Hottest WPS Player Poll: Preliminary Round

After being prodded to revisit a hottest women’s soccer player poll I did a few years ago (won by Heather Mitts), I decided to give it another go, this time limiting things to WPS players (sorry, Ali Krieger.) The preliminary round will include 20 players, organized into four groups of five. You’ll have until Thursday to vote for the hottest player in each group, and the top two in each group will go to the final round of 8. Each player will have two photos from which you’ll have to judge, one headshot and one sort of action shot. Clicking some pictures will get them to enlarge. Let’s do it.

GROUP A:

Heather Mitts

Team: Atlanta Beat
Age: 32
Height: 5’5
Currently injured and missing the Women’s World Cup, Mitts has long been considered the hottest female soccer player around. Can anyone unseat her?

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Lauren Cheney

Team: Boston Breakers
Age: 23
Height: 5’8
A dangerous forward, Cheney will be looking to help the US win the Women’s World Cup in Germany this summer.

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Lauren Sesselmann

Team: Atlanta Beat
Age: 27
Height: 5’8
Twitter: @lsesselmann
Sesselmann lists “model” as part of her Twitter bio. Yeah, I’m good with that.

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Keeley Dowling

Team: Atlanta Beat
Age: 28
Height: 5’7
Dowling is a University of Tennessee graduate and a fringe member of the National Team pool. She’s not going to Germany, but that means we get to see more of her here.

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Becky Sauerbrunn

Team: magicJack
Age: 25
Height: 5’7
Her play in WPS has led to inclusion in the World Cup team. Even though they’re not the Freedom anymore, Sauerbrunn has the distinction of having scored the franchise’s first WPS goal.

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GROUP B:

Hope Solo

Team: magicJack
Age: 29
Height: 5’9
Twitter: @hopesolo
Solo gets more press for what she says than what she does on the field. That’s a shame, as her talents need no description.

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Taryn Hemmings

Team: Boston Breakers
Age: 25
Height: 5’7
Twitter: @tarynbell
I don’t really know much about her, other than that she’s a 2nd year player from the University of Denver. Also, wow.

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Bianca D’Agostino

Team: Atlanta Beat
Age: 22
Height: 5’3
Twitter: @BiancaDAgostino [protected]
She hasn’t gotten much time on the field in WPS, so I’ve had to give you a picture from her time with the US U-23 team. Seeing more of her would be nice.

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Kelley O’Hara

Team: Boston Breakers
Age: 22
Height: 5’5
O’Hara broke Kristine Lilly’s beep test record with the National Team, which means she’s got to be the fittest player on the team. That’s not the only superlative I’d bestow.

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Carli Lloyd

Team: Atlanta Beat
Age: 28
Height: 5’8
Twitter: @carlilloyd
Lloyd is a polarizing player in WNT fan circles, and then she puts a rocket into the upper 90 from 30 yards and all is forgiven.

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GROUP C:

Amy Rodriguez

Team: Philadelphia Independence
Age: 24
Height: 5’4
Fast, skilled, and for my money one of the keys to the success of the World Cup team. Also, she looks great in HD.

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Leslie Osborne

Team: Boston Breakers
Age: 28
Height: 5’7
Twitter: @LeslieOsborne12
Osborne came closest to defeating Heather Mitts in the first poll. You can see why.

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Ashlyn Harris

Team: Western New York Flash
Age: 5’9
Height: 25
Harris was the odd woman out as far as World Cup goalkeepers go, and the second and final goalkeeper in the poll. Is she #1 overall?

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Meghan Schnur

Team: magicJack
Age: 26
Height: 5’6
Another fringe National Teamer, Schnur will be called upon to step up in the World Cup absence of many magicJack players. Can she step up here?

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Katherine Reynolds

Team: Atlanta Beat
Age: 23
Height: 5’8
Twitter: @KReynolds16
I don’t know much about her. I do know that Reynolds is the 7th of 8 Atlanta Beat players in the poll, but she’s the only one in this group.

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GROUP D:

Alex Morgan

Team: Western New York Flash
Age: 21
Height: 5’8
Twitter: @alexmorgan13
Morgan got a lot of support on Twitter when I solicited suggestions for candidates in the poll. Of course I was already going to include her. Oh, and she scored the most important US goal in World Cup qualifying.

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Carrie Dew

Team: Sky Blue FC
Age: 24
Height: 5’9
Twitter: @CarrieDew19
Dew is the lone Sky Blue FC representative. What’s not to like about tall and blonde?

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Tina DiMartino

Team: Philadelphia Independence
Age: 24
Height: 5’2
DiMartino is the shortest player in the poll, but I’ve always contended that short = cute…

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Marian Dalmy

Team: magicJack
Age: 26
Height: 5’9
It really is a shame that so many media restrictions are in place at magicJack. How are we supposed to see more of her?

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Cat Whitehill

Team: Atlanta Beat
Age: 29
Height: 5’7
Twitter: @catwhitehill4
The final Beat player and final entrant, Whitehill also has sports broadcasting aspirations. Plus she has the distinction of being the only player in the poll that I’ve actually met.