D.C. United will be in a familiar position this Thursday when MLS holds its annual SuperDraft (12:00 PM ET on ESPN2/ESPN3). The Black-and-Red hold the seventh overall pick in the SuperDraft for the third time in four years.
Last year, United continued its youth movement by selecting three players in the SuperDraft. Midfielder Perry Kitchen (3rd overall) was a regular in Head Coach Ben Olsen's starting XI and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, while defender Chris Korb (31st overall) and goalkeeper Joe Willis (50th overall) provided valuable depth to the roster and started several matches.
Can the club use the 2012 SuperDraft to find another rookie ready to make an impact?
D.C. UNITED AND THE SEVENTH PICK
In 2010, United traded midfielder Fred, the seventh pick, and allocation money to the Philadelphia Union in order to exchange places with the Union in the allocation order. The move allowed United to acquire goalkeeper Troy Perkins. Philadelphia selected forward Jack McInerney with the pick. Perkins started 22 matches for United and logged a 1.68 goals against average.
In 2009, the Black-and-Red selected midfielder/forward Chris Pontius with the seventh pick. Pontius, a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist from UC Santa Barbara, started 23 matches and scored four goals in his rookie campaign.
In 2006, DC selected Justin Moose from Wake Forest. The NSCAA First Team All-American played one game his rookie year and eight total for United before joining the Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL in 2008. Moose now plays for Sriracha F.C. in the Thai Premier League.
7TH PICK DRAFT HISTORY
MLS clubs seem partial to midfielders and forwards when selecting a player with the seventh overall pick. A goalkeeper has never been selected with the pick.
1996 - Los Angeles Galaxy: Guillermo Jara (F)
1997 - Kansas City Wizards: Brian Johnson (M)
1998 - Tampa Bay Mutiny: Josh Keller (M)
1999 - MetroStars: John Wolyniec (F)
2000 - Colorado Rapids: Wes Hart (M)
2001 - Dallas Burn: Ryan Suarez (D)
2002 - MetroStars: Mansour Ndiaye (M)
2003 - Columbus Crew: Diego Walsh (M)
2004 - Dallas Burn: Clarence Goodson (D)
2005 - Colorado Rapids: Hunter Freeman (D)
2006 - D.C. United: Justin Moose (M)
2007 - Chivas USA: John Cunliffe (F)
2008 - Chicago Fire: Patrick Nyarko (F)
2009 - D.C. United: Chris Pontius (M)
2010 - Philadelphia Union: Jack McInerney (F)
2011 - Houston Dynamo: Kofi Sarkodie (D)
