Sounders FC kicked off the Garth Lagerwey era Thursday with the 2015 MLS SuperDraft in Philadelphia, giving the club’s new General Manager and President of Soccer his first chance to impress the Seattle faithful. He didn’t disappoint, moving up 11 spots to nab University of Washington star and projected top-two pick Cristian Roldan with the 16th selection, then acquiring the 33rd overall pick to select the 2014 Big 10 Goalkeeper of the Year, Tyler Miller, out of Northwestern. Seattle then took University of New Mexico product Oniel Fisher with the 40th pick, a player the technical staff had rated as the top fullback in the draft.
Most fans and onlookers agreed that Seattle came out among the winners of the 2015 SuperDraft despite starting the day with only a pair of Second Round picks. Here’s how local and national media around the league reacted to the Sounders’ draft day.
- Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times chronicled how Roldan’s emotional day ended in the place he “wanted to land all along.”
- Don Ruiz of the News Tribune explains how Sounders FC’s “sleepy little draft day awoke in a hurry” as the club made a pair of draft-day moves.
- Sounder at Heart spoke to Roldan about being glad he dropped to Seattle.
- Liviu Bird profiled Roldan for Sports Illustrated, calling Seattle an ideal destination for the 19-year-old.
- Matt Doyle of MLSSoccer.com did a team-by-team, categorical breakdown of the SuperDraft.
- Goal.com’s Ives Galarcep counted Seattle among the list of draft-day winners.
- Top Drawer Soccer gave Sounders FC the best draft-day grade, while staff writer/editor Will Parchman called Roldan the “steal of the draft.”
