Nov. 19, 2004
NEW YORK (Friday, November 19, 2004) - Midfielder and former Loyola Marymount men's soccer All-American Arturo Torres and Andy Williams were the No. 1 selections by Club Deportivo Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake respectively in Friday's 2004 MLS Expansion Draft broadcast live
on ESPNEWS from the ESPNZone in Anaheim, the SkyBox Sports Grille in Salt
Lake City, and ESPNZone in New York City, where MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced the expansion team selections.
Torres, a talented 23 year-old right-sided midfielder, who spent two years
with the Los Angeles Galaxy, became the first player in CD Chivas USA
history. Real Salt Lake, which made MLS all-time leading goal scorer Jason
Kreis its first player in a trade earlier this week, selected Jamaican
international Andy Williams, a creative 27-year old playmaker who featured
on the Jamaican squad which tied the United States 1-1 in a World Cup
Qualifier in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday.
The MLS trade window opens again on 9:00 a.m. ET on Monday, November 22 and does not close until the trade deadline on September 15, 2005, in line with the closing of the second international transfer window.
The results of the 10-round Expansion Draft follow:
CD Chivas USA: (1) MF Arturo Torres, (2) DF Orlando Perez, (3) DF Ezra
Hendrickson, (4) MF Francisco Gomez, (5) MF Antonio de la Torre, (6) FW
Matt Taylor, (7) DF Craig Ziadie, (8) FW Jamil Walker, (9) FW Thiago
Martins, (10) DF Jeff Stewart
Real Salt Lake: (1) MF Andy Williams, (2) GK DJ Countess, (3) MF Pablo
Brenes, (4) MF Brian Kamler, (5) DF Nelson Akwari, (6) FW Chris Brown, (7)
DF Matt Behncke, (8) DF Rusty Pierce, (9) MF Kevin Ara, (10) FW Erick Scott
Among other highlights of the 2004 Expansion Draft:
(1) CD Chivas USA claimed four defenders, three midfielders and three
forwards, including four players of Mexican descent.
(2) Real Salt Lake came away with one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and two forwards.
(3) CD Chivas USA selected right back Craig Ziadie, who played for the
Jamaican National Team in a 1-1 tie last Wednesday in a World Cup Qualifier
in Columbus.
(4) Real Salt Lake selected D.J. Countess and Nelson Akwari, former U.S. Under-17 players under current Real Salt Lake Head Coach John Ellinger.
(5) CD Chivas USA selected two players who did not play a minute in the 2004 regular season due to injury: forward Thiago Martins suffered a second torn left ACL suffered while with D.C. United and former Colorado Rapids defender Jeff Stewart re-injured his knee during preseason.
(6) Defender Ezra Hendrickson returns to Los Angeles with CD Chivas USA after spending all or part of seven seasons with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
(7) Torres and Hendrickson are the only two players who have previously played for Chivas USA rivals, the Los Angeles Galaxy.
(8) CD Chivas USA Expansion Draft selection Antonio de la Torre, born in Guadalajara, Mexico, has connections to CD Chivas Guadalajara: his uncle Jose "Chepo" de la Torre was a former player of a Chivas Guadalajara
championship team and his other uncle Eduardo de la Torre is a former coach for CD Chivas Guadalajara and current coach of Santos Laguna.
(9) Real Salt Lake selections Pablo Brenes and Erick Scott, both
appeared in the latest edition of the Olympics in Athens for Costa Rica.
(10) Real Salt Lake will represent the sixth MLS team in the career of
playmaker Andy Williams since 1998.
(11) A maximum three players were selected from both the Chicago Fire and
D.C. United, including three players from the Fire through Round 2.
(12) All ten current MLS teams had at least one player selected.
- GO LIONS -