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PHILADELPHIA -- Defending MLS Cup Champion Real Salt Lake today added four young college players to its roster via the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, while making headlines with its trade of one-time "RSL Original" and veteran MLS midfielder/forward Clint Mathis to the Los Angeles Galaxy late in the first round.
RSL's 2010 MLS SuperDraft picks were Collen Warner, Justin Davis, Chris Schuler and Kris Banghart.
"With the Combine and the Draft we saw quite a few players that we thought could help us and could play some significant minutes for us," said Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jason Kreis. "We've got a lot more meaningful games this year, so we're going to need a deeper squad with a greater number of players that can contribute. We feel we've addressed some of those needs in this draft, and we'll continue to try and make this team deeper and stronger going forward."
RSL, slated to pick last in each of the first, second and fourth rounds entering Thursday's event, moved up one pick at the end of the opening round, packaging its #16 overall pick and Mathis for the Galaxy, the team it vanquished just six weeks ago in Seattle at MLS Cup 2009, in exchange for the #15 pick, with which RSL selected University of Portland MF Collen Warner, a Denver native who scored 20 goals and added 20 assists during his four-year Pilot career. RSL also obtained Los Angeles' 2011 third-round pick as part of the Mathis deal.
"We came in with a list of about 12 players that we thought could make a difference for us and help us," said Real Salt Lake GM Garth Lagerwey. "We knew we were going to try and move Mathis during the Draft, so we wanted to find a two-way midfielder, and we feel like we were really successful in doing that with Collen Warner."
"A lot of teams were interested in me and I'm thrilled to be going to Real Salt Lake," said Warner. "I'm just excited to follow in the line of the great UP soccer players who are currently playing in the MLS. Real Salt Lake has a lot of good players on the squad and I'm looking forward to playing there."
At the tail end of the second round, #32 overall, RSL selected the University of New Mexico's Justin Davis, a versatile player whose speed and left-sided nature has served the Lobos well both on the back line and at forward.
"I want to say thanks to Real Salt Lake for having confidence in me and drafting me," Davis said. "I also want to thank my coaches and teammates at UNM for a great four years. I'm very much looking forward to playing at the professional level."
Seven picks later, RSL acquired the Galaxy's #39 pick in exchange for the Utah side's natural 2011 third-rounder, which resulted in a swapping of next year's third-rounders between the two team. With that pick, RSL selected University of Creighton DF Chris Schuler, a towering, 6' 4" centerback, born in St. Louis and raised in suburban Chicago, where he played youth club soccer for the Chicago Magic - the same club that produced current RSL midfielders Will Johnson and Ned Grabavoy, as well as RSL General Manager Garth Lagerwey.
With the team's fourth and final pick, #64 overall, RSL made one of Collen Warner's youth soccer opponents, Kris Banghart, the 2010 MLS SuperDraft's last player taken, as the University of Denver defender and Fort Collins, Colo., native squared off against Denver native Warner during their youth days.
REAL SALT LAKE 2010 SUPERDRAFT SELECTION PLAYER BIOS**Collen Warner - 15th Overall Selection (First Round)**
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-10
Weight: 170
Born: June 24, 1988 in Denver, Colo.
Hometown: Denver, Colo.
