In January, Madison Pogarch didn’t project as somebody who’d be getting time with one of her national teams by summer’s end. She had just completed her career at Rutgers and had gone unselected in the NWSL College Draft. It wasn’t a fairytale start.
But undrafted success has become part of life around Portland Thorns FC. Ask Celeste Boureille (2016’s draft year). Or Kelli Hubly (2017). Or Elizabeth Ball and Simone Charley (2018). Pogarch is the latest in a line of players who have come to Portland and transcended expectations.