California Cougars Select 16 In MISL Expansion Draft
June 22, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
California Cougars News Release
WESTPORT, Conn. (Wednesday, June 22, 2005) - The California Cougars of the Major Indoor Soccer League continued assembling their inaugural season roster on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 by selecting a total of 16 players off the rosters of the MISL's active teams, via a League-wide teleconference. The Cougars, which will commence play in the 2005-06 MISL Season and host MISL games in Northern California's brand new Stockton Events Center, chose one goalkeeper and 15 field players with their allotted Expansion Draft selections.
High-scoring forward and Mexico City native, Marco "Chikis" Lopez (St. Louis Steamers) was the first selection made by the Cougars. California proceeded by obtaining the rights to second-year goalkeeper Brian Rowland (Baltimore Blast), promising Brazilian midfielder/forward Ricardinho (Milwaukee Wave), and veterans Vlatko Andonovski (Kansas City Comets) and Kevin Sloan (Philadelphia KiXX) - both former MISL All-Stars - to complete its first five picks.
"I'm extremely excited about the team that we will be able to field following this Expansion Draft," said Cougars coach Troy Dayak, a former professional indoor soccer champion, a longtime Major League Soccer (MLS) standout, a U.S. Olympian, and a California soccer icon.
In preparation for the Draft, the Cougars received Designation Lists from each of the seven current MISL operating teams on June 10. Team lists designated a maximum of 11 players as "protected" for that team's roster (maximum of one (1) goalkeeper) for the 2005-06 MISL season. Players not designated as protected ("unprotected") were eligible for selection by the Cougars, who drafted the rights to 16 players from MISL rosters. Players selected in the 2005 MISL College Draft were excluded from the 2005 California Cougars Expansion Draft. The Cougars began building their roster by selecting five players in that February Draft.
On Wednesday, current MISL teams were eligible to lose a maximum of three (3) players during the Expansion Draft, as was the case for Kansas City, Baltimore, and Cleveland. Once a player was selected from a team, that team was then allowed to return one (1) unprotected player to its protected Designation List. The MISL imposed a "Trade Moratorium" 14 days prior to the Expansion Draft. That ended immediately following the conclusion of Wednesday's Draft.
The Cougars selected four players that competed in the MISL Championship Series Finals that were telecast live in prime time in May on ESPN2. Ricardinho and defender Pat White were key fixtures for the 2005 MISL Champion Milwaukee Wave. Defender Rene Rivas and forward Antonio Sutton were defensive and offensive leaders for the runner-up Cleveland Force. An additional former member of the Force, Myles Stoddard, was also selected by the Cougars on Wednesday. Stoddard, however, missed the MISL Championship Series due to injury.
Two Cougars' selections - Sloan (31 goals, 14 assists) and Andonovski (17 goals, 25 assists) - finished among the MISL's top-20 scorers in 2004-05. Sloan was 10th with 45 points. Andonovski tied for 14th with 42.
The Cougars will play their inaugural season in 2005-06 at the Stockton Events Center, a state-of-the-art, 10,000-seat arena that will open along the waterfront in Stockton, California in November. For more information on the California Cougars, please visit www.californiacougars.net, e-mail info@californiacougars.net, or call California Cougars headquarters at (209) 944-8230.
2005 California Cougars MISL Expansion Draft Selections
# Player Pos Former Team_____ 1. Marco Lopez F St. Louis Steamers 2. Brian Rowland GK Baltimore Blast 3. Ricardinho M/F Milwaukee Wave 4. Vlatko Andonovski D/F Kansas City Comets 5. Kevin Sloan F Philadelphia KiXX 6. Rene Rivas D Cleveland Force 7. Andy Rosenband M/F Chicago Storm 8. Nevio Pizzolitto D Baltimore Blast 9. Ibrahim Kante D/F Kansas City Comets 10. Antonio Sutton F Cleveland Force 11. Marco Coria M Kansas City Comets 12. Matt Caution D St. Louis Steamers 13. Pat White D Milwaukee Wave 14. Jorge Valle M/F Chicago Storm 15. Alejandro Moreno F Baltimore Blast 16. Myles Stoddard F Cleveland Force
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from June 22, 2005
- California Cougars Select 16 In MISL Expansion Draft - MISL 2
- Two Wave champions selected in MISL Expansion Draft - Milwaukee Wave
- Blast loses three players in expansion draft - Baltimore Blast
- California Cougars Select 16 In MISL Expansion Draft - California Cougars
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