College Soccer
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
INDIANAPOLIS - I came to the inaugural National Women's Soccer League draft not really sure what I wanted to write about.
There was no real spectacle to take in, as only two of the 32 selections on the day were present in the room. In fact, the media was walled off entirely from the eight NWSL teams' coaches and general managers as they made their selections.
But I had a hunch that at some point, some college players from the Philadelphia region would be drafted. That hunch proved correct, as three players - Penn State's Christine Nairn and Maddy Evans and Princeton's Jen Hoy - were selected.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
The Union took Penn defender and team captain Thomas Brandt with the first of their four selections in this year's Supplemental Draft.
Brandt is a native of Palmyra, Pa., near Harrisburg. He attended Palmyra Area High School before coming down the Pennsylvania Turnpike for college. The center back was a first team all-Ivy selection in his junior and senior seasons.
"Just to play professional soccer is something I've always wanted," Brandt told me. "But to go to a team that I've followed since they started in MLS, that has been the team I've watched the most, it's an unbelievable opportunity that's been presented to me."
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Three products of local universities are contenders to be selected in this year’s Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Penn’s Christian Barreiro, Princeton’s Antoine Hoppenot and Delaware’s Evans Frimpong will all be hoping to hear their names called when the draft begins at noon Thursday in Kansas City.
Frimpong is the best pro prospect of the three. The forward from Accra, Ghana was named a semi-finalist for the MAC Hermann trophy, college soccer’s equivalent of the Heisman, in 2011. He also won CAA Player of the Year honors, becoming the first ever Blue Hen to do so.
Thanks in large part to Frimpong’s 12 goals and five assists, Delaware made the NCAA College Cup for the first time since 1970, and scored a 1-0 upset of perennial power Virginia in the first round.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
The Union made three selections in today's MLS Supplemental Draft. All three players have some kind of tie to the region, either having grown up in the area or attended college in the area.
With their first pick, the fifth overall, the Union selected La Salle midfielder Ryan Richter. The Southampton, Pa., native and was the Atlantic 10's offensive player of the year in 2010. Richter's 14 goals last season was tops in the conference.
“We are all very happy and excited for Ryan,” Explorers head coach Pat Farrell told me. “He has positioned himself through hard work and discipline to have an opportunity to play professional soccer."
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
One of the really great things about being at the NSCAA Convention is that it brings together people who represent many different parts of the American soccer landscape.
If you are relatively new to American soccer, then the names Earnie Stewart, Claudio Reyna and April Heinrichs might not mean much to you. But if you've followed the sport for a while, you know that each of them could be the subject of an entire chapter in the history of the game in this country.
As the MLS SuperDraft wound down yesterday, I noticed that Stewart and Reyna were standing at the back of the hall. So I approached them and was able to get exclusive interviews with both legends of the U.S. men's national team. You can listen to those conversations in the audio player at the bottom of this post.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
In addition to the video interviews from the SuperDraft that I've posted on the blog, I recorded audio interviews with a number of other coaches and executives who were present yesterday
In the player below you can hear from:
- Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber
- Red Bull New York manager Hans Backe
- D.C. United manager Ben Olsen
- Portland Timbers manager John Spencer
- Vancouver Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi
- Penn men's soccer coach Rudy Fuller, whose Quakers lost to Zac MacMath's Maryland Terrapins in the second round of the 2010 College Cup
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
After the Philadelphia Union made their picks in yesterday's SuperDraft, I got an exclusive iterview with manager Peter Nowak. We discussed what Zac MacMath and Michael Farfan can bring to the Union, as well as what the future of the draft could be as Major League Soccer's player development system evolves.
Apologies for the poor sound quality at certain points in the interview. I had some problems with my microphone that I didn't realize until I edited the video.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
University of North Carolina midfielder Michael Farfan spoke with reporters after being selected by the Philadelphia Union with the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
Apologies for the poor sound quality at certain points in the interview. I had some problems with my microphone that I didn't realize until I edited the video.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
University of Maryland head men's soccer coach Sasho Cirovski spoke with reporters after his starting goalkeeper, Zac MacMath, was selected by the Philadelphia Union with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
University of Maryland goalkeeper Zac MacMath spoke with reporters after being selected by the Philadelphia Union with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
