MLS Major League Soccer

Toronto FC Selects Maurice Edu with No. 1 Selection in 2007 MLS SuperDraft

Published on January 12, 2007 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Friday, January 12, 2007) - Generation adidas and University of Maryland midfielder Maurice Edu was selected by Toronto FC, the League's 13th team, with the first overall selection in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, held Friday at the Indianapolis Convention Center.

Edu, a 2006 First-Team NSCAA All-American and Hermann Trophy Award semifinalist, was the first of four Generation adidas players among the first six selections overall. University of Virginia defender Bakary Soumare was chosen with the second overall selection by the Chicago Fire, who obtained the pick from the Columbus Crew in a trade for forward Andy Herron. Edu's college teammate, goalkeeper Chris Seitz, was selected with the fourth overall pick by Real Salt Lake, and University of Virginia forward Nico Colacula was chosen sixth overall by the Colorado Rapids.

After Edu and Soumare, University of North Carolina defender Michael Harrington was selected by the New England Revolution with the third overall pick. Wake Forest University midfielder Wells Thompson rounded out the first five picks when he was selected by the New England Revolution, who obtained the pick from the Los Angeles Galaxy for a portion of an allocation and a conditional second-round pick in the 2008 SuperDraft.

The Generation adidas program, established ahead of the 2005 MLS season, is a Major League Soccer initiative designed to identify and nurture the elite youth soccer talent in the United States. In addition to training and playing on a weekly basis with one of Major League Soccer's 13 professional clubs, Generation adidas players also receive educational grants to further their college education. MLS teams selected all eight Generation adidas players in this year's draft among the first 14 picks, with 15-year-old Abdus Ibrahim - currently the youngest player on a Major League Soccer roster, taken by FC Dallas with the first selection of the second round.

Thirty-nine colleges were represented among the 52 players selected; two Generation adidas players chosen (Ibrahim and Bryan Arguez) have not yet attended college. The University of North Carolina led all schools with four players selected, followed by the University of Virginia and Wake Forest University, with three each. Along with the two players from the University of Maryland and one each from Clemson University and Duke University, 14 of the 52 players selected in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft came from Atlantic Coast Conference schools.

Biographies on all players selected are available at MLSnet.com. On Thursday, Jan. 18, teams will select more players through a supplemental draft to be held via private conference call among the teams.

All 13 MLS teams begin preseason training in the coming weeks, beginning with Houston Dynamo and D.C. United, who will compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The 2007 MLS season kicks off on April 7, 2007 with a full slate of matches.

A round-by-round summary of the 2007 SuperDraft follows:

2007 MLS SUPERDRAFT - ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS

ROUND 1

# TEAM PLAYER POS. HT WT DOB HOMETOWN CLUB/COLLEGE

1. TOR Maurice Edu* MF 6-0 170 04/18/1986 Fontana, Calif. Univ. of Maryland

2. CHI@ Bakary Soumare* DF 6-4 190 11/09/1985 New York, N.Y. Univ. of Virginia

3. KC Michael Harrington DF 6-0 170 01/24/1986 Greenville, N.C. Univ. of North Carolina

4. RSL Chris Seitz* GK 6-4 210 03/12/1987 San Luis Obispo, Calif. Univ. of Maryland/U.S. U-20

5. NE# Wells Thompson MF 5-10 155 11/25/1983 Winston-Salem, N.C. Wake Forest Univ.

6. COL Nico Colacula* MF 5-9 150 05/23/1986 Coventry, R.I. Univ. of Virginia

7. CHV John Cunliffe FW 5-11 160 08/08/1984 Edgworth, England Fort Lewis College

8. CHI Jerson Monteiro FW 6-0 170 04/28/1985 Houston, Texas Univ. Alabama-Birmingham

9. DAL Anthony Wallace* MF 5-11 150 01/26/1989 St. Petersburg, Fla. Univ. of South Florida/U.S. U20

10. TOR% Andrew Boyens DF 6-4 180 09/18/1983 Dunedin, New Zealand Univ. of New Mexico

11. DC Bryan Arguez* MF 6-2 165 01/13/1989 Miami, Fla. U.S. U-20 national team

12. NE Amaechi Igwe* DF 6-0 165 05/20/1987 Belmont, Calif. Santa Clara Univ./U.S. U-20

13. HOU John Michael Hayden MF 5-10 160 04/27/1984 Louisville, Ky. Indiana Univ.

@ CLB trade #2 overall selection in 2007 SuperDraft to CHI for Andy Herron

# LA trade #5 overall selection in 2007 SuperDraft and conditional second-round pick in 2008 SuperDraft to NE for portion of allocation

% LA trade #10 overall selection in 2007 SuperDraft to TOR for portion of allocation

