The expansion Montreal Impact used their first pick in franchise history to select the versatile Andrew Wenger with the top pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday afternoon in Kansas City.

Wenger, considered to be the most talented and complete player in the draft, enjoyed a successful career at Duke University.

Arsene Wenger might consider his namesake Andrew Wenger in his search for a full back. Wenger, a Duke University standout shows why he is the top pick in this year's MLS SuperDraft. He is listed as a defender/forward and you can see why. He has impressive ball skills, attacks down the flanks with speed, and finishes impressively.

UCLA's Sydney Leroux was the top pick of the Atlanta Beat during the 2012 WPS Draft on Friday.

Forward Sydney Leroux, who currently is training with the U.S. Women's National Team in Los Angeles trying to make the squad for the 2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, was selected as the top pick by the Atlanta Beat during Friday's 2012 WPS Draft at the NSCAA Convention in Kansas City, Mo.

Most surprising on the day of the MLS SuperDraft were the opening words spoken by Don Garber as he greeted the viewers and public... in French. His words were spoken in order to honor MLS newcomers and first to pick in the draft, the Montreal Impact. Beyond the initial surprise of that, the remainder of the draft left little in the way of talking points.

Four player with ties to New England were taken in Thursday's MLS SuperDraft.

Defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste (Connecticut), defender Aaron Maund (Dorchester, Mass.), midfielder Tony Cascio (Connecticut) and forward Luckymore Mkosana (Dartmouth) all had their names called at the Kansas City Convention Center.

No. 1 selection Andrew WengerU.S. Soccer Communications
U.S. Under-23 defender and U.S. Soccer Development Academy alum Andrew Wenger out of Duke was the top selection by the Montreal Impact during Thursday's MLS SuperDraft held at the NSCAA Convention in Kansas City. Three of the first five selections in the draft had Development Academy ties.

The Philadelphia Union select Raymon Gaddis with the 35th overall pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft. This pick was originally acquired from Sporting Kansas City in 2010 in the Shavar Thomas trade.

Gaddis was considered by some to be the best right back in the draft, even ahead of Aubrey Perry.

Duke's Wenger heads to Montreal. (Photo via Duke Athletic Department)

After some back and forth this morning, the Montreal Impact held on to their number one pick and took Duke defender/midfielder Andrew Wenger.

Wenger should come in right away and be a starter for this expansion club.

U.S. Under-23 defender and U.S. Soccer Development Academy alum Andrew Wenger out of Duke was the top selection by the Montreal Impact during Thursday's MLS SuperDraft held at the NSCAA Convention in Kansas City. Three of the first five selections in the draft had Development Academy ties.
The 2011 Hermann Trophy winner and ACC Offensive Player of the Year had 17 goals and eight assists last year.

Photo: Michael Long

Midfielder Sinead Farrelly has officially agreed to terms to return to the Philadelphia Independence for the 2012 season. Farrelly was a standout at the University of Virginia where she was a second team All-American and a Hermann Trophy finalist. The Havertown-native was Philadelphia's first pick (second overall) in last season's draft.

By FRANCO PANIZO

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- If you were to ask MLS coaches which players at this year's combine helped their cause the most, David Silva would surely be among the more common names mentioned.

The Mexican-born attacking midfielder from UCSB was one of the brightest spots at the combine, showing the playmaking ability that his him considered a top prospect.

By FRANCO PANIZO

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Dom Dwyer did not know he was heading to the 2012 MLS Combine until a day before the event kicked off, but that did not stop him from having a decent showing at the event that he capped off with a goal.

Dwyer helped adiZero (blue) to a 3-1 win over Prime (green) on Tuesday morning, scoring an insurance goal in the 52nd minute of the game when he pounced on a rebound and knocked the ball into the back of the net.

Featured image courtesy of Reading United A.C.

When Major League Soccer teams make their draft picks in Thursday's amateur draft, several players with local ties are sure to go off the board. You may not have three former Reading United players go off the board in the first round, as happened last year when that burgeoning soccer factory churned out C.

