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USL-1 North Carolina FC

RailHawks select Abolaji, Donald in USL Draft

January 24, 2007 - USL First Division (USL-1)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, N.C. - The Carolina RailHawks announced today that they have drafted Sola Abolaji and Demetrius Donald in the 2007 United Soccer Leagues First Division College Player Draft. Abolaji was taken with the first overall pick in the draft, and Donald, a standout player at Queens University in Charlotte, was taken with the first pick in the second round (14th overall) .

Sola Abolaji

Defender/6-0/180 lbs.

Denver, Colo./University of Buffalo

Abolaji comes to the RailHawks following two successful seasons at the University of Buffalo. The defender played 18 games for the Bulls his senior year, scoring two goals and one assist, the helper coming on the game-winning goal in the Bulls' upset win over 19th-ranked Northern Illinois. In his junior year, Abolaji scored one goal and notched three assists in 15 games.

Before attending Buffalo, Abolaji played at Northern Oklahoma College, where he was named the team's defensive MVP while helping lead the Mavericks to the NJCAA Region II championship. Prior to that, Abolaji was at Barton County Community College in Kansas. While playing for the Cougars, Abolaji was named to the NJCAA Region VI All-Region second team in 2003.

"When we went to the USL player combine, Sola stood out right away," said RailHawks head coach Scott Schweitzer. "He was strong, a presence on the field, and a good athlete. He just made all the right decisions."

Demetrius Donald

Midfielder-Forward/6-1/185 lbs.

Knoxville, Tenn./Queens University

Donald was a scoring presence during his four seasons at Queens University. The Knoxville, Tenn. native was the 2005 Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a second-team NCAA Division II All-American. His 10 goals and 10 assists in his senior season was enough to lead the conference in goals, assists and total points (30). During his time with the Royals, Donald racked up 38 goals and 28 assists.

Donald earned many individual honors during his time at Queens, chief among them being named to the CVAC all-time men's soccer team in 2006. He was also a two-time all-conference (2004, 2005); three-time all-region (2002, 2004, 2005); and Academic All-American (2005) honoree. Donald was the second-round pick of Vancouver in the 2006 USL Draft, but did not play for the Whitecaps.

"Demetrius was hard not to notice," Coach Schweitzer said about Donald's combine performance. "He was at the back, organizing all the players on the field. Then I found out he had played forward at Queens University in Charlotte. It just goes to show the kind of talent we have around the area. Both Sola and Demetrius can play in the back, outside, a range of positions," Coach Schweitzer added. "They can win balls in the air, and they are strong. I see them as coming in and making an impact right away."

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