2017 NWSL Draft: Pride Selects MF Nickolette Driesse

LOS ANGELES — With their final pick of the day, 32nd overall, the Orlando Pride selected Nickolette Driesse out of Penn State in the fourth round of the 2017 NWSL College Draft.

This past season, Driesse scored one goal and notched six assists as a co-captain with the Nittany Lions. She was named to the All-Big Ten First Team, Big Ten All-Tournament team, Academic All-Big Ten and NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team.

“It feels great (to be selected), especially by Orlando. I have a few friends up there, so it’s really cool to have this opportunity, especially to play in the NWSL.” Driesse said.

Driesse transferred from Florida State after playing her first two years there. With the Seminoles, she played in 48 matches, scoring once and earning eight assists and winning the national championship in 2014. The next year at Penn State, she won another national championship, making her one of the only players to win two national titles with two different schools in back-to-back years.

“It’s like my second home, besides Penn State, but other than that I’m really excited to get up there, back to the Sunshine State,” Driesse said.

Another interesting tidbit on Driesse is that her best friend from Florida State was current Orlando Pride winger Jamia Fields.

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“She’s my all-time best friend and we’re really excited,” Driesse said. “[Having a friend] is definitely going to take some weight off my shoulders. We had a really great connection at Florida State, so I think we’re both really excited for that aspect more than our friendship.”

From the Pride perspective, Driesse feels that she is a perfect fit for Head Coach Tom Sermanni’s midfield.

“I think that I can bring a lot of creativity in the midfield, that’s definitely one of my strong points,” Driesse said. “But I think that I have a really good attacking mentality and a hard bite so, hopefully I can bring that for the team’s success.”