The Orlando Pride selected Marisa Viggiano of Northwestern University as the 30th overall player in Thursday’s NWSL College Draft. (Photo by Austin David)

CHICAGO — With only two later round selections in the 2019 NWSL Draft, the Orlando Pride went with two versatile players to help fill out their roster for the upcoming season.

Their first pick, the 25th overall and 7th in the 3rd round was defender Erin Greening out of the University of Colorado at Boulder. The forward turned fullback started 12 games for Colorado last year, notching three assists. In her college career, she started 52 games, scored two goals and had four assists. Over her time in college, Greening played both sides of the field as a fullback, while also spending some stints in midfield and, in her freshman year, she played as forward.

With their second pick, and 30th overall, the Pride selected midfielder Marisa Viggiano (pictured above) out of Northwestern University. Viggiano joins Orlando after a career with the Wildcats that saw her finish with 20 career assists, which is tied for the second-most in program history. She also started 83 consecutive matches, which is the third longest streak in program history. Viggiano also scored five goals throughout her four years in Chicago, with two of them coming in her senior year.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything but this has been a dream of mine ever since I’ve been a little girl playing, so it’s truly an honor to go to an amazing club, amongst some of the world’s best players,” Viggiano said after she stepped off the stage. “It’s truly an honor.”

Pride GM Erik Ustruck was happy with both picks his team was able to make

“For us, we wanted to try and find the best available, while also try to fill a position of need,” Ustruck said after the draft. “I think Erin (Greening) possesses versatility, she’s very powerful, she gets up and down the line, so she has something that we’re looking for. I think Marisa brings more of a possession-oriented type player. She could be a pivot player, she has the ability to link up between different lines and she can play with both feet and she’s also a bit of a dynamic player, so that’s something that we were looking for.”

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