INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, January 17, 2013) – The LA Galaxy made three selections at the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, which was held this afternoon at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The Galaxy selected forward Charlie Rugg from Boston College in the first round (19th overall) of the SuperDraft before adding Michigan defender Kofi Opare (24th overall) and Louisville midfielder Greg Cochrane (38th overall) in the second round. All three players are scheduled to be in attendance at the Galaxy’s first training session at The Home Depot Center, which will be held on Monday morning.
“We came into today’s draft wanting to add depth to a number of positions and we feel that we were successful in doing that,” Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena said. “Charlie Rugg is a good attacking player with good pace and size, Kofi Opare is a pure, physical center back and Greg Cochrane is a player that can play out wide in the midfield and defense. We’re very happy with all of our selections and look forward to getting these three players into preseason camp with us.”
With the 19th and final pick of the first round, the Galaxy selected Charlie Rugg from Boston College. A three-time All-ACC First Team selection while with the Eagles, the 22-year-old scored 28 goals and added 18 assists in 76 games and helped his team qualify for the NCAA Tournament during all four years of his college career. A native of Roslindale, Mass., Rugg was named to the All-ACC Freshman team in 2009 after tallying seven goals and seven assists and helping lead his team to the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament. He set a career-high with eight goals the following season and then matched that as a junior in 2011 before tallying five goals and four assists in 13 games as a senior. He ranks fifth in Boston College history with 28 goals and he was the first player in school history to earn a spot on the All-ACC First Team in three consecutive seasons.
With their first pick of the second round, LA chose 22-year-old defender Kofi Opare from the University of Michigan. Born in Ghana, Opare has also lived in South Africa, the United States and Canada. He has represented the United States at the Under-20 level and is also eligible to play for Canada and Ghana. A four-year starter with the Wolverines, Opare appeared in 76 games during his college career, scoring six goals and adding a pair of assists. After being selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2009, he set career-highs for games played and games started as a sophomore in 2010, helping lead Michigan to the College Cup Semifinals for the first time in school history. A Second Team All-Big Ten selection as a junior, Opare scored a career-high three goals during his senior season when he served as one of the Wolverines tri-captains.
The Galaxy completed the SuperDraft by taking midfielder Greg Cochrane from the University of Louisville with the 38th and final pick of the day. Cochrane spent the first two years of his college career at Virginia Tech, appearing in 38 games for the Hokies, tallying two goals and eight assists, including a career-best seven assists as a sophomore in 2010. The 22-year-old transferred to Louisville ahead of the start of his junior season and went on to start all 44 games that he played for the Cardinals, scoring six goals and adding five assists while helping his team reach the NCAA Quarterfinals twice. All six of his goals came during his senior season when he was named to the All-Big East Third Team while playing on the left side of midfield after spending his junior season at left back.