College: Portland
Citizenship: USA
2009: Completed his UP career by helping guide the Pilots to the Third Round of the NCAA postseason During Portland's run through the 2009 playoffs, Warner scored both goals during a 2-1 overtime win at New Mexico and assisted on the game-winner in a 2-1 win at North Carolina State Also went three-for-three on penalty kicks last fall Led Portland last year with nine goals (three game-winners), seven assists, 60 shots and 25 shots on goal Led the West Coast Conference in points (25), was tied for first in game-winners, tied for second in goals and he ranked third in assists Named to his third consecutive All-WCC First Team
2008: Named to the All-WCC First Team for the second consecutive year Led the Pilots and the West Coast Conference with eight assists Finished second on the team with five goals, 18 points and 43 shots Ranked fourth in the WCC in points and was sixth in goals
2007: Named to the All-WCC First Team and to Top Drawer Soccer's All-Season Third Team Finished second on the team with four assists and tied for third with 10 points Also scored three goals and a game-winner Started all 20 games he appeared in
2006: Named to the All-West Coast Conference Freshman Team and named All-WCC Honorable Mention Named to the Top Drawer Soccer All-Rookie Second Team Finished third on the team with three goals Also recorded an assist, one game-winner, 19 shots and eight shots on goal
OLYMPIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: Member of the Colorado ODP state team from 2001-04 Part of the Region IV team pool from 2002-04 and a region team member in 2004 Scored two goals with the Region IV team at the 2004 Disney Showcase
DENVER EAST HS: Four-year letterwinner for coach Beth Hinz Team MVP and an All-Conference selection in 2005 Team won the Denver Prep League in 2002 and 2004 and reached the Colorado State semifinals during freshman season
CLUB TEAM: Played for the Colorado Rush club team for five years and trained with English Premier League players and coaches at the Liverpool Youth Academy in 2002 Trained with Italy's prestigious Serie "A" Club Youth Academy Atalanta in 2005
PERSONAL: Born on June 24, 1988 in Denver, Colo. Parents are Marcia Scott-Warner and Darrick Warner Major is Environmental Science.
Justin Davis - 32nd Overall Selection (Second Round)
Position: Defender
Height: 6-0
Weight: 170
Born: May 6, 1988 in Avondale, Ariz.
Hometown: Litchfield Park, Ariz.
College: New Mexico
Citizenship: USA
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO CAREER: Not only a dangerous striker who was lethal from distance, but a versatile player that is comfortable anywhere on the field Completed his four-year career last fall and was a two-time All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first-team selection Selected to the All-Far West Region squad twice in his Lobo career, and earned two Academic All-MPSF nods Finished his UNM career ranked ninth all-time in points with 58, tied for eighth in goals with 20 and tied for seventh in assists with 18 The Litchfield Park, Ariz., native was fourth all-time in shots with 184
2008 - SENIOR SEASON Davis led the Lobos in scoring with seven goals and six assists for 20 points on the year, earning All-Far West Region first-team honors The Lobos posted a 12-7-1 mark in 2009, advancing to their seventh NCAA Tournament in the last nine years New Mexico earned at at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and hosted Portland - and fellow RSL draftee Collen Warner - in a first round game, which the Lobos lost 2-1 in OT
2008 - JUNIOR SEASON Played in 17 games while starting 16 of them Lobos' leading scorer with seven goals and six assists for 20 points Also led the MPSF in scoring while earning First Team All-MPSF accolades Earned Second Team All-Far West Region honors Scored five game-winners against second ranked Akron, San Jose State, Sacramento State, at Stanford and Sacramento State in double overtime Logged 1,310 minutes
2007 - SOPHOMORE SEASON Played in all 19 games, with 14 starts Second on the team in scoring with five goals and three assists Had game-winning goals at San Francisco and Air Force and against Sacramento State Earned Academic All-MPSF honors
2006 - FRESHMAN SEASON Played in all 21 games on the year (10 starts) Scored a goal and three assists Had the game-winner in overtime against UNLV
HIGH SCHOOL Four-year letterman at Westview High School in Avondale, Ariz. Three-time All-State and All-Region selection and two-time regional player of the year
CLUB Played club soccer for the Sereno Golden Eagles Won the 2005 and 2006 Arizona Club State Championships
OLYMPIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM Was a member of the Arizona '88 ODP squad
PERSONAL Born May 6, 1988, Justin is the son of Dan and Jackie Davis He has one older brother, Jeff Majoring in Business at New Mexico.
Chris Schuler - 39th Overall Selection (Third Round)
Position: Defender
Height: 6-4
Weight: 195
Born: September 6, 1987 in St. Louis, Mo.
Hometown: Aurora, Ill.