ROUND 2

# TEAM PLAYER POS. HT WT DOB HOMETOWN CLUB/COLLEGE

14. DAL Abdus Ibrahim* FW 6-1 165 08/15/1991 Richfield, Minn. U.S. U-17 national team

15. CLB Brad Evans FW 6-1 160 04/20/1985 Phoenix, Ariz. Univ. of California-Irvine

16. LA Robbie Findley FW 5-9 165 08/04/1985 Phoenix, Ariz. Oregon State Univ.

17. COL Greg Dalby MF 6-0 174 11/03/1985 Poway, Calif. Univ. of Notre Dame

18. DAL$ Andrew Daniels FW 6-2 175 05/02/1985 Milwaukee, Wisc. Brown Univ.

19. NY Dane Richards FW 5-7 153 11/14/1983 Montego Bay, Jamaica Clemson Univ.

20. LA Josh Tudela MF 5-9 160 03/13/1984 Evansville, Ind. Indiana Univ.

21. CHI Nate Norman MF 6-1 170 03/02/1985 Rochester, Minn. Univ. of Notre Dame

22. DAL Ryan Guy FW 5-7 160 09/05/1985 Carlsbad, Calif. Univ. of San Diego

23. LA Ty Harden DF 6-1 190 03/06/1984 Junction City, Ore. Univ. of Washington

24. DC Brad North FW 6-1 185 01/21/1985 The Woodlands, Texas Northwestern Univ.

25. NE Ryan Solle MF 5-8 160 09/11/1985 Broadway, N.C. Wake Forest Univ.

26. HOU Corey Ashe MF 5-6 140 03/14/1986 Virginia Beach, Va. Univ. of North Carolina

$ COL trade #18 overall selection in 2007 SuperDraft and second-round pick in the 2008 SuperDraft to DAL for Greg Vanney and third-round pick in 2008 SuperDraft

* Generation adidas

ROUND 3

# TEAM PLAYER POS. HT WT DOB HOMETOWN CLUB/COLLEGE

27. TOR Rich Asante MF 5-4 160 07/24/1985 North York, Ont., Canada Syracuse Univ.

28. DAL Scott Jones MF 5-11 165 09/22/1983 Dallas, Texas Univ. North Carolina-Greensboro

29. KC Edson Elcock FW 5-7 145 01/10/1985 Brooklyn, N.Y. Old Dominion Univ.

30. RSL Steven Curfman MF 5-11 150 10/08/1986 Raleigh, N.C. Wake Forest Univ.

31. COL Omar Cummings FW 5-10 165 07/13/1982 Old Harbor, Jamaica Univ. of Cincinnati

32. DC Jay Needham MD 6-2 175 09/30/1984 Fort Worth, Texas Southern Methodist Univ.

33. NY Sinisa Ubiparipovic MD 5-9 155 08/25/1983 Mentor, Ohio Univ. of Akron

34. CHI Mike Banner MF 5-10 160 10/20/1984 Washington, D.C. Southern Illinois Univ.-Edwardsville

35. COL Nick LaBrocca MF 5-10 165 12/04/1984 Howell, N.J. Rutgers Univ.

36. COL Justin Hughes GK 6-1 180 04/23/1985 Wake Forest, N.C. Univ. of North Carolina

37. DC Ricky Schramm FW 5-11 170 10/26/1985 Eastchester, N.Y. Georgetown Univ.

38. NE Bryan Byrne MF 5-8 150 08/26/1982 Castledermot, Ireland Univ. California-Santa Barbara

39. HOU Mike Sambursky FW 5-10 180 01/01/1985 Houston, Texas Univ. of South Carolina

ROUND 4

# TEAM PLAYER POS. HT WT DOB HOMETOWN CLUB/COLLEGE

40. TOR Jeff Gonsalves FW 6-0 160 03/24/1986 Markham, Ont., Canada Univ. of Rhode Island

41. CLB Aaron Chandler FW 6-1 160 10/03/1983 Riverside, Calif. Univ. of San Francisco

42. KC Kurt Morsink MF 5-10 160 06/27/1984 San Jose, Costa Rica James Madison Univ.

43. DAL Tommy Krizanovic FW 5-10 155 11/20/1984 Slavonski Brod, Croatia Jacksonville Univ.

44. LA Tally Hall GK 6-4 205 05/12/1985 Gig Harbor, Wash. San Diego State Univ.

45. LA Bobby Burling FW 6-5 195 10/15/1985 Monument, Colo. Loyola Marymount Univ.

46. CHV Cameron Dunn DF 5-10 150 02/13/1984 Alta Loma, Calif. Univ. of California-Irvine

47. CHI Simon Omekanda FW 5-8 175 09/15/1984 Rochester Hills, Mich. Penn State Univ.

48. NE& Adam Cristman FW 6-0 180 01/08/1985 Glen Allen, Va. Univ. of Virginia

49. CLB Ben Hunter FW 6-0 170 06/16/1985 Doncaster, England Univ. of North Carolina

50. DC Luis Robles GK 6-1 200 05/11/1984 Sierra Vista, Ariz. Univ. of Portland

51. NE Kyle Helton DF 5-8 160 05/20/1986 Alpharetta, Ga. Duke University

52. HOU Eric Ebert MF 6-0 175 08/27/1984 Irvine, Calif. Univ. of California

& DAL trade #48 overall selection to RSL for natural second round selection in 2008 SuperDraft; RSL then trade #48 overall selection to NE for the rights to Kyle Brown

* Generation adidas

TEAM-BY-TEAM SELECTIONS:

Chivas USA (2): John Cunliffe (Fort Lewis College); Cameron Dunn (Univ. of California-Irvine)

Chicago Fire (5): Mike Banner (Southern Illinois Univ.-Edwardsville); Jerson Monteiro (Univ. of Alabama-Birmingham); Nate Norman (Univ. of Notre Dame); Simon Omekanda (Penn State Univ.); Bakary Soumare (Univ. of Virginia)

Colorado Rapids (6): Omar Cummings (Univ. of Cincinnati); Andrew Daniels (Brown Univ.); Nico Colacula (Univ. of Virginia); Greg Dalby (Univ. of Notre Dame); Justin Hughes (Univ. of North Carolina); Nick LaBrocca (Rutgers Univ.)

