Soccer League Drafts Seven Bruins
Seven present or former UCLA players, among them U.S. World Cup veteran Paul Caligiuri, were among 58 players selected Monday as Major League Soccer held its collegiate and supplemental drafts at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Caligiuri, a defender currently playing with St. Pauli in the German Bundesliga, was a first-round supplemental choice of the Columbus Crew.
U.S. Olympic team midfielder Matt McKeon of St. Louis University was the first player chosen in the collegiate draft, by the Kansas City Wiz.
The New York/New Jersey MetroStars made defender Nicola Caricola, who spent 11 seasons in the Italian first division, most recently with Genoa, their top choice in the supplemental draft.
Fifty-eight players were drafted Monday, joining the 160 selected in the league’s inaugural draft Feb. 6.
Besides Caligiuri, Bruin players chosen were U.S. Olympic team goalkeeper Chris Snitko by Kansas City, defenders Adam Frye, by the Tampa Bay Mutiny, and Zak Ibsen, by the New England Revolution; midfielder Gregg Vanney by the Los Angeles Galaxy, and forwards Ante Razov by the Galaxy and Eddie Lewis by the San Jose Clash.
Galaxy Coach Lothar Osiander picked striker Guillermo Jara of the University of San Diego first in the collegiate draft and Adelphi midfielder Chris Armas first in the supplemental draft.
The Galaxy also selected Princeton defender David Vaudreuil and University of San Diego forward Chugger Adair.
Caricola was not the only foreign player drafted. San Jose chose Argentine midfielder Roberto Gonzales in the first round. Two other Argentines were picked in the same round, forward Alberto Naveda by New England and defender Mario Gori by Washington D.C. United.
The MetroStars added two Brazilians, midfielder Juninho and forward Tulio, not to be confused with their more famous namesakes on the Brazilian national team. The Dallas Burn also drafted a Brazilian, choosing defender Vagner, as did New England, which selected forward Welton.
The seven South American players were among those invited by MLS to a training camp in Florida last month.
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MLS COLLEGIATE DRAFT
First-round picks :
*--*
Team Player Position College 1. Kansas City* Matt McKeon Midfielder St. Louis 2. Washington* Eddie Pope Defender North Carolina 3. Dallas* Brandon Pollard Defender Virginia 4. Tampa Bay Adam Frye Defender UCLA 5. Kansas City Chris Snitko Goalkeeper UCLA 6. New England Paul Keegan Forward Boston College 7. Los Angeles Guillermo Jara Forward San Diego 8. Dallas Jeff Cassar Goalkeeper Florida Int’l 9. Colorado Mike Gentile Midfielder Wisconsin 10. Columbus Mac Cozier Forward UNC-Charlotte
*--*
*-Traded for pick
