Maddy Evans selected by Orlando in expansion draft

Boston Breakers midfielder Maddy Evans is moving to the Sun Belt next season. She was picked by the Orlando Pride in their expansion draft ahead of 2016 and will now suit up in purple for head coach Tom Sermanni.

Evans has no small amount of history with Boston, playing all three seasons of NWSL for them so far, with 46 caps and 23 starts after Boston took Evans in the 2013 College Draft.

Thanks for everything Boston! So grateful for the opportunity & support these past three years with the @BostonBreakers

— Maddy Evans (@Mevans018) November 2, 2015

"We've had a lot of good reports about Maddy both on and off the field," said Orlando head coach Tom Sermanni in a media call after the draft. "She's a professional, good work ethic, good footballer, and she's played in the league. She's got reasonable experience. When you put all those factors together and looking at the balance of the squad that we're trying to put together,k she looks like an ideal fit for us."

"That was a tough pill to swallow. Maddy is an incredible person and gives her all for the team and her teammates," Boston Breakers general manager Lee Billiard said. "We wish her all the best in Orlando, and knowing Maddy, she is the ideal candidate for an expansion team."

Evans was a utility player for Boston, shifting between defense and midfield under former head coach Tom Durkin. She was a starter or a supersub depending on the team's needs and brought a gritty, hardnosed mentality to the field, as well as providing link play through the midfield and bagging two goals in her final season.

With the Breakers bringing in midfielders Sinead Farrelly and McCall Zerboni, Evans might have seen her minutes become limited in 2016. Under Sermanni, she could become a more regular starter and find a more solidified position on the field.