Cyle Larin of Brampton, Ont., made history on Thursday by becoming the first Canadian to be selected with the No. 1 pick in Major League Soccer’s SuperDraft.
A 19-year-old forward with the University of Connecticut, Larin went to the expansion Orlando City via the first overall pick in Thursday’s college draft from Philadelphia.
Larin wasn’t able to attend Thursday’s draft—he is currently playing for Canada at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Jamaica.
“It was a really exciting moment and just to celebrate with Canadian players and going number one in the draft was a moment I’ve been waiting for,” Larin said.
“My heart was beating really fast and they were just making a lot of noise so it was a moment I’ll never forget because I celebrated with them and players I play with and it will be a moment I remember.”
Larin scored nine goals in 16 games his sophomore season in 2014 after bagging 14 goals in 23 games as a freshman. The Canadian was also named the American Athletic Conference’s offensive player of the year for 2014.
The six-foot-two and 190-pound goal-scorer with quick feet is viewed as one of the brightest prospects in Canadian soccer. Larin has already made three appearances for the Canadian senior men’s team, the first of which was a friendly against Bulgaria last May. He played against Moldova four days later and then again against Colombia in October, but has yet to notch his first international goal.
Before going to UConn, Larin excelled at the private soccer academy Sigma FC of the Ontario Soccer League. During his time there, Larin went to Europe for training stints with Werder Bremen, Hertha Berlin and Wolfsburg in Germany and with Club Brugge in Belgium.
The previous high for a Canadian pick at the MLS draft was in 2013 when Toronto FC selected midfielder Kyle Bekker third overall.
NCAA underclassmen such as Larin are especially attractive draft options because they’ve signed Generation adidas contracts with MLS, which means they don’t count against the league’s salary cap
The expansion New York City FC used the second overall pick on Khiry Shelton, a forward from Oregon State. The Montreal Impact selected Central Florida forward Romario Williams with the third pick. Williams is also Generation adidas player.
“We were looking at forwards for this draft and we liked Romario very much,” Montreal coach Frank Klopas said in a media release. “He’s got a lot of pace, is dynamic off the dribble and has a good shot. As a Generation adidas player, he fits well under our cap and adds quality depth at the forward position.”
At No. 6, Toronto FC selected Syracuse goalkeeper Alex Bono. Like Larin, Bono is a Generation adidas player. Bono wasn’t in Philadelphia, as he was away training with the U.S. senior national team.
TFC went off the board with the ninth overall pick by selecting North Carolina State defender Clement Simonin, who wasn’t even projected by most pundits to go in the first two rounds.
With the No. 11 selection, Toronto opted for Syracuse defender Skyler Thomas, a native of Pickering, Ont.
Thomas said he wasn’t sure where he’d go in the draft, but hoped that Toronto would select him.
“There were a few mock drafts on the Internet, but you can’t trust those or pay attention to them. I had a hope my hometown would pick me, so this is really a dream come true,” Thomas told Sportsnet.
At six-foot-three and 180 pounds, Thomas is a big presence on the pitch. He played in 56 games during his four seasons at Syracuse—19 as a starter in his senior year—and added eight goals during his NCAA career.
“I’m a big, ball-winning centre-back. Very dominant in the air. Not afraid to go into tackles. I try to keep it simple,” Thomas said.
The Vancouver Whitecaps used the 13th pick on St John’s defender Tim Parker.
Toronto FC’s second round picks were South Florida defender Wes Charpie, and forward Edwin Rivas from the University of California at Northridge.
The Whitecaps took forward Kay Banjo (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) in the second round.
The first two rounds took place Thursday in Philadelphia. Rounds 3 and 4 will be conducted over the phone on Jan 20.
2015 MLS SUPERDRAFT, 1ST ROUND
1) Orlando City – Cyle Larin (forward, University of Connecticut)
2) New York City FC – Khiry Shelton (forward, Oregon State)
3) Montreal Impact – Romario Williams (forward, Central Florida)
4) San Jose Earthquakes – Fatai Alashe (midfielder, Michigan State)
5) Portland Timbers – Nick Besler (midfielder, Notre Dame)
6) Toronto FC – Alex Bono (goalkeeper, Syracuse)
7) Chicago Fire – Matt Polster (midfielder, Southern Illinois – Edwardsville)
8) Houston Dynamo – Zach Steinberger (midfielder, Butler)
9) Toronto FC – Clement Simonin (defender, North Carolina State)
10) Sporting Kansas City – Connor Hallisey (midfielder, California)
11) Toronto FC – Skyler Thomas (defender, Syracuse)
12) Sporting Kansas City – Saad Abdul-Salaam (defender Akron)
13) Vancouver Whitecaps – Tim Parker, (defender, St. John’s)
14) Colorado Rapids – Axel Sjoberg (defender, Marquette)
15) FC Dallas – Otis Earle (defender, University of California at Riverside)
16) Seattle Sounders – Cristian Roldan (midfielder, Washington)
17) D.C. United – Miguel Aguilar (forward, University of San Franciso)
18) New York Red Bulls – Leo Stolz (midfielder, UCLA)
19) Columbus Crew – Sergio Campbell (defender, University of Connecticut)
20) Sporting Kansas City – Amadou Dia (midfielder, Clemson)
21) LA Galaxy – Ignacio Maganto (midfielder, Iona)