Columbus Crew (3): Aaron Chandler (Univ. of San Francisco); Brad Evans (Univ. of California-Irvine); Ben Hunter (Univ. of North Carolina)

D.C. United (5): Bryan Arguez (U.S. U-20); Jay Needham (Southern Methodist Univ.); Brad North (Northwestern Univ.); Luis Robles (Univ. of Portland); Ricky Schramm (Georgetown Univ.)

FC Dallas (5): Ryan Guy (Univ. of San Diego); Abdus Ibrahim (U.S. U-17); Scott Jones (Univ. of North Carolina-Greensboro); Tommy Krizanovic (Jacksonville Univ.); Anthony Wallace (Univ. of South Florida)

Houston Dynamo (4): Corey Ashe (Univ. of North Carolina); Eric Ebert (Univ. of California); John Michael Hayden (Indiana Univ.); Mike Sambursky (Univ. of South Carolina)

Kansas City Wizards (3): Edson Elcock (Old Dominion Univ.); Michael Harrington (Univ. of North Carolina); Kurt Morsink (James Madison Univ.)

Los Angeles Galaxy (5): Bobby Burling (Loyola Marymount Univ.); Robbie Findley (Oregon State Univ.); Tally Hall (San Diego State Univ.); Ty Harden (Univ. of Washington); Josh Tudela (Indiana Univ.)

New England Revolution (6): Bryan Byrne (Univ. of California-Santa Barbara); Adam Cristman (Univ. of Virginia); Kyle Helton (Duke Univ.); Amaechi Igwe (Santa Clara Univ.); Ryan Solle (Wake Forest Univ.); Wells Thompson (Wake Forest Univ.)

New York Red Bulls (2): Dane Richards (Clemson Univ.); Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Akron Univ.)

Real Salt Lake (2): Steven Curfman (Wake Forest Univ.); Chris Seitz (Univ. of Maryland)

Toronto FC (4): Rich Asante (Syracuse Univ.); Andrew Boyens (Univ. of New Mexico); Maurice Edu (Univ. of Maryland); Jeff Gonsalves (Univ. of Rhode Island)

COLLEGE-BY-COLLEGE SELECTIONS:

Univ. of Alabama-Birmingham (Jerson Monteiro)

Univ. of Akron (Sinisa Ubiparipovic)

Brown Univ. (Andrew Daniels)

Univ. of California (Eric Ebert)

Univ. of California-Irvine (Cameron Dunn; Brad Evans)

Univ. of California-Santa Barbara (Bryan Byrne)

Univ. of Cincinnati (Omar Cummings)

Clemson Univ. (Dane Richards)

Duke Univ. (Kyle Helton)

Fort Lewis College (John Cunliffe)

Georgetown Univ. (Ricky Schramm)

Indiana Univ. (John Michael Hayden. Josh Tudela)

Jacksonville Univ. (Tommy Krizanovic)

James Madison Univ. (Kurt Morsink)

Loyola Marymount Univ. (Bobby Burling)

Univ. of Maryland (Maurice Edu, Chris Seitz)

Univ. of New Mexico (Andrew Boyens)

Univ. of North Carolina (Corey Ashe; Michael Harrington; Justin Hughes; Ben Hunter)

Univ. of North Carolina-Greensboro (Scott Jones)

Northwestern Univ. (Brad North)

Univ. of Notre Dame (Greg Dalby; Nate Norman)

Old Dominion Univ. (Edson Elcock)

Oregon State Univ. (Robbie Findley)

Penn State Univ. (Simon Omekanda)

Univ. of Portland (Luis Robles)

Univ. of Rhode Island (Jeff Gonsalves)

Rutgers Univ. (Nick LaBrocca)

Univ. of San Diego (Ryan Guy)

San Diego State Univ. (Tally Hall)

Univ. of San Francisco (Aaron Chandler)

Santa Clara Univ. (Amaechi Igwe)

Univ. of South Carolina (Mike Sambursky)

Univ. of South Florida (Anthony Wallace)

Southern Illinois Univ.-Edwardsville (Mike Banner)

Southern Methodist Univ. (Jay Needham)

Syracuse Univ. (Rich Asante)

Univ. of Virginia (Nico Colacula, Adam Cristman; Bakary Soumare)

Wake Forest Univ. (Steven Curfman; Ryan Solle, Wells Thompson)

Univ. of Washington (Ty Harden)

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