PHILADELPHIA – Senior midfielder and Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy winner Andi Sullivan was selected first overall by the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League college draft Thursday morning.
Sullivan, who hails from Lorton, Virginia, less than an hour from the Spirit's home stadium, is the 10th Stanford player to be picked in the NWSL Draft and the third in the first round (Courtney Verloo, Maddie Bauer). Stanford has had at least one player drafted in each of the six NWSL Drafts, with Sullivan becoming the program's first number one overall pick.
Sullivan is currently with the United States national team in Carson, California – she owns seven caps after making her debut during her 2016 junior season. She took a deeper role in 2017 after leading the team in goals (11) and points (29) in 2016. She controlled the tempo of play, interchanged with any of Stanford's four defenders, broke up play with her tackling ability, accurately delivered set pieces and was a threat to make powerful runs into the box.
Andi Sullivan is heading back to the DMV. Here's a quick message from our top pick!#WeWill #SpiritFam pic.twitter.com/DHjt4PFZGQ
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) January 18, 2018
Sullivan is a three-time first-team All-American, four-time All-Pacific region selection, four-time first-team All-Pac-12 selection, the 2016 Pac-12 Player of the Year, the 2014 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, a three-year captain (2015-17) and a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention (2015-17).
Sullivan concluded her illustrious Stanford career by lifting the College Cup on Dec. 1 after Stanford defeated UCLA, 3-2, and was a member of the All-Tournament team after scoring the second goal in the final. She has 20 career goals, 19 assists and eight game-winning goals. She scored three goals this season, including Stanford's second in a 4-0 win over Penn State to advance to the College Cup on Nov. 24.