By FRANCO PANIZO

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The second day of the MLS Combine was the first day for Ethan Finlay, who had arrived to the Sunshine State on Saturday. He had missed the first day of the event on Friday to attend the Hermann Trophy Award ceremony in St.

Coming off its worst season on record, there's no doubt that the Revolution will have to maximize every available opportunity to help them get back to respectability. After selecting three established MLS players during last month's Re-entry Draft, their next chance to bolster the roster arrives on Thursday with the SuperDraft.

U.S. Under-23 defender Andrew Wenger, who was called in once again to the U-23s this month for training in Carson, Calif., is also taking home some collegiate hardware on the side.
The junior out of Duke won the Hermann Trophy on Friday, an honor that is given to the top NCAA Division I soccer players.

Duke standout Andrew Wenger and Stanford senior Teresa Noyola were named winners of the Hermann Trophy on Saturday in recognition of being the top players in Division I NCAA soccer.

Wenger, who signed a Generation Adidas contract after a stellar junior year at Duke, led the ACC with 17 goals and eight assists.

Three players with Wisconsin ties are looking to impress coaches this weekend at the Major League Soccer Combine, which kicked off Friday in Lauderhill, Fla.

Midfielders Tony Walls (Wauwatosa East/UW-Green Bay) and Calum Mallace (Marquette) came off the bench for the adiPower team in their 3-2 win over Team PRIME in the first of six matches at the Combine.

Photo courtesy of Duke University

Pennsylvania native Andrew Wenger won the Hermann Trophy Friday as the best player in men's college soccer. The former Reading United and Duke University star is expected to be a top-3 pick in this month's MLS college draft. Stanford's Teresa Noyola won the women's award.

The Hermann Trophy winners announced Friday night in St. Louis had something going for them: precedent. Senior midfielder Teresa Noyola is the third Stanford player in as many years to win the women's trophy; Duke junior forward Andrew Wenger followed in the footsteps of his head coach, John Kerr, who won the men's trophy while [.

The Hermann Trophy winners announced Friday night in St. Louis had something going for them: precedent. Senior midfielder Teresa Noyola is the third Stanford player in as many years to win the women's trophy; Duke junior forward Andrew Wenger followed in the footsteps of his head coach, John Kerr, who won the men's trophy while [.

Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com

The MLS Combine gets underway in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., later this afternoon, and MLS has released the rosters for the four teams that will compete in front of coaches and scouts for the next four days.

Seven foreign players were invited to participate in the combine, which is otherwise comprised of NCAA seniors and Generation adidas signings.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Two Virginia women's soccer players were named All-Americans as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) announced its 2011 awards on Friday. Freshman midfielder Morgan Brian (St. Simons Island, Ga.) was named a first-team All-American and junior forward Caroline Miller (Rockville, Md.

Creighton senior forward Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) collected another All-American honor, while Marquette midfielder Calum Mallace added his first.

Finlay was a first-team choice and Mallace made the second team of the College Soccer News team.

On Friday, Finlay was named to the top team of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division I men's All-America team and was announced as one of three finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, awarded to the country's top player.

The Hermann Trophy finalists were announced Friday, and two of the three finalists are Reading United AC alumni: forwards Andrew Wenger of Duke and Billy Schuler of North Carolina. Both are juniors who grew up in Pennsylvania.

All told, six Reading United alumni were named All-American, with goalkeeper Brian Holt of Creighton and defender Matt Hedges of North Carolina joining Wenger and Schuler on the first team.

Photo courtesy of Duke athletics

The quest for college soccer's top individual award has been narrowed to three competitors.

Duke's Andrew Wenger, North Carolina's Billy Schuler and Creighton's Ethan Finlay were named finalists for the Hermann Trophy, emerging from a list of 15 semifinalists that was released earlier in the week.

Four New England-based college players will be making the trek to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for the 2012 MLS Player Combine, which will run from Jan. 6-10, 2012.

