Cougars Select Five of California's College Soccer Standouts in 2006 MISL College Draft
Published on March 8, 2006 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
California Cougars News Release
STOCKTON, Calif. (Wednesday, March 8, 2006) -- The California Cougars selected five players Wednesday in the 2006 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) College Draft. The Cougars, who are coached by California and U.S. Soccer icon Troy Dayak, secured top talent from within the state of California in drafting four field players and one goalkeeper on Wednesday.
"With the soccer talent we have here locally, and throughout California, we did our research and talked to coaches and our peers before the Draft," Dayak said. "We wanted to get the best soccer talent we could from the state.
"With the success we've had on our team this year with guys like Enrique Tovar, Bernie Lilavois, Vicente Figueroa and Dominik (Jakubek) - locals that have produced, we know the talent is available. We want to bring these guys in and see what they can do."
Modesto native and Sacramento State forward Marco Ramirez was the Cougars first pick (second player drafted overall) in the opening Territorial Round. According to plan, California stuck relatively close to home throughout the process, next drafting defender Luis Aguilar of the University of San Francisco, and a native of La Miranda, ninth overall in the 2006 MISL College Draft.
Ramirez is a Beyer High School graduate, who played two years at Modesto Junior College, and two years as a starting defensive midfielder at Sacramento State. In 2005, Ramirez and the Hornets finished with the program's best record (9-7-2) since 1992.
"Marco Ramirez is extremely hard working," Dayak said. "He's my type of guy. He works hard to get the job done."
Aguilar, who stands 5-foot-8, 150 pounds, was a defensive force that helped lead USF to two conference titles while being recognized with all-conference honors in both seasons. Prior to playing at San Francisco, Aguilar was a junior college all-American at Rio Honda Junior College.
"Luis Aguilar should help us by adding more strength to our defensive line," said Dayak, who gave Cougars assistant coach and former professional goalkeeper Gene DuChateau much of the credit for research that led to a successful pre-draft preparation.
With the 16th overall selection, the Cougars selected San Jose State forward Nelson Diaz. The native of San Francisco led the Spartans with 10 goals and added two assists this season. Five of his goals were game-winners, three were scored in overtime.
Goalkeeper Tommaso Bianchi was selected 23rd overall. Bianchi's a Vanguard University (Costa Mesa, Calif.) product, having played four years in the Southern California NAIA program. Like Cougars standout goalkeeper Jim Larkin, who's played over 10,000 minutes in the MISL and has started 18 games for the Cougars this season, Bianchi is a native of Ontario, Canada.
California's fifth and final selection in the 2006 MISL College Draft was forward Cameron Kolovos (30th overall), who like Aguilar, starred at the University of San Francisco. Kolovos (5-7, 140) is a native of Los Alamitos, Calif., and was a four-year varsity forward/midfielder at USF. Kolovos was named the Los Angeles Times "Player of the Year" as a Los Alamitos High School senior.
The 2006 MISL College Draft consisted of one (1) Territorial Round and four (4) Numerical Rounds. The order of selection was based on each team's winning percentage from their last completed regular season. Detroit, which will enter the MISL as an expansion team next season, selected first in each round. California selected second. The Cougars, who entered the MISL this season, play their home games at the state-of-the-art Stockton Arena, which opened along the Stockton waterfront in December. For complete Draft results, please visit www.MISL.net, or for more information on the Cougars visit www.CaliforniaCougars.net.
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