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Throw-Ins
Draft history: gems, busts and a Playboy Playmate
Posted: Friday February 04, 2000 02:25 PM
It's only in its fifth year, yet the Major League Soccer draft already has an interesting history. Among some of the more interesting aspects of the draft:
Famous firsts -- Part I
So, who were the very first players taken in MLS' first three drafts in 1996, and how did they fare?
In the player allocation draft -- when the 10 original teams stocked themselves in a 16-round draft -- the Columbus Crew chose forward Brian McBride. Although injuries sometimes have limited his playing time and effectiveness, the 27-year-old forward has been productive and is a regular member of the U.S. national team. McBride, who has a lethal shot with his head, has tallied 38 goals and 26 assists in 90 regular-season matches, all starts.
In the supplemental draft, the MetroStars selected veteran Italian defender Nicola "Wrong Way" Caricola. He who lasted all of one season in the league, forged a reputation for scoring own goals. In fact, his own goal with 12 seconds in the match remaining gave the New England Revolution a 1-0 win over the MetroStars in the latter franchise's packed home opener. Caricola retired from soccer after one year in the league in what was considered a wasted pick for the future.
And in the college draft, the Kansas City Wiz -- that's what they were called at the time, not the Wizards -- grabbed midfielder Matt McKeon, who has become a solid defensive midfielder. The former St. Louis University All-American was traded to the Colorado Rapids but returned to the Wizards in a trade earlier this week. The 25-year-old McKeon has started 87 games, scoring four goals and assisting on four others.
Famous Firsts -- Part II
So, how did the four first-round picks in the college draft fare? Here's a short synopsis:
1996: Matt McKeon -- See above item.
1997: Tahj Jakins -- He has not fulfilled his promise. The 24-year-old Jakins has yet to become a regular with the Colorado Rapids after an All-American career in UCLA. He has started only 34 matches in three seasons, playing in a total of 60. He played another 803 minutes (19 matches) -- no points-in 1999.
1998: Leo Cullen -- The former University of Maryland defender has started 60 out of a possible 64 matches for the Miami Fusion in his two-year career, becoming one of the true iron men of the league. On a team that has experienced more than its share of headaches in its first two seasons, Cullen, who turns 24 on Feb. 26, has become a vital cog on defense.
1999: Jason Moore -- The jury is still out on this former University of Virginia midfielder who left school early. Moore, 21, who assisted on two goals in 999 minutes over 16 appearances in 1999, is expected to be a regular with United this season.
Still alive and kicking
Goalkeeper Garth Lagerwey is the latest surviving member of the 1996 allocation draft. He was made the 150th selection (out of a possible 160) by D.C. United, in the 15th round of that draft. Lagerwey never played with United, but has performed for the Kansas City Wizards, Dallas Burn and most recently for the Miami Fusion. United defender Geoff Aunger is the field player who has lasted the longest. He was taken in the 13th round, 125 overall, by the Revolution.
Some real gems
Not every important player is taken in the first round. Some gems are found in the latter rounds. Remember, before this year both the college and supplemental drafts had three rounds apiece.
Forward Ante Razov was the 27th player selected in the 1996 college draft by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the third round. Razov is part of the national team pool and scored 14 goals for the Chicago Fire last season.
Midfielder Eddie Lewis, who has become a national team regular, was the 23rd player selected in the 1996 college draft. He picked by the San Jose Clash (now the Earthquakes) in the third round.
Midfielder Steve Ralston, the 1996 rookie of the year, was chosen by the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the second round that year, as was defender Gregg Vanney by the Galaxy.
The supplemental had some rare finds as well. The Galaxy took defender David Vaudreuil in the second round (17th overall selection) in the 1996 supplemental draft, and he has enjoyed a fruitful career with D.C. United, the Fusion and the Rapids. Brazilian Welton, now with the Fusion, was taken by the Revs in the second round that year.
UCLA goalkeeper Kevin Hartman was tabbed by the Los Angeles Galaxy as the 29th and next-to-last pick, in the third round of the 1997 college draft. United keeper Tom Presthus was taken with the last pick of the second round that year.
The MetroStars curse
Yes, I have been known to trash the MetroStars in this column every so often. But like it or not, no team has such an abysmal track record in the draft as the MetroStars.
Of their 27 selections in the college and supplemental drafts, only five are still with the team.
None of their 16 player-allocation choices are still with the team.
The curse began with their very first pick in the allocation draft. The MetroStars selected defender Matt Knowles, a perennial defender of the year in the indoor National Professional Soccer League, but a relative unknown quantity at the outdoor level.
Due to indoor commitments and a series of injuries, Knowles managed to play the equivalent of a full season with the MetroStars and Miami Fusion over three years, performing in 32 matches over 2,310 minutes and never registering a point.
