<em>Soccer:</em> Union Stays Local With Top Supplemental Draft Pick
CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) -- After taking a goalie, Zac MacMath, with their top in last week's MLS SuperDraft (see previous story), the Philadelphia Union went for a young midfielder with their first-round pick in Tuesday's MLS Supplemental Draft.
With the fifth overall pick, Philadelphia nabbed La Salle University midfielder Ryan Richter. Richter was the Atlantic-10 Offensive Player of the Year as a senior at La Salle.
How did he learn his name had been called?
"I was actually about to start playing a game of pick-up and I got a call from my coach -- I guess they (the Union) called the La Salle soccer office -- got a call from my coach right before the pick was announced. He told me that they took me with the fifth overall pick. And as I was on the phone with him I got about a hundred text messages," Richter recalls.
Hear the entire interview in this CBS Philly SportsPod...
Richter led the A-10 with 14 goals and 30 points this past season, and he is looking forward to getting his shot in MLS.
"The MLS is a real physical, athletic league, and that's my style of play," he told KYW Newsradio. "I'm a bigger guy for a soccer player, and I hope that that translates well into the game for me. I'm hoping it's a pretty smooth transition and hopefully I can do well."
Richter is only the second La Salle product to be selected by an MLS squad in a draft. The first was Cesidio Colasante. He was picked in the 1997 MLS Draft by the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls.
Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060.
