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Force acquires 12 players in draft

January 5, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Cleveland Force News Release


CLEVELAND, OHIO- The Cleveland Force selected 12 players during the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Dispersal Draft that allocated players from the Monterrey franchise and San Diego Sockers rosters to the other seven active teams.

"Acquiring the second leading scorer from last season, a strong left-footed player will be an asset for us. Tamas is a strong target player who we anticipate will develop into a talent in the MISL," stated Garofolo on the first two selections.

The draft order for each round went as follows: Chicago Storm, Cleveland Force, St. Louis Steamers, Kansas City Comets, Philadelphia KiXX, Baltimore Blast and Milwaukee Wave.

With the second pick in the first round, Cleveland selected All-Star defender and two-time MISL Defender of the Year Genoni Martinez from the Monterrey Tigres. Martinez, a 29-year old native of Mexico City, is a big strong defender who plays well both ways, as he is a key factor on restarts and power plays. This season, he has appeared in six games and has recorded four goals and added seven assists for a total of seven points with seven blocks. In the last two seasons, Genoni has recorded 65 goals and 47 assists for a total of 144 points while notching 91 blocks. In addition, Martinez has played for the Monterrey LaRaza of the World Indoor Soccer League (WISL), the Wichita Wings in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), Detroit Rockers (NPSL), Philadelphia KiXX (NPSL) and the Harrisburg Heat (MISL).

In the second round, the Force selected forward Tamas Weicz off the San Diego's protected list. Wiesz, a native of Hungary, is a big strong target forward and has been compared to Sockers forward Mark Ughy, who was the first selection by the Storm.

In the third round, Cleveland selected defender Matt Johnson from San Diego. In his two seasons with the Sockers, Johnson has recorded 10 goals and added nine assists for a total of 27 points. He also has tallied 67 blocks in the two years. Prior to playing for San Diego, Johnson played two seasons with the Utah Freezz in the WISL.

With the 23rd selection in the fourth round, the Force took forward Suad Arnautovic from the Sockers. This season for San Diego, Suad appeared in seven games while notching one goal for one point. He also added one block in his first season in the MISL.

Cleveland rounded out the Dispersal Draft by selecting defender Rodrigo Oliva from Monterrey (5th), defender Alejandro Cardenas from Monterrey (6th), forward Ali Ngon from the Sockers (7th), midfielder/forward Chris McDonald from San Diego (8th), defender Adam Braz from the Sockers (9th), former Cleveland defender Joe Mattachione from San Diego (10th), forward Adriano Lima from the Sockers (11th) and Guillermo Lucero from San Diego (12th).

In the 10th round, the Force returned Mattachione back to Cleveland after he had spent just one season here during the 2002-03 campaign. Joe has not played in the MISL since being selected by the Monterrey Fury in an expansion draft before being traded to the Dallas Sidekicks. He was then selected by the Sockers in a dispersal draft of Dallas players this past summer. In his lone season with the Force, Mattachione appeared in 31 games and recorded one three-point goal and added one assist for a total of five points. He also notched 46 blocks.

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