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MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes Select Seven Players and Make Two Major Trades at 2005 MLS SuperDraft in Baltimore

January 14, 2005 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


BALTIMORE, MD - The San Jose Earthquakes made a number of transactions and selected seven players in a busy day at the 2005 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The Earthquakes made two major trades to acquire midfielder Ricardo Clark, midfielder Brad Davis and an allocation, while also selecting Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy winner Danny O'Rourke with their first round pick. Prior to making their first selection in the draft, the Quakes acquired midfielder Ricardo Clark from the MetroStars in their first trade of the day. The Quakes then picked up midfielder Brad Davis, an allocation and the fourth overall pick in exchange for midfielder Richard Mulrooney, midfielder Arturo Alvarez and the sixth and 29th overall picks. With the fourth pick, San Jose selected the highly touted O'Rourke from Indiana University. O'Rourke, 21, captained the Hoosiers to back-to-back national championships in his junior and senior years, on his way to being named the MAC Hermann Trophy winner in 2004. The Columbus, Ohio native started 83 matches for Indiana in his career as a defensive midfielder. The Hoosiers posted a 69-15-9 in his four years, while O'Rourke was named All-Big Ten for three straight seasons. "I thought the draft went pretty well for us. We believed Danny O'Rourke was one of the best college players available to us," said Earthquakes Head Coach Dominic Kinnear. "We had our eye on him at the combine, and we hoped that his stock didn't rise too high and that we would be able to get him." "This is what I have been aspiring to since I was a young boy and over the years, especially at Indiana, my dreams started to progress and become a reality, and now it finally is," said O'Rourke. "It is just an amazing feeling - I can't wait to spend some time with my family and I really can't wait to get out to San Jose and start playing." Brad Davis, 23, has been a strong player in MLS in his first three seasons after being named a Rookie of the Year finalist in 2002. In his three-year career, the former St. Louis University star has appeared in 79 games, while recording 12 goals and 10 assists for 34 career points from the midfield. In 2004, he appeared in a career high 29 games and started 24 matches, while scoring two goals and recording two assists. In the second round of the SuperDraft, the Quakes picked up Kevin Goldthwaite, a left-footed defender from Notre Dame. The Sacramento native developed into one of the top defenders in the nation and was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist in his senior season. Goldthwaite, 22, was a two-time All-Big East selection and helped lead the Fighting Irish to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He finished his career with six goals and 24 assists. "When I was younger, watching the Clash/Earthquakes play, I was always dreaming of being out there with the team," said Goldthwaite said. "Now having that be a reality is really exciting; the feeling is great." "Kevin Goldthwaite is a highly touted defender out of Notre Dame, a left-footed defender and a guy who likes to attack," said Kinnear. "He plays the way we like to play here in San Jose. We like to have our left back jump into the attack." The Quakes made a splash in the third round with three consecutive selections, Victor Arbelaez (30th), Orlando Ramirez (31st) and Craig (C.J.) Klaas (32nd). Arbelaez was a two-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation selection and a third-team All-Far West player at UNLV in his senior year. He is familiar with the Bay Area, having started his collegiate career at the University of San Francisco, before transferring to UNLV. Ramirez comes to the Quakes from Fresno Pacific, where he scored 23 goals and dished out 15 assists as a senior and was named a NAIA First-Team All-American. He finished his collegiate career with 200 points and an average of 2.50 points per game. Klass, 21, is a versatile player from the University of Washington that can play both in the midfield and on defense. He is the first player in Pac-10 history to be named All-Pac-10 four times after finishing his career with 10 goals and 21 assists. The Illinois native also played for the United States Under-20 team at the FIFA World Youth Championships in the United Arab Emirates in 2003. San Jose wrapped up its draft day with two fourth round selections, Antouman Jallow (41st) and James Twellman (42nd). Jallow, a native of Uppsala, Sweden, played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and helped lead them to four Horizon League Championships and four appearances in the NCAA tournament. He was the Horizon League Player of the Year last season and finished as the league's all-time goals leader (60). Twellman, the brother of New England Revolution forward Taylor, is a three-time All-Pac-10 player from Stanford University, where he played four seasons for the Cardinal. He finished his career there with nine goals and seven assists in 68 games. "I think today you really saw all the homework and hard work that Dominic (Kinnear) and John (Doyle) have done pay off," said Earthquakes President and General Manager Alexi Lalas. "They did a great job scouting at our local combine and at the MLS combine. We had a list of players, and were able to land just about every one that we wanted." In a pre-draft trade, the Earthquakes sent the 48th overall draft pick to D.C. United for a player to be named later. Richard Mulrooney leaves the Earthquakes after six seasons in San Jose during which he became the all-time leader in games played (163), games started (155), minutes (14,204) and assists (44). "I have said this all along, that it is not easy for us to give up Richard Mulrooney, and we wish him all the best," said Lalas. "He is a player that truly represented San Jose for a long time, and I completely respect everything that he has given to this organization and the city of San Jose. Richard has a situation where he feels this is the best move for him, and we respect that." Arturo Alvarez returns to his home state of Texas after two seasons with San Jose. He played in 26 games and scored two goals and recorded two assists.

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