De Vanna scored on this bicycle kick against the Boston Breakers last summer. This year, she'll be in their uniform.
The Boston Breakers have picked up Australian international Lisa De Vanna from Sky Blue FC in exchange for a 2014 international spot and a first-round pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft. Despite indicating she might not play in the National Women’s Soccer League in 2014 to focus on her career with the Matildas, Boston apparently was able to persuade her to return to the States for another year.
“I am delighted to be joining the Boston Breakers this season and cannot wait to arrive to start the new campaign,” De Vanna said. “I played against Boston last season and saw that they are a young team with lots of talent, so I hope with my experience and the recruiting of new head coach Tom Durkin and moving to the famous Harvard Stadium sets us up for the challenge of winning the league this season.”
De Vanna solves a gaping offensive hole for the Breakers after trading Sydney Leroux to Seattle, but Boston coach Tom Durkin will need to curb De Vanna’s league-leading 30 offside calls to maximize the signing.
Sky Blue will receive the second of two first-round picks held by the Breakers before the trade. They acquired Seattle Reign FC’s first-round pick in the Leroux trade. A Sky Blue source said the club is working on filling all available international slots but that no signings were imminent at the time of the trade.
Elsewhere, the Western New York Flash and the Washington Spirit made an official swap of their own today, with Veronica Perez heading to the SoccerPlex. Washington also picked up a fourth-round draft pick in 2015, and in exchange, sent the Flash an extra international roster spot for 2014 and 2015.
Yoreli Rincón of the Colombian national team and LdB Malmö is rumored to be on the move to Rochester, though there are no definitive or official indications she has been signed as of now.
Seattle Reign FC is also rumored to be making another announcement early this week, though it is unclear at this time if it is player related.
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Additional reporting by Dan Lauletta.
