Head Coach Laura Harvey – NWSL Draft Conference Call • 1-12-23

Head Coach Laura Harvey

On her overall assessment of the 2023 Draft:

“Yeah, really happy. I think (forward) Elyse (Bennett) was someone that we identified a year ago, before she went to Kansas (City Current), so happy to get her back in the Pacific Northwest. (Defender) Shae Holmes has been someone that I worked with at the U-20s and she trained with us last season. She has an exceptional potential to be one of the best defenders that we’ve seen in a long time. Obviously really happy to bring (defender) Emily Sonnett in with her experience of winning and knowing what it takes and then (midfielder) Natalie (Viggiano) was someone I spoke to her college coach a lot about coming in and I think she suites the style of play that we like to do. So yeah, overall, really happy.”

On trading up to draft Holmes and if there was any indication that another team might have selected her:

“Well, I have someone on another team now that knows all my moves, so I had to make sure I picked before Mr. (Houston Dash head coach Sam) Laity.”

On if there was a lot of activity during the day:

“I mean, draft day always tends to be pretty wild and today was no different. So yeah, a lot of activity and obviously we wanted to try and keep the fact that we were moving up pretty quiet and thankfully, we made that happen.”

On if she knows specifically where Sonnett will play on the field and if there are any other acquisitions the club is looking at:

“In answer to the Sonnett question, I think that’s one of the appealing things of Sonnett is, she has played in multiple roles and it will be something that I’ll be speaking to her about to look at where we think it will be best fit for her. Obviously, she’s come back off an injury and now in national team camp, which is great. It sets her up really well for preseason and obviously with the World Cup year, I think, obviously hope for her that she gets the chance to go and play in another World Cup. So, just the balance of making all that work when those guys are there versus when they’re away on the tournament, I think, is going to be also vital. I think we’re always looking to do business if we think it’s the right thing for the team. I don’t think we have major holes to fill. I think we’re always looking at areas that we can make our team better. I think we all knew that there wasn’t going to be a ton of business this off-season for our team with where we’re at. We did a lot, obviously, a little bit of business in the summer last year and I think that might be something that happens throughout the year – we tend to do a little bit of business here and there just to tweak and make our team as good as it possibly can be to get over the hump at the end of the season and try and get what our ultimate goal is, which is to win a championship.”

Download Quote Here: Head Coach Laura Harvey – NWSL Draft Conference Call • 1-12-23