It continued with in the college and supplemental drafts. The MetroStars had two early selections in the first round of the college draft and traded them. In one of the most lopsided deals in MLS history, they got D.C. United's picks in the supplemental draft and squandered them away.
With the first two selections in the supplemental, they choose a pair of one-year disappointments -- Nicola "Wrong Way" Caricola and Edmundo "Boooo!!" Rodriguez -- and ignored Long Island Rough Riders midfielder Chris Armas, now an important cog in the national team. Their first college selection was defender Scott Lamphear of Division I champs Wisconsin, who was a no-show. Their second was midfielder Miles Joseph, still with the club.
1997: They let another player under their noses slip away -- defender Carlos Llamosa, an all-star for the N.Y. Centaurs and Fever, who was selected by United in the supplemental draft. He, too, is a vital part of the national team. Instead, the MetroStars chose defender Ezra Hendrickson, who was released in mid-season and became a regular with the L.A. Galaxy. The MetroStars took midfielder Brian Kelly in the first round of the college draft.
1998: Actually, this was their best draft, taking defender Mike Petke in the first round (college) and midfielder-defender Billy Walsh in the second. Petke enjoyed a promising rookie season before struggling during Bora Milutinovic's reign of error. Walsh was team MVP last season.
1999: For fans who still might wonder why Bora is a former MetroStars' coach, consider this fiasco. He brought in Division I scoring champ John Wolyniec for a two-week tryout, made the Fordham star the No. 1 college pick, then released him on April Fool's Day. Wolyniec, a finalist for A-League rookie of the year, went on to score 15 goals for the Riders.
Later on, Wolyniec was called up and scored five minutes into his MLS debut while Ecuadoran international Eduardo Hurtado endured a 1,294-minute drought. Bora, however, refused to start the Staten Island native in the remaining games to test his mettle. Wolyniec has entered the 2000 SuperDraft.
The MetroStars also selected Petter Villegas, still with the club. Villegas, incidentally, played with the MetroStars as a call-up in the 1996 season, but was cut.
Caught in the draft
The hat-trick. Midfielder-forward Darren Sawatzky has been drafted three times. He was chosen by the Revs in the 1996 college draft, by the Dallas Burn in the 1998 supplemental draft and by the Colorado Rapids in the 1999 supplemental draft. At last look, Sawatzky was not eligible for the 2000 draft.
Breaking up the Seals. Three of the top four picks in the 1998 supplemental draft came from the San Francisco Bay Seals of the A-League. The Chicago Fire took defender C.J. Brown on the very first selection. After the Mutiny chose Kansas City Attack forward Brian Loftin next, the Clash tabbed Tim Weaver and the Colorado Rapids picked forward Marquis White. No other Seals player was selected in the rest of the draft.
To Medical school. Even though he was the top college player in 1996 and was the second overall pick of the 1997 draft by the Mutiny, University of Virginia midfielder Mike Fisher decided not to turn pro. He decided to go to medical school, instead. The 1997 college draft was not very kind to the Mutiny. The Mutiny took a pass in the second round of the 1997 college draft and picked since-departed forward Musa Shannon in the third round. Wouldn't have been easier to take Shannon in that second round?
Remembering the NASL draft
The last North American Soccer League draft took place in 1984, almost a generation ago.
Consider these tasty morsels:
The first man. Defender Alain Maca, son of Joe Maca, who played for the U.S. in its 1-0 upset of England in the 1950, was the NASL's first draft choice ever -- on Feb. 9, 1972 -- by the Miami Gatos, the forerunners of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. His NASL career was an undistinguished one, scoring one goal in 41 games over three seasons. Maca, a Brockport State graduate, also played two seasons in the American Soccer League. The Gatos, incidentally, took Maca over Kyle Rote and Shep Messing.
"It was flattering being drafted first," Maca said. "It was a nice feeling at the time. I didn't get rich from it. But I guess being No. 1 was my reward."
In 1979, Maca had some advice for players: "If you seriously consider being a soccer player, forget college. You lose four years. When you're 21 or 22, you should be ready to play. It took some players nearly five years to develop. Others never did."
The first woman. The Chicago Sting selected Marilyn Lange, Playboy's 1975 Playmate of the Year, in the fourth and final round of the 1976 draft. Lange, who played soccer in her native Hawaii, never played a minute for the Sting.
"I wouldn't want to play against the guys the Sting play," she said. "They're too rough."
Lost in the publicity for Lange was the fact the Tampa Bay Rowdies also selected a woman -- B.J. Woodward of North Carolina in the fourth round.
