FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Revolution defender/midfielder James Riley was chosen by the San Jose Earthquakes with one of its 10 selections in the 2007 MLS Expansion Draft, which took place on Wednesday. Riley just completed his third professional season, all with New England.
Riley, 25, was originally drafted by the Revs in the second round (21st overall) of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft out of Wake Forest, and made 70 appearances with 54 starts for the Revolution. He scored one goal and added three assists in regular-season action, all coming in his rookie season.
Riley also made seven postseason appearances with three starts, and was a member of the New England team that played in the MLS Cup championship match in three straight seasons.
In his career in New England, the versatile Riley saw time at many positions, including left back, center back, right back, left midfield and right midfield.
MLS held its 2007 Expansion Draft on Wednesday for the League's 14th team, the Earthquakes, allowing the team to begin constructing its roster for the 2008 season. The Earthquakes selected one player each from 10 of the 13 MLS teams. The Colorado Rapids, Kansas City Wizards and Real Salt Lake were the three teams that did not have a player selected in the draft. Each of the 13 teams was allowed to protect 11 players, leaving all others unprotected and available for selection by the Earthquakes.
Below is the complete list of players selected in the 2007 MLS Expansion Draft:
1. Ryan Cochrane (Houston Dynamo)
2. Clarence Goodson (FC Dallas)
- Ned Grabavoy (Columbus Crew)
- James Riley (New England Revolution)
- Joseph Vide (New York Red Bulls)
- Ivan Guerrero (Chicago Fire)
- Brian Carroll (D.C. United)
- Jason Hernandez (Chivas USA)
- Gavin Glinton (LA Galaxy)
- Chris Pozniak (Toronto FC)
The San Jose Earthquakes, Major League Soccer's 14th team, will begin play in the Western Conference in the 2008 season at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University.
