C.R. North's Neumann could be Union's pick

When Steve Neumann went from Council Rock North to Georgetown University to play soccer, he never thought that this day would come.

Or at least not come with his being such a prominent part of it.

The Georgetown midfielder is coming home and will be one of the intriguing story lines of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

The first two rounds of the draft will be conducted Thursday at the Convention Center. (Rounds 3 and 4 will be Tuesday via conference call.)

Neumann is projected by Topdrawersoccer.com and many others to be the No. 6 pick in the draft. As it happens, the Union own the No. 6 selection, along with the No. 2 pick.

So Neumann is not only coming home for the draft, he may actually stay here.

At the very least, the Union are extremely familiar and impressed with Neumann. He has played in the summer for Reading United, the Union's USL Premier Development League affiliate.

And while he is careful not to show any disrespect to other teams, Neumann also couldn't hide his enthusiasm about the possibility of playing for his hometown team.

"It would certainly mean a lot," Neumann said Wednesday as he and three other projected high picks - defenders Christian Dean (California), A.J. Cochran (Wisconsin), and Eric Miller (Creighton) - visited the Flyers practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. "My dad had season tickets to the Union."

Neumann added that he has been to a few games to see the Union play. The team is entering its fifth season.

More important than attending games, he also worked out with the Union several times over the summer and said he was training with some of their players to prepare for the MLS combine, which took place Jan. 9-14 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

It was during the summer workouts that he got a taste of what the MLS is all about.

"I trained with the Union this summer and their staff is familiar with me as a player and a person," said Neumann, the Big East offensive player of the year.

The staff has liked what it has seen.

"He is the kind of player who will have a long future in the league," Union team manager John Hackworth said. "He is a very confident young man."

Neumann said that after high school, the prospect of being a top 10 MLS draft choice was the furthest thing from his mind.

"I didn't think this was possible," he said. "I was just thinking about getting my college career going."

On Tuesday, the Union acquired defender Ethan White from D.C. United for defender Jeff Parke and a switch in allocation positions. On Wednesday, the Union signed Argentine midfielder Cristian Maidana.

The 26-year-old Maidana most recently was a member of Argentinos Junors. He will occupy both an International and designated-player roster spot.

When: Thursday, noon, the first two rounds.

Where: Convention Center.

Union's picks: No. 2 and No. 6 in the first round and No. 6 and No. 8 in the second round.

Rest of draft: Rounds 3 and 4 will take place Tuesday via conference call. The Union have the sixth, eighth, and 14th picks in the third round and sixth pick in the fourth round.

Likely choices: Topdrawersoccer.com is among many projecting that the first two picks will be University of California defenders Christian Dean and Steve Birnbaum. In its latest mock draft, Topdrawersoccer.com has Dean going first to D.C. United and Birnbaum second to the Union. Don't be surprised if the Union trade that pick. . . . Union manager John Hackworth said on Monday that he thought University of Connecticut goalie Andre Blake was among the most highly ranked players in the draft. With Zac MacMath in place and the chance in the future to sign Maryland freshman goalie Zack Steffan (as a home-grown player), the Union aren't likely to select a keeper with either of their first-round picks. . . . Other offensive players of note include University of Maryland forward Patrick Mullins and Georgetown forward-midfielder Steve Neumann, a Council Rock North graduate whom Topdrawersoccer.com and many are projecting the Union to select at No. 6. . . . The strength of the draft is on defense, and besides the two players from Cal, Creighton's Eric Miller and Wisconson's A.J. Cochran are among the other highly rated defenders.

- Marc Narducci

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