The shadow. On Jan. 14, 1976, the Rochester Lancers (NASL) drafted Jim Pollihan, Dale Rothe, Terry Lippman and Steve Cacciatore in that order. A week later, the Los Angeles Skyhawks picked these players in the same order in the American Soccer League draft: Pollihan, Rothe, Lippman and Cacciatore. Hmmm, coincidence or a plot by then Skyhawks coach Ron Newman?
"That's a compliment to the Lancers," he said. "I always draft good ones . . . Let's face it. They have a better chance to play here."
The Lancers signed Pollihan, who enjoyed a long career in pro soccer (he is the general manager of the Harrisburg Heat) and Lippman, while the fate of Rothe and Cacciatore was not known.
The trade. How much is a draft pick worth? Well, to the 1974 NASL champion Los Angeles Aztecs, it was worth seven players. That's right, the Aztecs dealt away seven players from their championship team to the expansion San Antonio Thunder for the team's first pick -- second overall -- in the 1975 draft and two future first-round draft choices. Aztecs coach Alex Perolli moved to the Thunder after that championship season.
Was it worth it? UCLA forward Sergio Velasquez, the pick, had a rather disappointing career, scoring two goals and setting up four others over 21 games in three seasons with the Aztecs and Seattle Sounders. The Thunder finished at 6-16, and Perolli was eventually fired.
Five players wound up on the Thunder roster. For the record, the seven players for which he was traded: goalkeeper Blax Sanchez, midfielders Luis Marotte and Pedro Martinez and forwards Peter Filotis and Yeprem Nersepian.
Cloak and dagger. The hottest player at the 1980 draft could have been forward Darryl Gee of Oakland Mills High School in Baltimore, who scored 52 goals in 31 games over his final two high school seasons. The University of Tampa brought Gee into town (ironically, the site of the draft) for a visit and hid him from the press. The New York Cosmos were so sure that no one would know about Gee and were ready to draft him early. But the Minnesota Kicks threw the Cosmos a curve and drafted Gee.
Before Project-40. Almost a generation before Project 40, NASL clubs were allowed to draft high school players, although only a handful of them ever made an impact. A total of 21 high school players were selected among the first 95 picks. In fact, the youngest player taken in the 1980 draft was David James, a defender from Richardson High School in suburban Dallas. He was 16 years and four months old on draft day in December 1979.
Some things never change. With all that wheeling and dealing of draft picks for the MLS SuperDraft, well, the league is following a tradition leftover from NASL days. For the 1980 draft, 13 of the 24 first-round picks were either dealt or sold before the draft. Fort Lauderdale originally owned the 18th selection in the first round. They dealt it to the Aztecs, who traded it to the Tulsa Roughnecks, who sent it to the California Surf, which dealt it to the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Double coverage. OK, OK, it's not the NASL, but rather the NPSL. Yet, this item was too good to ignore. Former U.S. international and MLS defender Alexi Lalas managed to be drafted by the same NPSL team in consecutive seasons. The Detroit Rockers selected the Birmingham, Michigan, native in the 1992 amateur territorial draft. He didn't sign, so the Rockers again drafted Lalas in the territorial round of the 1993 draft. He didn't sign that time, either.
Oops...
Chicago Fire director of communications Adam Low pointed out that I missed a step in the much-traveled career of Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Jorge Salcedo. In 1997 he was traded to Columbus Crew, from L.A., through the Colorado Rapids, for the first overall pick in the 1997 supplemental draft (the Galaxy chose Danny Pena).
Thanks for that missing piece of the puzzle, Adam.
Saying goodbye to a couple of great men
A couple of non-draft items that need to be discussed:
Last month a pair of great soccer men passed away -- Mike Berticelli, the Notre Dame men's soccer coach who had a heart as big as gold and a sense of humor to match it, and former FIFA senior vice president Harry Cavan of Ireland.
Berticelli, who was 48, was respected by coaches, players and the media in the soccer community for ability to get his point across as an educator and his quick wit. Needless to say, he will be missed.
While it did not get as much publicity in the United States, Cavan made one of the most important speeches that helped change the course of American soccer history, on July 4, 1988, at the Movenpick Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland.
"After very careful and very responsible consideration of all the information that has been brought to us today," Cavan said, "the Executive Committee of FIFA has, in a very democratic way, arrived at a conclusion that I am happy to announce on behalf of the president of FIFA, the Executive Committee of FIFA, the following results.
"It was a card vote, a secret vote. It resulted as follows: Brazil two, Morocco seven, the United States 10."
There were cheers from the audience.
"I declare on behalf of FIFA that the host country for the 1994 World Cup will be the United States of America."
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of Soccer Magazine.
To submit a question or comment to Michael Lewis, click here.
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