opened its 2018 preseason camp by holding its first training session of the year at Sportika Sports in Manalpan, N.J. The club also unveiled its 39-player preseason roster on Monday.

That preseason roster includes 13 players rostered with Sky Blue in 2017, as well as nine players acquired from other NWSL clubs during the offseason via trades and the Boston Breakers dispersal draft.

Three of those players acquired during the offseason are United States women’s national team (USWNT) midfielder Carli Lloyd and Canadian women’s national team players Janine Beckie and Adriana Leon, who, along with Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, were the four players allocated to Sky Blue as Federation Players for 2018.

Five players selected by Sky Blue FC in the 2018 NWSL College Draft—Michaela Abam, Imani Dorsey, Casey Murphy, Kiana Palacios and Amandine Pierre-Louis—are also on the roster. Also included is the No. 2 overall draft pick Savannah McCaskill, originally drafted by the Boston Breakers before being selected in last month’s dispersal draft.

Sky Blue has also invited a number of players who declared for the 2018 NWSL College Draft but went unselected into camp. Two of the most noteworthy are midfielder Alli Magaletta, who played alongside Sky Blue draft picks Michaela Abam and Amandine Pierre-Louis at West Virginia, and Notre Dame defender Monica Flores.

Although the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) only allows a team to call 32 players into preseason camp, more players can be called in to replace players who have yet to report. With multiple national teams currently holding camp, the USWNT and Canada included, Sky Blue is currently missing a number of players, hence the large number of players on the preseason roster.

Sky Blue begins preseason competition on Saturday, February 24 against Penn State University at 6 p.m. ET. They will then take on NCAA Division 1 powerhouse University of North Carolina on Saturday, March 3 at 3 p.m. ET, followed by a Saturday, March 10 clash against West Virginia University at 1 p.m. ET. Sky Blue will close out the 2018 preseason with a match against St. John’s University on Sunday, March 18 at 2 p.m. ET. All matches will be played at Sportika Sports and are free to the public.

The full Sky Blue FC 2018 preseason roster is listed below.

2018 SKY BLUE FC PRESEASON ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (6): Caroline Casey, Tori Corsaro (NRI), Kaycee Guinion (NRI), Casey Murphy (CDP, NYR), Christiana Ogunsami (NRI), Kailen Sheridan
DEFENDERS (13): Cassidy Benintente, Mandy Freeman, Mary Fiebernitz (NRI), Monica Flores (NRI), Amanda Frisbie, Kayla Mills, Christa Neary (NRI), Amandine Pierre-Louis (CDP), Domi Richardson, Erin Simon, Erica Skroski, Rebekah Stott (NYR), Jessica Vigna (NRI)
MIDFIELDERS (11): Nicole Baxter (NRI), Daphne Corboz (NYR), Christina Gibbons, Sarah Killion, Carli Lloyd, Alli Magaletta (NRI), Kiana Palacios (CDP), Raquel Rodriguez (NYR), Ani Sarkisian (NRI), Thaisa (NYR), Madison Tiernan
FORWARDS (9): Michaela Abam (CDP), Janine Beckie, Imani Dorsey (CDP), Shea Groom, Jen Hoy, Katie Johnson, Adriana Leon, Savannah McCaskill, McKenzie Meehan

Key:
CDP - 2018 NWSL College Draft pick
NRI - Non-Roster Invitee
NYR - Not Yet Reported to Camp