College: Creighton
Citizenship: USA
CREIGHTON CAREER:
2009 (Senior) Co-captain was named Second-Team All-Region in 2009, his third All-Region honor as a Bluejay One of the most dominant defenders in school history, Schuler was a first-team honoree in 2008 and also earned second-team notice in 2007 The 2008 MVC Defensive Player of the Year helped the Bluejays lead the MVC with a 0.76 goals against average in 2009, ranking among NCAA leaders in both GAA and shutout percentage (eight clean sheets in 16 matches) Center back became the ninth player in school history to be named First-Team All-MVC three times - the first since MLS product David Wagenfuhr (2001-03) CU posted 37 shutouts over the last four years with Schuler anchoring the defense
2008 (Junior) - Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, NSCAA Second-Team All-America and NSCAA All-Midwest Region First-Team All-MVC First-Team, MVC All-Tournament Team and College Soccer News Second-Team All-America honoree Twice honored on the Soccer America National Team of the Week (Sept. 23, Oct. 7) and named MVC Defensive Player of the Week twice (Sept. 22, Oct. 6) Led the team with 1,852 minutes played, playing every minute of every match with the exception of a 12-minute break against UMKC (Sept. 13) Captain and anchor for record-setting defense which led the NCAA in shutout percentage (.650) and ranked second in goals against average (0.48) Helped team set school record with 13 shutouts Scored his only goal of the season against No. 22 Connecticut (Nov. 29) in the NCAA Tournament, the equalizer in the 79th minute of the overtime win
2007 (Sophomore) - Tabbed First-Team All-MVC and Second-Team NSCAA All-Midwest Region One of six Bluejays to start all 20 matches, while his 1,864 minutes played ranked second among field players Played all but one minute in CU's final 19 matches, playing every minute of CU's final 15 contests Leader on a CU defense which posted seven shutouts and led the MVC with a 0.79 goals against average
2006 (Freshman) - Honored on the Soccer America Freshman All-America Second-Team and MVC All-Freshman Team Named to the MVC All-Tournament Team after scoring the game-winning goal of the championship match Each of his three goals were game-winners, two in overtime, ranking second on the team in game-winning goals First collegiate goal came in the 99th minute against Georgetown (Sept. 1) to give CU a 3-2 win in his home debut
2005 (Freshman/Indiana) - Redshirted in his only season at Indiana after appearing in the Hoosiers' first exhibition match against UCLA Tabbed a Top 100 Freshmen to Watch by College Soccer News
PREP CAREER: Named a 2005 PARADE All-American for Waubonsie Valley HS Ranked as the top defender and seventh-best player in the nation by StudentSportsSoccer.com 2004 NSCAA/adidas Youth Boys Region II All-American and earned NSCAA/adidas All-Region V honors as a senior First-Team All-State defender in Illinois as named by the Chicago Tribune ... Two-time All-Conference and All-Area First-Team honoree Played high school soccer for 1978 Hermann Trophy winner Angelo DiBernardo Played club soccer for the Chicago Magic, leading the team to State Cup Championships from 2001-04 and three regional championships Served as four-year captain for the Magic Member of the Illinois and Region II Olympic Development Program Participated in two events with the national team in summer 2005 Tabbed the MVP at the US Youth Soccer National Championships in July 2006
PERSONAL: The son of Chris and Christina Schuler, Chris was born Sept. 6, 1987, in St. Louis, Mo. Has one younger sister, Christen (21), who plays soccer at Northern Illinois University . Management Information Systems major.
Kris Banghart - 64th Overall Selection (Fourth Round)
Position: Defender
Height: 6-1
Weight: 190
Born: March 1, 1988 in Loveland, Colo.
Hometown: Ft. Collins, Colo.
College: Denver
Citizenship: USA
2009: Denver co-captain Named to Duke Nike Classic All-Tournament Team Earned All-MPSF First-Team honors Selected to MPSF All-Tournament Team Started in 16 games
2008: Earned All-MPSF Second-Team honors Started in all 19 games for the Pioneers Tallied two shots at New Mexico and UC Davis
2007: Started all 18 games for DU All-MPSF Second-Team member Tallied one shot
2006: Started all 19 games for North Carolina Wesleyan during his freshman season Recorded three points on a goal and an assist
High School: Helped lead Fort Collins High School to the Colorado State Title
Personal: Born March 1, 1988 in Loveland, Colo. Son of Steve and Tommie Banghart Has one sister, Katie Enjoys snowboarding, mountain biking, Frisbee golf and camping.
