Drafts and a trialist?

The SuperDraft and the Supplemental Draft are now over, which has added four additional players to DC United’s roster. United’s draft haul includes two attacking midfielders and two defenders, which leads me to hope that United is in deep discussions with international forwards that will be signing this week.

The two attacking midfielders were the first and last draft picks that United had in the two day draft: Nick DeLeon from Louisville and Matt Kuhn out of Drake. Both can play on the wing or more centrally, although it seems as though DeLeon is more comfortable on the wing and Kuhn is more comfortable in the center of the field. For coverage on Nick DeLeon, I recommend the always excellent Black and Red United, who picked up a nice interview with him. Joe Mauceri likes the pick of Kuhn, and says that while he played central attacking midfielder at Drake, he can also fill in at left midfielder and left back.

DC United also picked up two defenders in the draft: defensive midfielder Lance Rozeboom out of New Mexico and center back Charles Rodriguez out of UNC-Charlotte. Rozeboom is a slightly curious pick, as he would be competing with Perry Kitchen, Conor Shanosky, and Kurt Morsink. Kitchen will likely be gone during Olympic qualifying, but I wonder if this is an indication of Shanosky’s standing with the United coaching staff. Or, they might have just rated him the highest out of who was left and drafted value instead of need. Charles Rodriguez captained UNC-Charlotte’s national runner up squad this fall, and I enjoyed his exuberance at being drafted by United. Center back is obviously a position where DC United needs more players and Rodriguez, while not the most physical, apparently has great soccer IQ. I like the draft picks overall, as long as an international forward (or trade for an established MLS starter at the very least) is coming.

Also, a newspaper out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi is reporting that William Carey University goalkeeper Carl Goody is on trial with DC United. Goody was scouted by Pat Onstadt during Carey’s run in the NAIA Tournament and was selected a first team All-American at the National Soccer Coaches Association convention this past week. There are quotes from Goody’s coach, who said that “He [Onstadt] liked what he saw of Carl and was interested in getting my opinion and also learning about Carl’s plans after graduation.” And, for those who are snooty about NAIA, there was at least one NAIA player taken during the actual Supplemental Draft today.