(Photo Courtesy of Percy Anderson/UCLA Athletics)
Orlando Pride Pick UCLA’s Mia Fishel, Reunites Her With Amanda Cromwell
A pair of Bruins will be making the next steps in their careers together.
The Orlando Pride selected UCLA women’s soccer forward Mia Fishel with the No. 5 overall pick of the 2021 NWSL Draft on Saturday. The move immediately reunites Fishel with her college coach, Amanda Cromwell, who left Westwood for the pros earlier in December.
Another former UCLA player, midfielder Viviana Villacorta, went to the Pride in last year’s draft.
But while Canales left college after a season as a graduate student, Fishel made the rare leap after her junior year. Fishel led UCLA with 12 goals in 2021 and finished her career in blue and goal with 32 goals and 14 assists in 59 appearances.
Fishel was named an All-American as both a sophomore and a junior, and her 16 career game-winning goals rank fifth in program history. For the past three years, Fishel has racked up numerous Pac-12, regional and national honors while also making a name for herself on the international stage as well.
In the 2020 U-20 CONCACAF for the USWNT, Fishel won the Golden Ball, scoring twice in the finals and picking up a record-high 13 goals in the tournament.
The Pride made their hiring of Cromwell official on Dec. 7, and this marks one of her first big moments as the club’s coach. And in that spot, she brought her most reliable scorer to the pros with her, adding her to a lineup that has lost Alex Morgan and several other key veterans in recent months.
Like Morgan, Fishel is a Southern California native, so Orlando has immediately filled the hole of SoCal representation.
Four of the first seven picks in the NWSL Draft were from Pac-12 schools. Fishel’s selection makes it five Bruins going in the first round of the last six NWSL Drafts.
The Pride traded up to No. 10 to select Duke defender Caitlin Cosme and will be back on the clock at No. 29 and No. 31.
Midfielder Marley Canales was the next Bruin off the board, going No. 47 to the Seattle Reign FC at the end of the fourth round. The only UCLA alum up in Seattle is veteran defender Lauren Barnes, but USWNT stars Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle are on the roster to welcome Canales as well.
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