PRINCETON, N.J. -- Two of the most prolific scorers in Ivy League history, Midge Purce and Tyler Lussi, were selected in the 2017 National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) College Draft.
For the first time since the league was founded in 2012, The Ivy League produced a pair of draftees during the four-round, 40-pick affair hosted in conjunction with the NSCAA Convention.
Harvard's Midge Purce—a four-time First-Team All-Ivy honoree and two-time Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year—was drafted in the first round by the Boston Breakers, the highest-ever selection of an Ivy League student-athlete. The ninth overall pick led the Ivy League with 12 goals and 28 points during her senior campaign, while helping Harvard to its 13th League title with a 5-0-2 mark in League play.
Purce was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) First-Team All-American this season, after earning Third-Team honors as a freshman. The Olney, Md., native was also a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist this season and concluded her Crimson career in third place on the Harvard career goals list with 42, a mark that ranks seventh all-time in the Ivy League.
Princeton's Tyler Lussi—a three-time First-Team All-Ivy selection and a two-time Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year—was drafted by the Portland Thorns in the third round. The 21st overall pick finished second in the Ivy League with 10 goals and 24 points this season.
Lussi was a NSCAA Third-Team All-American during her senior campaign, after being a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist and earning Second-Team All-America honors as a junior. The Lutherville, Md., native leaves Princeton as the program record-holder for career goals (53) and points (122). Lussi also ranks fourth in Ivy League history in career goals and fifth in career points.
Purce and Lussi are just the second and third Ivies to be selected in the NWSL College Draft, joining Princeton's Jen Hoy. Hoy was a fourth-round selection by the Chicago Red Stars in the inaugural NWSL College Draft in 2013 and has scored 13 goals in 64 appearances with the club.
The NWSL is a 10-team professional women's soccer league supported by the Canadian Soccer Association, Federation of Mexican Football and the United States Soccer Federation and is the premier professional women's soccer league in the United States.