Atlanta Beat holds No. 1 pick in WPS draft

The expansion teams coming on board the Women’s Professional Soccer league for 2010 are gearing up for the two drafts that will fill their rosters next month.

The Atlanta Beat and the Philadelphia Independence will participate in a special expansion draft on Sept. 15, with Philly holding the No. 1 spot in the international draft that takes place a week later.

The Beat will choose first out of all the nine teams in the WPS college draft in January. In that phase, the expansion teams will have two first-round selections apiece.

Tonight the other finalist in the WPS championship game will be determined as the St. Louis Athletica plays host to New Jersey-based Sky Blue FC in a “super semifinal.” It’s one of the oddities of the WPS playoff format that awarded regular season champions Los Angeles Sol the host’s role in the finals on Saturday. Sky Blue knocked off the Washington Freedom in the first round.

As the WPS takes stock of its first season — launched in the midst of a nasty recession — commissioner Tonya Antonucci acknowledged the lack of sponsorship money led to larger-than-expected losses that totaled around $2 million for some teams:

“What it means is it will take longer to get to break even. Should the economic conditions of this year continue and if these losses were to continue for three years, then we’d have a serious issue on our hands, just like many businesses. Let’s talk in three years.”

Doesn’t this sound familiar? After three years the Women’s United Soccer Association was history. Here’s to hoping that history won’t repeat itself. It looks like the Coast Guard — yes, the U.S. Coast Guard — has come to the rescue. At least to some degree. Will others follow?