While a snowstorm was pelting the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia Union were extremely busy stockpiling players.
The Union had multiple picks in the third and fourth rounds of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
Following last Thursday in which the Union selected four quality players, including No. 1 overall pick – goalkeeper Andre Blake from the University of Connecticut – the club maintained that momentum with four more players.
“I was actually pretty surprised these guys were still on the board,” Union manager John Hackworth told philadelphiaunion.com. “They were still around and we felt good about it. Sometimes, you just get lucky. Maybe we had them rated higher, but we felt very good about each of them and we feel like we got lucky today.”
At No. 44, the sixth pick in the third round, the Union selected University of Redlands defender Richard Marquez.
Marquez was an NSCAA All-American as a junior and senior. He was also named to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team all four years at the school.
As a senior, Marquez led the team to six shutouts and 0.85 goals against average. He was the lone SCIAC player to be named an NSCAA All-American.
With the eighth pick in the third round – No. 46 overall – the Union took Saint Louis University midfielder Alex Sweetin. The 5-foot-9, 155-pound Sweetin was a four-year standout with the Billikens, compiling 18 career goals and 22 assists.
Sweetin was a First Team all-Mid Atlantic region pick and the Atlantic 10 Conference Midfielder of the Year.
After those two quality players, the Union added one more in the third round.
The No. 52 overall selection turned out to be University of Akron midfielder Aodhan Quinn.
The 21-year-old Quinn was an NSCAA All-America First Team member as well as the MAC Player of the Year. In addition, he was named a Hermann Trophy semifinalist.
Quinn’s father Brian, played in the English Premier League during the 1980s and with the U.S. National Team from 1991-94.
Finally, the Union nabbed Wake Forest midfielder Luca Gimenez with the sixth pick in the fourth round, No. 63 overall. Gimenez, 21, appeared in 81 career matches in four seasons with the Demon Deacons, registering 26 goals and 11 assists.
Gimenez was named to the All-ACC First Team in 2013 and All-ACC Second Team as a junior in ’12.
Gimenez hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and played club soccer for Interclubes.
“All four of these guys had really good college careers and are very good players,” Hackworth said. “We feel like we got four players who have a shot to earn a roster spot. There’s going to be some serious competition at each position for roster spots and that’s great. I don’t get scared of that (too many players). We don’t look at it that way. This means we have players’ rights and we like it that way. We’ll give these guys a real opportunity.”
If you’re counting, the Union added eight players in the SuperDraft between last Thursday’s first two rounds and Tuesday’s two rounds.
Preseason training is just around the corner so please stay tuned.
What do you think of the players selected Tuesday? Leave a message below.
Contact Union writer Andy Jasner at andy.jasner@yahoo.com
