Philadelphia Union picks Mwanga in soccer draft

By foxsports
Published

The Philadelphia Union selected Oregon State forward Danny Mwanga with the first overall selection in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft on Thursday.

The expansion Union, which had three of the top 10 picks, will be the 16th franchise in the league beginning this season.

On Wednesday, the Union sent their No. 1 allocation ranking to D.C. United, allowing D.C. to pick up Troy Perkins, the 2006 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

In return, the Union got allocation money, D.C. United's seventh overall selection and Brazilian midfielder Fred.

The 6-foot-2 Mwanga scored 14 goals and had two assists in 18 games for Oregon State last season. The 18-year-old was the Pac-10 Player of the Year.

``I'm really excited to be the No. 1 pick,'' Mwanga said. ``This is a great organization and I'm honored to be here.''

New York selected Virginia's Tony Tchani second and San Jose took Wake Forest defender Ike Opara third. Kansas City chose Akron forward Akron forward Teal Bunbury fourth.

At No. 5, FC Dallas chose North Carolina midfielder Zach Loyd.

Philadelphia grabbed midfielder Amobi Okugo from UCLA with the sixth pick and forward Jack McInerney (U-17 MNT) at No. 7.

Rutgers midfielder Dilly Duka went eighth to Columbus, Wake Forest forward Zach Schilawski was the ninth pick by New England and Chivas USA took Akron midfielder Blair Gavin to round out the top 10.

The draft was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.