Heather Mitts

First Breakers: Mitts, Lilly, Hucles in fold

Five US Olympians - (from left) Carli Lloyd, Christie Rampone, Heather Mitts, Angela Hucles, and Heather O'Reilly - hope the Women's Professional Soccer league will be good as gold. (Diane Bondareff/Associated Press)

The first members of the Boston Breakers will include 2008 Olympic gold medalists Angela Hucles and Heather Mitts, along with veteran star Kristine Lilly, the Women's Professional Soccer league announced yesterday.

The three were part of a pool of players from the US national team allocated to seven teams in the new league, which will begin play in April 2009.

The other inaugural teams are Bay Area, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C., and in 2010, the league will expand to include Atlanta, Dallas, and Philadelphia.

On Monday, teams will have the chance to negotiate with four premier players in an international draft. Additional drafts in October and January will follow to fill out rosters.

Hucles and Lilly were members of a team called the Breakers from 2001-03 when it was part of the Women's United Soccer Association, which folded in 2003.

Hucles is a midfielder who led the US with four goals in its gold medal run in Beijing last month. After joining the WUSA Breakers in 2001, she made Boston her home, she said.

Lilly, a gold medalist in 1996 and 2004, became the first player to appear in 200 career international matches in 2000. She is the US national team's captain but sat out this past season to give birth to her daughter, Sidney Marie.

Mitts is a defender who recovered from a knee injury in time to play in all six games in the Olympics. She also was part of the WUSA as a member of the team in Philadelphia.

Breakers coach Tony DiCicco said organizers have learned from what did and didn't work with the WUSA. DiCicco is a former WUSA commissioner. The league took off after the US hosted - and won - the 1999 Women's World Cup. Unrealistic expectations in terms of revenue and sponsorships made it a challenge to keep the league afloat, DiCicco said.

The players have noticed a change in philosophy that they hope will help WPS succeed.

"The marketing plan is different, so that is a huge part of what makes this league more successful already," Mitts said.

"We have the best players in the United States and we're guaranteed the best international players and we already have the fan base."

Mitts said the fan support has been "incredible" as the national team plays on the 10-match "Achieve Your Gold Tour." Mitts and Hucles are part of the tour, which is in New Jersey tonight and Illinois Saturday.

With a gold medal to display, Hucles is optimistic the attention will help.

"That was one thing we really wanted to do in order to help the WPS be even more successful," Hucles said. "Having the gold medal is only going to help that and promote the level of play we hope to bring to this new league."