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The Boston Breakers have signed Canadian defender Allsyha Chapman from the Houston Dash. In exchange they will send an international roster spot for 2017 and 2018 and their #15 overall draft pick to Houston. They still retain picks 1, 3, 9, 11, 12, 16, 21, and 31.
Chapman went to the Dash as part of the national player allocation process before the 2015 season. Before that she played in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan for three seasons. Chapman is currently a defender for the Canadian women’s national team with 39 caps and was a member of the squad that earned a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She started eight of the nine games she played for Houston this past season, playing 710 minutes.
“She will add great defensive stability to our side, and she is a threat going forward. She also brings a wealth of NWSL and International experience,” said head coach Matt Beard via team press release.
Chapman is a sturdy left fullback and a solid addition to Boston’s back line. Between the team’s current defensive signings of Julie King, Megan Oyster, and Chapman, that’s a decent building block with a couple of options to help build out of the back. Chapman isn’t the speediest player and won’t necessarily be pushing forward all the time (depending on how head coach Matt Beard decides to use her, of course), but does present the option from time to time. Otherwise she’s a good player to keep more at home and protect the team from getting overloaded or exposed on her side.