Thunder selects two in USL First Division Player Draft

Published on January 24, 2006 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Minnesota Thunder News Release


ST. PAUL, Minn. (Tuesday, January 24, 2006) - The Minnesota Thunder participated in the 2006 USL First Division Player Draft Tuesday afternoon and selected two players that Thunder head coach Amos Magee feels will have every opportunity to make an impact on the team in their first season. In the first round with the fourth overall pick the Thunder selected midfielder/forward Richard Mupfudze from Western Kentucky University. In the second round with the 16th overall pick, the Thunder selected defender and Woodbury, Minn. native, Brian Kallman, from the University of Creighton.

Mupfudze, 6-1, 190 lbs. and a native of Zimbabwe, is the big forward Magee has been looking for since taking over the reigns of the Thunder. Magee saw Mupfudze at the Info-Sports combine in January and liked what he saw.

"He's a big, strong, athletic and technical player who has a huge upside," said Magee. "He's smart and will get better everyday. He fills the need of a big target that we haven't had at the Thunder since Gerard Lagos."

Mupfudze has been a consistent goal scorer for Western Kentucky since his sophomore year, notching eight goals as a sophomore, seven as a junior, and eight as a senior. He was named first-team all-Midwest Region his senior season and completed his collegiate career in the career top 10 for goals (25) and points (63) while at WKU.

Kallman spent the first three seasons of his collegiate soccer career at Jacksonville University before transferring to Creighton University. While at JU, Kallman started 39 of 43 games and helped anchor a defense which recorded a 1.08 GAA, the lowest in JU history. In his senior season at Creighton, he started 17 of the 23 games he played in and played a big role in a defense that gave up only 19 goals the entire season.

"Brian is a Woodbury product that I have liked since I saw him play club soccer for Bangu-Tsunami in 2000," said Magee. "He is athletic, tough, and will give us a real physical presence that we lacked at times last year."

MAGEE HEADS TO PORTUGAL TO LEARN AND SCOUT

Thunder head coach Amos Magee departed for Portugal on Saturday for a two week stint where he will be visiting some of the best soccer teams in Portugal. He will be spending a week with Portuguese First Division team, Academica Coimbra. He will also be attending training sessions at Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. Magee is looking to build a partnership with some of the teams in Portugal to form a relationship and allow some top players the opportunity to come to the United States to play with the Thunder.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



USL First Division Stories from January 24, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central