The Los Angeles Galaxy selected five players in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft held earlier this afternoon at the Baltimore Convention Center. Headlining the Galaxy's 2005 draft class is defender Ugochukwu (Ugo) Ihemelu (pronounced ee-hem-e-loo) from Southern Methodist University, who was taken with the fifth overall selection (acquired in a draft-week trade with the San Jose Earthquakes).
A native of Nigeria, who now resides in Texas, Ihemelu was named to the all-Missouri Valley Conference First Team in both his junior and senior seasons (2003 and 2004). The 6-0, 184-pound defender also served one of the Mustangs' co-captains during his final campaign. Additionally, he received second team all-conference honors after completing his sophomore campaign in 2002.
"In Ugo, we certainly got the best wide right player in the draft," said Galaxy President and General Manager Doug Hamilton. "He is a player with great pace and technical ability that can help us in a variety of ways."
With their second pick in the first round of the draft (eighth overall), the club selected Cal - Berkeley defender Troy Roberts. A resident of Freemont, California, he was in the starting lineup in all 84 games Cal played over the course of his four-year career. A leader in the backline throughout his career with the Golden Bears, Roberts was an All-Pacific 10 Conference First-Team selection as a senior in 2004.
The 5-10, 170-pound defender also earned First-Team All-Pac 10 honors as a junior and second team honors as a sophomore.
The club executed a trade with their Western Conference rivals, the Kansas City Wizards, to obtain the 4th pick in the second round (16th overall), sending Sasha Victorine in return to Kansas City. The club then used the selection on UCLA midfielder Michael Enfield. The Ventura native was named a First-Team All-America (by the National Collegiate Soccer Coaches Association of America) and a First-Team All-Pacific 10 Conference selection in 2004. He led both the Bruins and the conference in scoring with 13 goals and 30 total points, both career highs.
The 5-7, 150-pound Enfield scored three goals and added seven assists as a junior in Westwood and earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a sophomore in 2002 - the Bruins' national championship season. In addition he played for current Galaxy Head Coach Steve Sampson on the Cal South ODP team that won the national championship in 2000.
After the trade, the club shipped their natural second round selection (22nd overall) to Real Salt Lake in exchange for one the 2005 expansion team's allocations. Choosing 34th overall (3rd round, #10), the Galaxy took forward Quavas Kirk, a member of the U.S. Under-17 national team residency program. Kirk led the U-17's in appearances in 2004 with 31, scoring 11 goals and contributing four assists of the course of the year.
The Aurora, Illinois product, at 6-1, 165-pounds, led the U-17's in scoring in 2003, registering 29 points on 11 goals and seven assists. He also plays for the Chicago Magic club side.
With their final selection (10th - 4th round - 46th overall), the Galaxy chose midfielder Mubarike Chisoni from Coastal Carolina University. Chisoni, a native of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, at 5-foot-8 and 140 pounds joins his countryman and former college teammate Joseph Ngwenya on the Galaxy. The attacking midfielder was a three-time All-Big South Conference selection each of the last three seasons and tied for the Chanticleers' lead with 16 goals in 2004.
"We had a very good draft," Hamilton said. "We went after players that we felt were the best at their positions. We got many of them, adding a lot of athleticism and pace to our team. We feel very good about our prospects for the upcoming season."
"We are very happy to have filled our needs at this draft," said Sampson. "We were able to select a lot of players that could potentially come in here and start right away ... I am excited about what we have and I'm looking forward to getting the season underway."
