On December 1st, the Louisville Cardinals men's soccer season came to a bitter end in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Louisville fell on the road in College Park to second-seeded Maryland 1-3, ending consecutive Cardinal seasons in the NCAA Elite Eight.
But much like last season, the good news for Louisville men's soccer players didn't end there. Yesterday was the 2013 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, and it would be a good Thursday for a few Cardinal players selected to join the professional ranks.
Last year, the first Cardinal to go was Nick DeLeon at 7th to DC United.
This year, we wouldn't have to wait that long.
After acquiring the draft pick from Toronto FC on Wednesday, the New England Revolution would select Louisville midfielder/defender Andrew Farrell as the #1 overall selection of the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.
Farrell, a 5'11", 165 lbs. junior who actually hails from the city of Louisville (Atherton HS), started all 21 games for the Cardinals last year; the first twelve were at midfield, before finishing the final 9 on the backline defending.
Farrell became the first Louisville player ever selected #1 overall by the MLS, and just the third top selection in school history (the other two were women's basketball star Angel McCoughtry, selected first by the WNBA's Atlanta Dream in 2009, and men's basketball star Pervis Ellison, selected first by the NBA's Sacramento Kings in 1989).
Also like last year, the top pick out of Louisville wouldn't be alone. Two more Cardinals were drafted in the second round in 2013.
The second Cardinal selected was midfielder Paolo DelPiccolo, selected 27th overall by the Montreal Impact. DelPiccolo, a 6'0", 165 lbs. senior out of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, also started all 21 games for Louisville. DelPiccolo netted 6 assists on the season, taking his career total to 23, good for the tops in Louisville history; he surpassed Stuart Langrish's previous record of 22 from 1997-2000.
The third and final Cardinal selected was defender Greg Cochrane, selected with the 38th and final pick by two-time defending MLS Cup Champions, the LA Galaxy. Cochrane, a 5'8", 140 lbs. senior out of Holland, Pennsylvania, worked his way into the Louisville starting lineup as a junior after transferring in from Virginia Tech. Cochrane actually finished second on the team with 6 goals in 2012, and tied for third with three assists.
So 2011 ended with four Cardinals selected in the MLS SuperDraft, while 2012 ended with just three; but unlike 2011, the first Cardinal taken was the #1 pick overall, a new Louisville first.
GO CARDS!
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