As expected the New England Revolution today selected University of Louisville defender Andrew Farrell with the first overall selection in todays 2013 MLS SuperDraft.
“We’re very pleased to add Andrew to the Revolution,” General Manager Michael Burns said. “We believe he is the best player available in this draft class and proactively made the deal with Toronto to move up the draft order so we could ensure he was available when we picked. We’re looking forward to getting him into camp with us and getting him acclimated to the Revolution. We believe he has a very bright future with our club and in this league.”
The 20-yer-old Farrell was an NSCAA first-team All-America honoree this year following a stellar three-year career at Louisville. He started all 44 games which he played the last two seasons and earned Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2012. The 5-11, 185-pound defender transitioned from the midfield as a junior, and scored six goals and added six assists in his three-year career. He is projected as a central defender or a right back at the professional level.
New England also selected three players in the second round: In the second round, the team added: F/M Donnie Smith (UNC-Charlotte), F Luke Spencer (Xavier) and GK Luis Soffner (Indiana).
Smith was a 2012 NSCAA Scholar All-America and first-team Scholar All-South Region selection after scoring four goals and adding four assists in 19 appearances (16 starts) with UNC-Charlotte. In 2011, he earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 Conference and second-team NSCAA Scholar All-South Region honors, scoring five goals and registering three assists in 25 appearances (10 starts). He was also named to the 2011 NCAA College Cup All-Tournament team after helping the 49ers advance to the College Cup. At the conclusion of his sophomore season, Smith was named to the 2010 first-team All-Atlantic 10.
Spencer led the Atlantic 10 in goals (14), goals per game (.64) and points per game (1.64) in the 2012 season at Xavier. He also recorded eight assists in 22 appearances (20 starts) and earned first-team NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region and first-team All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors this year. In 2011, Spencer was named to the NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region second team and second-team All-Atlantic 10 after scoring seven goals and adding six assists in 21 appearances (19 starts). As a freshman, he was named to the Atlantic 10 all-rookie team.
Soffner was a four-year starter at Indiana and backed the Hoosiers to the 2012 NCAA Championship while earning NCAA College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player honors. He started 83 of 84 career matches, and as a senior, posted an 0.72 goals against average with 12 shutouts. His 16 wins as a senior were the most at IU since 2004 (19). On his career, Soffner was 47-26-11 with an 0.93 GAA. His 32 career shutouts and 262 career saves both rank fourth, respectively, in IU history.