The UConn duo of defender Nick Blake and forward Tony Cascio, as well as Dartmouth forward Luckymore Mkosana and Providence goalkeeper Jhojan Obando, are among 52 college seniors that will attempt to improve their SuperDraft stock during the five-day showcase, which will host a number of MLS coaches, general managers and scouts all hoping to get a glimpse of the country's best college-based talent.

No stats? Good luck.

For those not aware, the Hermann Trophy is soccer's equivalent to the Heismann.

So I'm scanning the blogs out there, and I came across the following comments on this post concerning the 15 semifinalists for the award.

Mark said:

12 forwards and 2 mids in that list.

The 2011 Missouri Athletic Club announced this years Hermann Trophy Semifinalists on December 4th.
On the women's semifinalist list where University of Virginia Freshman Morgan Brian well as Mallory Schaffer, Midfielder from William & Mary.
Only one player made the men's list for a Virginia school - Junior Forward Yannick Smith of Old Dominion.

Photo courtesty of Creighton Sports Information

Duke's Andrew Wenger and Creighton's Ethan Finlay have had standout seasons, and they headline the list of Hermann Trophy semifinalists released by the NSCAA on Sunday.

The two strikers were the only repeat semifinalists from last year for the Hermann Trophy -- college soccer's top individual award -- out of a list of 15 players that also includes South Florida forward Dom Dwyer, North Carolina forward Billy Schuler and Maryland striker Casey Townsend.

When Creighton hired Elmar Bolowich last February to be its men's soccer coach, this school of 4,000 undergraduates in Omaha, Neb., didn't just manage to land a respectable steward for its program. It basically upended the entire space-time continuum of college sports.
Not only did Bolowich win a 2001 national title, he was also the winningest men's soccer coach in the history of the school he came from.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Colin Rolfe's one-man show has Louisville on the cusp of a return to the College Cup.

Rolfe, Louisville's leading scorer and last year's Hermann Trophy finalist, took apart Maryland's back line with a goal and three assists in leading the Cardinals to a 4-2 victory in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 at Ludwig Field Sunday night.

Cross defending national champion Akron off of the list of unbeaten teams in college soccer.

Luis Silva's golden goal not even a minute into overtime gave No. 15 UC Santa Barbara (Fox Soccer/SBI) a riveting 3-2 win over No. 5 Akron and handed the Gauchos a landmark victory Wednesday night.

The big story heading into this year's SuperDraft was where Hermann Trophy winner Darlington Nagbe, regarded as hands-down the top player in the 2011 class, would end up.

Somewhat surprisingly, the forward/midfielder slipped to second – the Vancouver Whitecaps opted for teenage sensation Omar Salgado with their No.

Akron celebrates their first NCAA title. (AP Photo)

School is back in session for another year, which means it is time to dive into the college soccer world once again. It doesn't seem that long ago when Akron took home the NCAA trophy and then saw a mass exodus of players to Major League Soccer.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Losing a national championship game can be as demoralizing and heartbreaking as any defeat, but when you enjoyed a near-perfect season, there's reason to be optimistic.

That is the case for the University of Louisville, which returns many of its starters from a 2010 season during which it went without a loss until the final game of the year against Akron.

The air was a little crisp in Chicago on Sunday and that means that fall is just around the corner. With fall comes college soccer and in fact exhibition games are already underway. Regular season games kick-off on August 26th. The NCAA Pre-season rankings were released earlier this month. The Chicago Fire are looking primed to grab some top talent with a top five pick in the draft.

Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) heads into his senior season with great expectations.

The Creighton forward was named to the College Soccer News Preseason All-America team for the second straight year.

Finlay was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and a semifinalist for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy last season, when he ranked seventh in the nation in goals (15) and points (34).

Two of the country's top college women's soccer players are Wisconsin natives who play in Milwaukee.

UW-Milwaukee forward Sarah Hagen (Appleton North) and Marquette defender Kerry McBride (Elm Grove/Milwaukee DSHA) received more preseason accolades this week, as both were named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy watch list and the Soccer America Preseason All-American team.

As the college pre-season is wrapping up and teams are receiving their first rankings players to watch this upcoming season are being recognised. Virginia senior goalkeeper Chantel Jones...
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