Kelley O'Hara has been left unprotected by Sky Blue FC and available for selection by the Houston Dash in the NWSL Expansion Draft. (Photo copyright Meg Linehan for The Equalizer)
The Equalizer has obtained the list of protected and unprotected players for the 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft, and there are plenty of players from which the Houston Dash can choose to build their inaugural roster.
Houston can only add up to 10 total players, and they can’t select more than two players from any of the other eight teams. If the Dash choose a U.S. allocated player from a team, they may not select another player from that team. Houston cannot take more than two U.S. allocated players, one Canada player and one Mexico player on the draft. They already have American Whitney Engen, Mexico midfielder Teresa Noyola and Canada goalkeeper Erin McLeod after Wednesday’s trade.
If Houston selects a player from a team, that team can protect one additional player.
There are nine U.S. allocated players available for selection for the Dash, including Rachel Buehler and Kelley O’Hara.
What is unclear is the listing of “discovery players” by many teams. It seems the Dash will know who the discovery players are during the process, but the public will not know (unless Houston chooses and signs the player). It’s also unclear if German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer is one of these players, but she recently said she had not yet officially signed with her mystery NWSL club – perhaps by design.
The lists:
Boston Breakers
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Courtney Jones | Jazmyne Avant |
| Julie King | Michelle Betos |
| Kaylyn Kyle (CAN) | Bianca D’Agostino |
| Joanna Lohman | Maddy Evans |
| Kia McNeill | Dinora Garza (MEX) |
| Kristie Mewis (USA) | Meghan Klingenberg (USA) |
| Alyssa Naeher | Jessica Luscinski (2013 rights) |
| Heather O’Reilly (USA) | Melissa Ortiz |
| Lianne Sanderson | Kathryn Schoepfer |
| Catherine Whitehill | Chelsea Stewart (CAN) |
Chicago Red Stars
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Zakiya Bywaters | Shannon Boxx (USA) |
| Lori Chalupny | Amy LePeilbet (USA) |
| Taryn Hemmings | Ella Masar |
| Jennifer Hoy | Alyssa Mautz |
| Adriana Leon (CAN) | Jacqueline Santacaterina |
| Leslie Osborne | Julianne Sitch |
| Christen Press (USA) | Melissa Tancredi (CAN) |
| Rachel Quon (CAN) | Lindsay Tarpley (2013 rights) |
| Casey Short (2013 rights) | Lydia Vandenbergh |
| Taylor Vancil | Michelle Wenino |
FC Kansas City
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Jen Buczkowski | Nicole Barnhart (USA) |
| Melissa Henderson | Elizabeth Bogus |
| Lauren Holiday (USA) | Sinead Farrelly |
| Nikki Krzysik | Jamie French |
| Merritt Mathias | Bianca Henninger |
| Leigh Ann Robinson | Katie Kelly |
| Amy Rodriguez (USA) | Casey Loyd |
| Becky Sauerbrunn (USA) | Cecilia Santiago (MEX) |
| Erika Tymrak | Desiree Scott (CAN) |
| Lauren Sesselmann (CAN) | |
| Nia Williams | |
| Discovery Player #1 | |
| Discovery Player #2 | |
| Discovery Player #3 | |
| Discovery Player #4 | |
| Discovery Player #5 | |
| Discovery Player #6 |
Portland Thorns FC
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Jackie Acevedo (MEX) | Rachel Buehler (USA) |
| Amber Brooks | Becky Edwards |
| Tobin Heath (USA) | Tina Ellertson |
| Allie Long | Angie Kerr |
| Nikki Marshall | Karina LeBlanc (CAN) |
| Alex Morgan (USA) | Jessica McDonald |
| Rebecca Moros | Emilee O’Neil |
| Christine Sinclair (CAN) | Casey Ramirez |
| Kat Williamson | Meleana Shim |
| Nikki Washington | |
| Tiffany Weimer | |
| Michele Weissenhofer (2013 rights) | |
| Courtney Wetzel | |
| Discovery Player #1 | |
| Discovery Player #2 | |
| Discovery Player #3 | |
| Discovery Player #4 |
Seattle Reign FC
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Lauren Barnes | Stephanie Cox (USA) |
| Jessica Fishlock | Kiersten Dallstream |
| Danielle Foxhoven | Kate Deines |
| Beverly Goebel-Yanez | Kaley Fountain (2013 rights) |
| Sydney Leroux (USA) | Alina Garciamendez (2013 rights) |
| Kim Little | Carmelina Moscato (CAN) |
| Megan Rapinoe (USA) | Mariah Nogueira |
| Elli Reed | Arianna Romero (MEX) |
| Hope Solo (USA) | Discovery Player #1 |
| Keelin Winters | Discovery Player #2 |
| Discovery Player #3 | |
| Discovery Player #4 | |
| Discovery Player #5 | |
| Discovery Player #6 |
Sky Blue FC
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Lisa De Vanna | Danesha Adams |
| Caitlin Foord | Brittany Bock |
| Katy Freels | Brittany Cameron |
| Courtney Goodson | Alison Falk (2013 rights) |
| Lindsi Cutshall | Jonelle Filigno (CAN) |
| Monica Ocampo (MEX) | Kendall Johnson |
| Christie Rampone (USA) | Meghan Lenczyk (2013 rights) |
| Sophie Schmidt (CAN) | Jillian Loyden (USA) |
| Discovery Player #1 | Taylor Lytle |
| Ashley Nick | |
| Kelley O’Hara (USA) | |
| Madeleine Thompson | |
| Kandace Wilson (2013 rights) | |
| Discovery Player #1 |
Washington Spirit
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Yael Averbuch (USA) | Marisa Abegg |
| Renae Cuellar (MEX) | Jordan Angeli (2013 rights) |
| Robyn Gayle (CAN) | Candace Chapman |
| Victoria Huster | Ashlyn Harris (USA) |
| Ali Krieger (USA) | Chantel Jones |
| Diana Matheson (CAN) | Natasha Kai (2013 rights) |
| Christine Nairn | Lori Lindsey |
| Stephanie Ochs | Tiffany McCarty |
| Toni Pressley | Caroline Miller |
| Jodie Taylor | Julia Roberts |
| Jasmyne Spencer | |
| Kika Toulouse | |
| Colleen Williams | |
| Discovery Player #1 | |
| Discovery Player #2 |
Western New York Flash
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Adrianna Franch | Amy Barczuk |
| Samantha Kerr | Vicki DiMartino |
| Carli Lloyd (USA) | Val Henderson (2013 rights) |
| Adriana Martin | Sarah Huffman |
| Katherine Reynolds | Selenia Iacchelli (CAN) |
| Brittany Taylor | Estelle Johnson |
| Abby Wambach (USA) | Veronica Perez (MEX) |
| McCall Zerboni | Angela Salem |
| Discovery Player #1 |
Source:
http://equalizersoccer.com/2014/01/08/nwsl-protected-unprotected-list-houston-dash-expansion-draft/