Portland Thorns Waive Emilee O'Neil and Casey Ramirez

With one month until the start of preseason the Portland Thorns have started slimming down their roster in anticipation of the NWSL's 20 player limit and the first casualties are defenders Emilee O'Neil and Casey Ramirez. Neither player made much of an impact during the Thorns first season of play as each made four appearances, one each as starters.

With continued rumors that the Thorns will be bringing in another player from abroad, the cuts are almost certainly not over, but the Thorns have plenty of time before the start of their season to refine their roster.

The Thorns' press release:

THORNS WAIVE DEFENDERS EMILEE O’NEIL, CASEY RAMIREZ

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC today announced that the club has waived defenders Emilee O’Neil and Casey Ramirez.

O’Neil, 30, made four appearances (1 start) during the inaugural National Women’s Soccer League season for Thorns FC, logging 141 minutes. O’Neil made her professional debut on April 13, 2013, entering as a 62nd-minute substitute in the first-ever NWSL match between Portland and FC Kansas City at Shawnee Mission District Stadium in Overland Park, Kan. She earned her first professional start on June 22, 2013, playing 65 minutes on defense in a scoreless draw against Sky Blue FC.

Ramirez, 24, joined Thorns FC on June 21, 2013, from Danish club Fortuna Hjørring. The Pennsylvania native made four appearances (1 start) for Portland during the regular season, logging 159 minutes. Ramirez made her only start of the season, playing 90 minutes in a 2-1 loss against the Boston Breakers on Aug. 7, 2013. She made her NWSL debut on June 22, 2013, against Sky Blue FC, entering the scoreless draw in the 65th minute.