Soccer: Buchanan alum Elise Krieghoff signs NWSL contract

Former Buchanan High and Cal Poly star forward Elise Krieghoff will continue her soccer career in the pros, signing a contract with the Boston Breakers of the National Women’s Soccer League.

“It feels good,” Krieghoff told The Bee in a phone call earlier this week, even while noting that nothing really changed with the contract, just that her spot on the team was finally “official.”

Krieghoff, who was The Bee’s 2012 Player of the Year and spent part of last summer playing with local Women’s Premier Soccer League side Fresno Freeze, had been training with the Breakers since March 14. She was invited for a trial after not being selected in the NWSL draft.

“I’m excited for this opportunity to play soccer in the states in what I feel is one of the best leagues in the world,” Krieghoff said. “It’s fun and I’m learning and growing every day.”

Krieghoff will try and help the Breakers (0-2-0) turn around a slow start that includes a 1-0 loss to the Washington Spirit on April 16 and 3-0 loss to the Seattle Reign on April 24.

Boston plays at 2 p.m. Sunday in a home match against the Portland Thorns. The game will be streamed live via YouTube on the NWSL Soccer channel.

Head coach Matt Beard, who previously coached the Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC ladies’ teams, is impressed with Krieghoff’s ability to find the back of the net.

“She is a natural goal scorer, which is hard to find,” Beard was quoted in a team news release. “I’m really looking forward to seeing how she will progress over the course of the season and I’m confident she can have an impact.”

This past fall, Krieghoff finished her career as one of five Senior CLASS Award First-Team All-Americans and Cal Poly’s leading scorer with 52 career goals.

As a junior, she led NCAA Division I in goals-per-game average (1.105) and helped Cal Poly win the regular-season Big West title. Later that summer, she was one of 26 players selected to the U.S. women’s national U-23 team training camp.

Krieghoff joins Fresno’s Lynn Williams (Bullard High/Pepperdine) as the second local product playing in the NWSL. Williams, 22, is a forward in her second season with the Western New York Flash (1-2-0).

Fuego takes exhibition – The Fresno Fuego won 5-2 against local side Malibu FC in their final friendly of the preseason Saturday at Clovis East High. The Fuego, two months into the reign of coach Sean Lanigan, will open the Premier Development League season Friday against the Burlingame Dragons at Chukchansi Park. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

This story was originally published April 30, 2016 at 7:53 PM with the headline "Soccer: Buchanan alum Elise Krieghoff signs NWSL contract."