The Philadelphia Union selected Oregon State forward Danny Mwanga
with the first overall selection in the Major League Soccer
SuperDraft on Thursday.
The expansion Union, which had three of the top 10 picks,
will be the 16th franchise in the league beginning this season.
On Wednesday, the Union sent their No. 1 allocation ranking
to D.C. United, allowing D.C. to pick up Troy Perkins, the 2006 MLS
Goalkeeper of the Year.
In return, the Union got allocation money, D.C. United's
seventh overall selection and Brazilian midfielder Fred.
The 6-foot-2 Mwanga scored 14 goals and had two assists in 18
games for Oregon State last season. The 18-year-old was the Pac-10
Player of the Year.
"I'm really excited to be the No. 1 pick," Mwanga said. "This
is a great organization and I'm honored to be here."
New York selected Virginia's Tony Tchani second and San Jose
took Wake Forest defender Ike Opara third. Kansas City chose Akron
forward Akron forward Teal Bunbury fourth.
At No. 5, FC Dallas chose North Carolina midfielder Zach
Loyd.
Philadelphia grabbed midfielder Amobi Okugo from UCLA with
the sixth pick and forward Jack McInerney (U-17 MNT) at No. 7.
Rutgers midfielder Dilly Duka went eighth to Columbus, Wake
Forest forward Zach Schilawski was the ninth pick by New England
and Chivas USA took Akron midfielder Blair Gavin to round out the
top 10.
The draft was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
