ASU soccer stars turn pro

 by Al Stevens,State Press
 published on Wednesday, February 13, 2002

Kristin Slater

Stacey Tullock

One was perched in front of her computer, anxiously watching. The other was attending a 7:40 a.m. class, aware of what was going on, but unsure it would even concern her.

However, by noon Monday, both senior midfielder Stacey Tullock and senior goalkeeper Kristin Slater realized it was going to be a special day for them, and they also knew the soccer careers they had worked so hard to forge at ASU were not going to be over just quite yet. Each had been drafted into the WUSA Women's Professional Soccer League.

Tullock, who had been watching the draft unfold on her computer screen, didn't have to wait long to discover that professional soccer was in her near future. ASU's all-time leading scorer, was taken as the fifth overall pick in the draft by the Philadelphia Charge. The Phoenix Thunderbird High School product was assured a shot at taking both her game and reputation for prolific scoring to the next level.

"It's awesome," said Tullock, who was the only Pac-10 player selected in the first round and has already been contacted by Philadelphia coach Mark Krikorian. "He asked me how I would feel about playing center back for him.

There was some question as to whether the three-time All-American would even be drafted this year. The four-time All-Pac-10 player had decided to stay in school with hopes of graduating this spring. Because of that decision, she didn't travel to the pre-draft combines in Florida. That absence, coupled with the fact that the WUSA season starts this month, made many teams reluctant to draft a player they wouldn't even see until May.

"There were some complications," Tullock said. "I was going to graduate first, so there was talk of listing me as non-responsive."

San Diego Spirit coach Carlos Juarez even called Tullock the night before the draft to make sure she still wanted to be selected. But in the end, Philadelphia couldn't pass up an opportunity to take Tullock.

Meanwhile, a broken clavicle forced Slater to miss the combines last week. But she had already decided she was going to head East later this month to compete for a position with the Boston Breakers.

"I had talked to Boston coach (Jay Hoffman) at Christmas time and was interested," Slater said. "I was going to tryout anyway."

But Monday's draft prevented the need for that; Slater was selected in the fourth round (27th overall pick) by the Breakers.

"I wasn't expecting to get drafted," Slater said. "I knew there was an outside chance, but when I saw my name, my heart started pounding."

Slater was intrigued by the idea of turning pro to further women's rights. She sees the opportunity to play at the professional level as a way to inspire young girls as a female role model in the male-dominated sports world.

The Spring, Texas native admits she hadn't seriously entertained the idea much before last year. Up until 2001, Slater had spent most of her career at ASU as a backup goalkeeper. However, everything changed in her senior season.

Slater was superb in the box for the Sun Devils this past year, stringing together four shutouts, while posting a 1.12 goals-against average. ASU benefited from her experience and her calm, forceful manner on the pitch.

"Until this fall, I was anticipating that my senior year would be my last," Slater said. "But I got a chance to play and show well."

Slater's broken clavical will be healed within the next two weeks.

Reach the reporter at al.stevens@asu.edu.