Wisconsin Soccer Central

Paul Riley thinks very highly of Sarah Hagen (Appleton North/UW-Milwaukee).

So much so that even though Hagen signed with Bayern Munich through June and joined up with the German club this week, Riley still wanted to make sure his team had the rights to the high-scoring forward if she chooses to play in Women's Professional Soccer.

Riley and the Philadelphia Independence picked Hagen with the fifth pick of the WPS draft on Friday in Kansas City, and he's optimistic she'll join the team for the second half of the season.

"I spoke to Hagen. I had breakfast with her agent this morning," Riley told freelance writer Dan Lauletta after the draft. "We talked about a June arrival. If everything goes well in Munich, it will be a June arrival."

Hagen led NCAA Division I with an average of 1.238 goals and 2.90 points per game last fall, and finished her career ninth in Division I history with 93 goals and 17th with 212 points.

"I think Hagen has the potential to be a world-class player," Riley said in an interview on the team's website. "She is a handful physically and I think you'll see her on the team for the next World Cup; she has that much talent. She is a terrific pickup for us, with her speed, size and goal-scoring ability, she will be tough for a lot of defenders to handle."

Here's a picture of Hagen and fellow American Niki Cross with their new Bayern Munich shirts.

More pro notes

Hagen won't be the only Wisconsinite playing in the Frauen Bundesliga when the league season resumes next month: Midfielder Katie Bethke (Eau Claire Memorial) is joining Bayer Leverkusen, she posted on Twitter.

Bethke, 23, played four games with the Atlanta Beat in WPS and had six goals and two assists in 13 matches (10 starts) for Arna-Bjørnar in Norway's Toppserien last year. Leverkusen (1-11-0) is last in the 12-team Frauen Bundesliga and has been outscored 38-9.

Unfortunately, Bethke and Hagen won't face each other as Bayern Munich and Leverkusen already have played both of their league matches this season.

• Alex Horwath (UW), who was the third goalkeeper for the New York Red Bulls last season, will head to preseason training camp with Sporting Kansas City this year. Horwath posted a shutout in his lone Major League Soccer appearance in 2011, making five saves in a 0-0 draw against the Columbus Crew in his first-team debut, and was the Red Bulls' main keeper in the Reserve League. He was an MLS pool goalkeeper in 2010 and was based in Kansas City, spending most of the season training with the team that was then known as the Wizards.