Dec. 6, 2000

Ten former Notre Dame women’s soccer players are preparing for a possible roster spot with the first-year Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), with that group of hopefuls including five Irish alums who currently are among nearly 200 participants at a WUSA tryout combine in Boca Raton, Fla.

The five-day combine (Dec. 5-9) serves as an evaluation tool for the eight WUSA franchises, which will hold a player draft on Dec. 10-11 in preparation for the league’s inaugural season (beginning in April of 2001). The draft will consist of 12-15 rounds and selections may be tracked at www.wusaleague.com.

The former Irish players who are participating in the combine include: midfielder Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, CA, class of ’99), midfielder/defender Kara Brown (Avon, CT, ’00), forward Monica Gerardo (Corona, CA, ’99), midfielder/forward Jenny Streiffer-Mascaro (Baton Rouge, LA, ’00) and forward Michelle McCarthy-Restovich (St. Louis, MO, ’96).

Two other former Notre Dame players-goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene (Gold River, CA, ’00) of the Bay Area CyberRays and defender Kate Sobrero (Bloomfield Hills, MI, ’98) of the Boston Breakers -are among those players who already have been allocated to teams (each of the franchises has been allocated three U.S. players and two foreign players).

Three Notre Dame players who just completed their senior seasons-midfielder Anne Makinen (Helsinki, Finland), forward Meotis Erikson (Kennewick, Wash.) and defender Kelly Lindsey (Omaha, Neb.)-likewise are considering postgraduate playing careers in the WUSA and may be selected in the upcoming draft.