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Five Top Seniors Sign With League

January 13, 2003 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


NEW YORK (Monday, January 13, 2003) - Major League Soccer announced today that five of the country's top college seniors have agreed to contracts with the League in advance of Friday's SuperDraft in Kansas City, Missouri. The list of signings includes Indiana's Pat Noonan, Jason Cole of St. Louis University, Connecticut's Shavar Thomas and the Stanford duo of Roger Levesque and Todd Dunivant. In addition, Portland striker Nate Jaqua agreed to terms with MLS over the weekend and has decided to forgo his senior season of college eligibility.

All six players are currently attending the adidas MLS Player Combine in Sunrise, Florida. Detailed match reports from the first day of matches, an exclusive Q & A session with Noonan and the complete guide to all the players attending the Combine are now available at www.MLSnet.com, the official website of Major League Soccer.

Noonan, the MAC Hermann Trophy runner-up in each of his last two seasons, has earned three consecutive All-America selections and two-straight Big Ten Player of the Year awards. A likely first-round pick, Noonan will be coveted for his superior technical ability, creativity and size. Noonan gave MLSnet.com his thoughts on the Combine yesterday: http://www.mlsnet.com/content/03/combine0113noonan.html .

Cole brings perhaps the most versatile résumé to the SuperDraft. A standout on defense for his first three seasons at St. Louis, the Kansas City native switched to the attack for his senior season and promptly went on to finish the year as Conference USA's leading scorer with 42 points on 18 goals and six assists.

Thomas, an imposing 6-1, 195 lb. defender from Connecticut is rated as one of the college game's top defenders. A first team All-Big East selection in 2002, Thomas missed portions of the 2001 college season to assist Jamaica's failed World Cup Qualifying campaign and has also been a member of the Jamaican Olympic Team and played for the Reggae Boyz at the 1999 Pan Am Games.

The Stanford duo of Dunivant and Levesque helped elevate the Cardinal to consecutive berths in the NCAA College Cup (2001, 2002). Dunivant, an offensive-minded defender appeared 81 times for Stanford over his four-year career, and was selected to the NCAA College Cup's All-Tournament Team in each of the last two seasons. Levesque, a forward, departs Stanford in third place on the school's all-time assist chart and also earned a spot on the College Cup's All-Tournament squad as the Cardinal fell just short of the National Championship.

Jaqua's presence adds a more physical dimension to the pool of forwards awaiting selection in the MLS SuperDraft. At 6-3, 180 lbs., the Portland striker has played for U.S. National Team at the Under-18 and Under-20 levels. After just three seasons, the Oregon native has already breached the school's top ten in both points and assists.

The SuperDraft can be followed online at www.MLSnet.com, while live pick-by-pick analysis from the voice of the Crew, Dwight Burgess will be available at www.Matchnight.com. Burgess will be joined by veteran broadcaster Bill McDermott and a variety of guests, including ESPN.com's Marc Connolly. Media wishing to attend the MLS SuperDraft should contact NSCAA Communications Manager David Bokhart at 800-458-0678 for more information on media credentials.

Bio information on the six players follows:

Name: Jason Cole
Position: Back/ Midfield
College: St. Louis
Ht: 5-10
Wt: 180
Hometown: Raytown, MO
Born: September 26, 1980

- In 2002, C-USA's Player of the Year and C-USA All-Tournament team
- In 2002, moved into a forward's role after three years as a defender and is C-USA's leading scorer with 42 points (18G, 6A), tied for ninth nationally at 2.21 ppg through Nov. 25
- In 2002, netted the winner in the C-USA final and named to Soccer America's Team of the Week for Nov. 17
- In 2001, NSCAA third-team All-Midwest Region selection, collegesoccer.com honorable mention All-American and C-USA first-team All-Conference

Name: Todd Dunivant
Position: Defender
College: Stanford
Ht: 6-0
Wt: 174
Hometown: Wheat Ridge, CO
Born: December 26, 1980

- Played in 81 games at Stanford, fourth-best in school history
- In 2002, first team All-American NSCAA/adidas, first team NSCAA/adidas All Far-West, second team AllPac-10, named first team All Pac-10 Academic, selected to the all-tournament team at the NCAA College Cup
- In 2002, tallied 15 points, fourth-best on the Cardinal, his eleven assists were second-best on the Cardinal
- In 2001, first team All Pac-10 selection, fourth on the team in scoring with 19 points, All-Academic first team selection and made the all-tournament team at the NCAA College Cup

Name: Nate Jaqua
Position: Forward
College: Portland
Ht: 6-3
Wt: 180
Hometown: Eugene, OR
Born: October 28, 1981

- Portland's leading scorer in 2002 with 27 points on 10 goals and seven assists
- Leaves Portland ranked in the school's top ten in both points and assists
- A First Team All-West Coast Conference Selection in 2001 and 2002 - A member of both the U.S. National Team's under-20 and under-18 player pools

Name: Roger Levesque
Position: Forward
College: Stanford
Ht: 6-2
Wt: 174
Hometown: Portland, ME
Born: January 22, 1981

- Played in 76 games at Stanford, ninth-best in school history
- Chalked up 30 career assists, third all-time at Stanford and ranks sixth all-time in points with 88
- In 2002, Selected third team All-America by NSCAA/adidas, named first team NSCAA/adidas All-Far West and named first team All Pac-10 selection, named to the all-tournament team at the NCAA College Cup
- In 2001, NSCAA second team All-American, Pac-10 Player of the Year, Second team All-Academic Pac-10 and voted the Stanford Pac-10 Conference Male Athlete of the Year, presented to the Stanford athlete who distinguishes himself in conference competition

Name: Pat Noonan
Position: Forward
College: University of Indiana
Ht: 6-0
Wt: 170
Hometown: Ballwin, MO
Born: August 2, 1980

- 2002 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy runner-up
- Three-time All-American
- Selected the Big Ten Player of the Year in both 2001 and 2002
- Became the 14th player in Indiana soccer history to score 100 points in a career, ranks in the seventh in goals scored (48), 12th in assists (31), sixth in points (127), and second in shots (324) in IU history
- Helped the Hoosiers to a 36-0 record in Big Ten regular season play over the last four seasons and played on IU's 1999 National title team and in three College Cups.
- Started every game at Indiana in his four seasons

Name: Shavar Thomas
Position: Defender
College: University of Connecticut
Ht: 6-1
Wt: 195
Hometown: Kingston, Jamaica
Born: January 29, 1981

- In 2002, named to the All-Big East First Team
- 2002 NSCAA/adidas All-America Second Team and NSCAA/adidas All-New England First Team
- Missed portions of the 2001 college season to participate in Jamaica's World Cup Qualifying campaign
- Member of the Jamaican Olympic National Team and represented Jamaica in Pan-American Games in Vancouver in 1999

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