The Seattle Sounders picked up three additional players in Tuesday’s MLS Supplemental Draft — including another goal keeper and a midfielder from Seattle University.
With the 11th pick, the Sounders chose Josh Ford, a goalie from University of Connecticut. Ford had a solid performance at the MLS Player Combine and also appeared at the Sounders’ combine in Las Vegas.
Ford, 23, was a four-year starter at UConn. He was named the 2010 Big East Goalkeeper of the Year and also earned First Team College Soccer News All-American and All-Big East First Team honors as a senior. Ford holds the school record for career shutouts (50), consecutive starts (85) and wins (54).
“Josh Ford is a very athletic, quick keeper who comes up with big saves when you need them,” said Sounders FC Technical Director Chris Henderson. “He made some good reflex saves at both our combine and the MLS Combine, plus we had seen him a couple times during the season.”
The Sounders other two picks:
- Corey Attaway, (29th overall) defender, from the University California-Irvine.
- Sean Morris, (47th overall) midfielder, from Seattle University.
A four-year starter for UC Irvine, Attaway earned honorable mention All-Big West as a junior and was first team NSCAA Scholar All-America as a senior. He finished his career with 71 starts, and as a senior he ranked third on the team in points with five goals and three assists.
“Corey’s a good, solid right back that we saw during the year,” Henderson said. “He’s good on the ball, he had a solid combine in Las Vegas and because of (assistant coach and scout) Kurt Schmid’s past involvement at UC Irvine we have a very good sense of his ability.”
Morris played four seasons for Seattle University. He attended the Sounders’ player combine and attended Bishop Blanchet High School. He also played for Emerald City FC and Crossfire Premier youth clubs, where he helped win seven state championships.
“Being local, we had a number of opportunities to see Sean Morris, a homegrown player from Seattle U.,” Henderson said. “For him to get a chance with us is great.”
Morris has been named to several All-Tournament Teams during his four-year college playing career, including the UC-Irvine College Classic, Notre Dame’s Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament and the Oregon State Hensor/Zaher Nike Classic All-Tournament Team.
The supplemental draft is a back-door option for college and foreign players who were not selected in the MLS SuperDraft last week. With MLS rosters expanding to 30 players this season along with the emergence of a reserve league, teams will be looking for potential talent to fill out the reserve squad. They will also be looking at these players as long-term development projects.
In the case of the Sounders, the acquisition of Ford creates healthy competition for supplanting Kasey Keller as the Sounders’ No. 1 goalkeeper. Including Keller, who has announced plans to retire at the end of this season, Seattle will bring in four keepers to pre-season camp. Terry Boss is the No. 2 entering camp, but he’ll likely face stiff competition from Bryan Merideth, selected 27th overall in the SuperDraft, and also from Ford, who has been high on many coaches’ radar.
