VANCOUVER ā Vancouver Whitecaps FC opted to go international with the first pick in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft on Tuesday, nabbing New Zealand native Michael Boxall out of UC Santa Barbara.
The club also selected midfielder Joe Anderson from Coastal Carolina University and defender Santiago Bedoya from Northeastern University.
This will not be Boxallās first trip to Canada. The 6-foot-2 defender played for the All Whites at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting all three matches in the prestigious youth tournament. The 22-year-old also suited up for the U-23 national team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic, and has two caps with the senior national squad.
āWith him having Olympic and national team experience for New Zealand, we felt like heās a guy that had good qualities, being a big imposing center back,ā said general manager Tom Soehn of the teamās first pick.
WATCH: Michael Boxall highlights
[inlinenode:326717]Working against Boxall, perhaps, is the fact that he would count on the roster as an international player (although the club has yet to officially use an international slot. As it currently stands, no more than 10 places on the roster will go to players who are not Canadian or American.
āItās always a concern because you only have so many international slots,ā explained Soehn. āUltimately, though, it will be up to him to prove that he deserves to have one of those. It does make it more difficult, but itās no different than anyone else trying for one of those spots.ā
The āCaps also picked up Brampton, Ontario, native Anderson with their 19th overall selection in hopes that the 24-year-old Canadian can translate his collegiate scoring prowess into MLS success.
The 6-foot-1 attacker led Coastal Carolina to the NCAA tournament this season with a hat-trick in the Big South tournament championship game and netted 10 goals with one assist in two seasons at the school.
āJoe is more of a midfield/forward,ā said Soehn. āHeās a big, tall, lanky player with good athleticism and good technique. Thereās an upside to him and obviously heās Canadian, which is a bonus.ā
Bedoya was the Whitecapsā final draft pick. Fans will likely recognize the name, as the 22-year-old is the younger brother of talented US national team midfielder Alejandro Bedoya.
āHeās someone that was recommended to us pretty highly and they felt he could make it in the right environmentā said Soehn. āHeās an attacking left back who gets his share of assists. Heās athletic, heās got a good engine getting up and down the line, and heās got a bloodline with his brother.ā
Soehn insists that despite the fact that these three players were not selected during the MLS SuperDraft last week, theyāll be given the same opportunity as every other player at camp.
āCome first day of camp, theyāre all starting equal,ā emphasized Soehn. āYou donāt evaluate where they were picked. They all show up the same and they have to prove themselves.ā