LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Club Deportivo Chivas USA on Tuesday traded its tenth pick in the Major League Soccer 2005 Expansion Draft, defender Jeff Stewart, to fellow expansion team Real Salt Lake in exchange for one of Salt Lake's Youth International slots.
The transaction increases Chivas USA's number of Youth International slots from five to six, thus allowing up to ten non-U.S. resident players (six Youth and four Senior Internationals) to form part of Head Coach Thomas Rongen's roster for the 2005 season.
"This trade is good for both teams," said Rongen. "Salt Lake receive another defender, and we get a chance to acquire another Youth International player in line with the philosophy and vision of our club."
The 24-year-old Stewart played 27 matches for the Colorado Rapids during his first two seasons in MLS (2002 and 2003) before being sidelined by a knee injury for the entirety of the 2004 season.
Earlier this month, Major League Soccer increased the per-team allotment of Senior International players from three to four, and replaced the league-wide numeric limit on Youth International players with per-team limits of five tradable slots for expansion teams during their first two years, and three for the league's ten other teams.
