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MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes Acquire Defender Chris Leitch From New York Red Bulls

March 2, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that they have acquired defender Chris Leitch from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for allocation money and an international slot.

"Chris is an experienced defender who has proven that he can perform at a high level in this league," said Earthquakes General Manager of Soccer Operations John Doyle. "We wanted to add depth in the back and we have certainly done that by acquiring Chris."

Leitch, who was originally drafted by the Columbus Crew in 2002, made 17 appearances with the MLS Cup runner-up New York Red Bulls in 2008. He started 14 of those regular season matches, notching a pair of assists in his 1,259 minutes of play. Leitch, who lines up primarily at right back, also started all four playoff games for Red Bulls to help them reach their first MLS Cup Final in team history. In 2007, he played in 12 games, starting 11. He was signed in 2007 by Red Bulls after his second term with Columbus in 2006.

While with the Crew in 2006, the 29-year-old defender appeared in 24 matches, making 18 starts. The Ohio native was the 47th overall pick in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft by Columbus where he played one year in the 2002 season, starting 11 of the 13 matches he appeared in for his hometown team. He was acquired prior to 2003 by the MetroStars in exchange for Ross Paule. In his three-year stint with the MetroStars, Leitch appeared in 72 regular season games, starting 65 of them. He had a career-high 29 starts in 2004 as the MetroStars Ironman Award winner, and also started in all four of the MetroStars playoff games in 2003 and 2004.

For his seven-year career, the University of North Carolina product has logged 10,875 minutes in 138 regular season games, and 719 minutes in his nine playoff appearances. He has notched six assists in his career.

While at the University of North Carolina, Leitch set school records for games played (88) and games started (87). He was an All-ACC selection in 2001 and anchored the defense for North Carolina's first NCAA National Championship in that same year.

The Earthquakes also placed two players on waivers today, forward John Cunliffe and midfielder Michael Ghebru. Cunliffe appeared in 12 games for San Jose last season, playing mostly as a forward. He scored two goals for the Quakes. He was acquired in a trade just prior to the 2008 season from Chivas USA. Ghebru signed with the Quakes last September and appeared in five reserve division matches.

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