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33 PDL PLAYERS TAKEN IN MLS DRAFT
USL News Release
Saturday, January 20, 2007
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Thirty-three former players from the USL Premier Development League were selected in the 2007 Major League Soccer SuperDraft with five players chosen in the First Round, including third overall pick Michael Harrington, a three-year defender with the Raleigh Elite, and seventh overall pick John Cunliffe, the 2006 PDL Scoring Champion from the Boulder Rapids Reserve.
Cunliffe took the PDL Scoring Championship honor with 41 points on the season from 18 goals and five assists. The English striker from Fort Lewis College had seen tremendous success through his first three years of college play but had his breakout year in the PDL in 2006 after registering just two goals and four assists in six games with Boulder in 2005. Cunliffe finished tied with Freddie Moojen of the Augusta Fireball for the Goal Scoring Championship with their league-leading 18 goals this season.
Boulder saw four more players taken in the draft after Cunliffe was selected by Chivas USA. His strike partner Robbie Findley, 15 goals and four assists in 17 games in two years, went 16th overall to the Los Angeles Galaxy, which shares the Home Depot Center with Chivas USA. Forward Ryan Guy (two goals, five assists in 14 games in 2005) went 22nd to FC Dallas goalkeepers Tally Hall (5-0-0, 0.769 GAA in seven games in 2006) and Luis Robles (18-8-1, 1.74 GAA in 27 games in 2003-04) went 44th and 50th to Los Angeles and DC United, respectively.
Carolina Dynamo 2005 midfielder Wells Thompson was taken with the fifth overall selection by the New England Revolution. Rhode Island Stingrays 2004-05 midfielder Nicola Colaluca went next to the Colorado Rapids. Four-year PDL midfielder John Michael Hayden finished up the First Round going to the defending MLS Champion Houston Dynamo. Hayden began his career with the Michigan Bucks (2002-03) before moving onto the Indiana Blast (2004) and Chicago Fire Premier (2005).
Other notable PDL players selected were Westchester Flames striker Ricky Schramm, the eighth leading scorer in the PDL last year with 11 goals to earn an All-Conference nod. He was taken 37th by DC United. PDL 2006 All-Conference award winners selected included Kalamazoo Kingdom midfielder Josh Tudela, Chicago Fire Premier midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic and Carolina Dynamo forward Ben Hunter.
MLS SuperDraft List with PDL Experience
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