KiXX select five in 2007 MISL College Draft

March 8, 2007 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release


Philadelphia, PA, March 8, 2007 - The Philadelphia KiXX announced today the selection of five players, including the club's first selection Medford, NJ native Ryan Heins, in the 2007 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) College Draft. The team also acquired the rights to Nigel Marples, Andrae Clarke, brother of current KiXX midfielder Dave Castellanos, Sammy Castellanos, and Mike Rose.

All six active teams, as well as the expansion Orlando and New Jersey franchises, participated in the draft, with order of selection based on the combined teams win percentage from the completed 2005-06 Regular Season and year to date 2006-07 Regular Season. The drafting order for Orlando and New Jersey was determined by a random selection process conducted under the supervision of the League Office. The draft consisted of one Territorial Round and four standard Numerical Rounds. In the Territorial Round, teams selected a player who was either born or attended college in the team's home state. Orlando, who is scheduled to debut in 2007-08, selected first in each round, while the New Jersey club, who will also make their debut in the 2007-08 season, selected second. The California Cougars, Chicago Storm, Philadelphia KiXX, Milwaukee Wave, Baltimore Blast, and Detroit Ignition rounded out the draft order.

The complete round-by-round breakdown of the KiXX selections is as follows:

Round Player Position College/University

Territorial Ryan Heis M Temple University

One Nigel Marples D Towson University

Two Andrae Clarke F University of Buffalo

Three Sammy Castellanos M University of South Florida

Four Mike Rose F Charlotte University

Philadelphia kicked-off the draft selecting Heins with the fifth pick (fifth overall) of the Territorial Round. The selection marked the third consecutive year that the KiXX picked up a Temple product in the territorial round; the club led off their 2005 draft with goalkeeper Pat Hannigan and in 2006 Tony Donatelli, who ranks second on the KiXX this season with 17 goals. Heins capped off a stellar career at Temple with his All-Atlantic 10 second-team selection. Heins, a 6-2 midfielder out of Shawnee (NJ) High, scored one goal and two assists on the season. A four-year starter, the Medford, NJ native tallied seven goals and 11 assists for 25 career points.

Marples, the club's first round selection (13th overall), was named to the NSCAA/Adidas College Scholar All-America team, announced by National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). A first-team All-CAA defender, Marples led the Tigers to the best season in school history as Towson posted a final record of 15-2-3. The British Columbia, Canada native, who was also named first-team All-South Atlantic region, was a key defender for a Tiger defense that ranked eighth in NCAA Division I with a 0.62 Goals Against Average. A four-year starter and two-year captain, he helped the Tigers set a school record with 11 shutouts this season.

The KiXX continued their selections by acquiring the rights to Clarke, who led the University of Buffalo Bulls with eight goals and 19 points this past season. The eight goals was second best in the Mid-American Conference. Clarke is the third player in UB history to lead the team in both goals and points in three seasons. The graduating senior ended his UB campaign as one of the best to ever don a UB uniform, setting all-time career records in the process. He is fifth in goals with 22, second in assists with 17 and third in points with 62 total. He also earned first-team All-MAC honors in his senior year.

The club then selected Castellanos with the draft's 29th overall pick in the third round. Castellanos, a Philadelphia native, tied for third on the University of South Florida team with five-points. Castellanos, who began his collegiate career at Rutgers University, recorded one goal and three assists in 11 games this season. Sammy's older brother Dave, in his third season with the KiXX out of the University of Connecticut, has scored six goals in 20 games.

Philadelphia rounded out their selections with Rose (37th overall), from Charlotte University. The Mansfield, TX native was named to the first-team NSCAA/Adidas Scholar All-South region squad. Rose earned second-team NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic region honors as well. Rose was named second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors this past season. He led the 49ers and ranked among the Atlantic 10 leaders with a career-high five goals, seven assists and 17 points. He scored two goals against Appalachian State and Saint Joseph's.

The KiXX travel to Chicago and Milwaukee this weekend, March 10 and 11, for a back-to-back set with both games beginning at 2:00pm ET. The club returns home March 17 to face the Chicago Storm for Christian Night. Pastor Preston from Vineland, NJ and KiXX players will give their testimonials following the game, along with a concert from the Chris Colletti Band. Game time is slated for 7:05pm ET.

Season tickets, 6-PaXX mini-plans, Family 4-PaXX and birthday packages are on sale now by calling the KiXX Ticket Office at 1-888-888-KiXX (5499). The team also introduced a Party PaXX for the 2006-07 season, which consists of two seats behind the goal, two hot dogs and two domestic beers (must present valid ID upon redemption) for $44. Single-game tickets are available through the KiXX and the Wachovia Center Box Office, as well as online at www.comcasttix.com.



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from March 8, 2007


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