Also in today’s roundup, the U.S. U-19s go to camp and former no. 2 pick Tiffany McCarty goes to Norway
An NWSL spokesperson confirmed to The Equalizer on Wednesday that the league’s minimum salary will jump to $15,000 for the 2017 season. That is an upgrade of more than 100% over the 2015 number of $7,200. The story was first reported by Corey Roepken of The Houston Chronicle.
NWSL salaries have been a source of consternation for players and fans. Many promising young players have cut short their careers early rather than continuing to scrape out a living on wages that barely clear the poverty line. The new minimum of $15,000 is $800 less than the accepted poverty line but is meant to cover only the months when NWSL is in season. Offseason loans, coaching, and housing assistantce, and other business opportunities have helped augment meager NWSL salaries.
{LAULETTA: The non-retirement decisions}
At the NWSL draft earlier this month, commissioner Jeff Plush was asked about the most important element of investing more money in player salaries and he made it clear the first priority was to raise the bottom end.
“I’d say the 2017 priority is to raise that bottom end. That is what we want to address first,” he said.
{ALSO TODAY: Canada subsidizes two rookies in group of 10}
NWSL has raised the minimum each year, and although the salary issue is far from solved, this bump is by far the most significant movement to date.
U-19s call 30 into camp
Head coach Jitka Klimkova has called 30 players into U-19 training camp in Sunrise, Florida. The camp will run January 28-February 4. The team will play the University of Central Florida February 3 at the Paul Filipe Estate in Palm City.
Nine of the 30 players called in are in college. The others play for prominent youth programs. The entire group consists of players born in 1998 and 1999, making everyone eligible for the U-20 World Cup next year in France. The most prominent players are Civana Kuhlmann and Frankie Tagliaferri, who have a combined 26 goals at the U-17 level. Kuhlmann had a hat trick against Paraguay at last year’s U-17 World Cup.
The full U-19 camp roster:
GOALKEEPERS (4): Aubrei Corder (Nebraska-Lincoln; Barboursville, W.V.), Amanda Dennis (Penn State; Palmetto, Fla.), Laurel Ivory (West Florida Flames; Surfside, Fla.), Amanda McGlynn (Virginia Tech; Jacksonville, Fla.)
DEFENDERS (11): Kerry Abello (Eclipse Select; Batavia, Ill.), Sydney Dawson (Internationals SC; Akron, Ohio), Samantha Hiatt (Crossfire S.C.; Newcastle, Wash.), Julie Mackin (Clemson; Castle Rock, Colo.), Tara McKeown (San Diego Surf; Newbury Park, Calif.), Zoe Morse (Michigan Hawks; East Lansing, Mich.), Karlie Paschall (Tennessee Soccer Club; Brentwood, Tenn.), Kiara Pickett (Eagles; Santa Barbara, Calif.), Isabel Rodriguez (Michigan Hawks; Canton, Mich.), Karina Rodriguez (So Cal Blues; Torrance, Calif.), Emily Smith (De Anza Force; Los Gatos, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Haley Berg (Solar; Celina, Texas), Samantha Coffey (Match Fit Academy; Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.), Jordan Harr (Texas Tech; Sachse, Texas), Arlie Jones (San Diego Surf; Las Vegas, Nev.), Frankie Tagliaferri (PDA U18 Arsenal; Colts Neck, N.J.), Viviana Villacorta (Beach F.C.; Lawndale, Calif.), Natalie Winters (Iowa; Plymouth, Mich.), Sydney Zandi (Penn Fusion; West Chester, Penn.)
FORWARDS (7): Amirah Ali (PDA; Voorhees, N.J.), Belle Briede (Tophat SC; Alpharetta, Ga.), Cecilia Gee (Stanford University; Orinda, Calif.), Mireya Grey (Crossfire; Seattle, Wash.), Abigail Kim (California; Vashon, Wash.), Civana Kuhlmann (Colorado Rush; Littleton, Colo.), Kelsey Turnbow (Santa Clara; Liberty Lake, Wash.)
Tiffany McCarty to Norway
Tiffany McCarty is leaving NWSL to play in Norway. The No. 2 overall pick in the first NWSL college draft announced via Instagram that she is heading to play for Medkila. Originally drafted by the Washington Spirit, McCarty’s career as a goal scorer never got off the ground in NWSL, and in four seasons she did not play for any side that reached the playoffs.
In 2013 McCarty scored just 2 goals in 21 appearances for the Spirit, who then left her exposed in the expansion draft. The Dash grabbed her and she notched 5 goals in 37 appearances in a Houston shirt. A major off-season trade landed her in Kansas City last season. In 16 appearances McCarty scored 2 goals for the Blues.
Medlika can use any help McCarty can bring. In 22 matches last season, the club won only twice and totaled 11 points. For the second straight season, Medlika escaped relegation only through a playoff.