PDL Feature
Thursday, December 26, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. – TopDrawerSoccer.com has announced its Top 100 upperclassmen at the conclusion of the 2013 NCAA Division I season, with PDL players being prominently featured throughout the list. Recently named TDS Player of the Year Harrison Shipp of national champion Notre Dame, a former member of the Chicago Fire U-23, leads the selections, with eight of the Top 10 players having held PDL experience.
Shipp, a graduate of the Fire’s Academy, played for the club’s PDL side for the past three seasons, and is expected to be the Fire’s second Home Grown Player signing. The NCAA College Cup’s Most Outstanding Player is also a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy after a standout senior season that saw him finish with 12 goals and 10 assists.
Fellow MAC Hermann finalist Patrick Mullins comes in at No. 2, with the former New Orleans Jesters forward leading Maryland to the NCAA Championship Game as he led the nation with 19 goals and 46 points. Mullins made 21 appearances for the Jesters across three seasons as he scored 12 goals and added three assists.
2013 PDL Golden Boot winner Pete Caringi of the Baltimore Bohemians also broke into the Top 10 after a standout season for the UMBC that saw him score 13 goals and add three assists for the Retrievers. Caringi led the PDL with 16 goals in the summer, with his performance for UMBC earning him a second consecutive America East Striker of the Year award.
Other former PDL standouts in the Top 10 include former Orange County Blue Star center back Steven Birnbaum, how had a standout season this fall for California, and Reading United captain Steven Neumann, who led Georgetown to another strong season and the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Neumann’s Reading teammate Pedro Ribeiro also claimed at Top 10 spot after starring for Coastal Carolina, and he was joined by former Real Colorado Foxes defender Kyle Venter (New Mexico) and Sounders FC U-23 midfielder Aodhan Quinn (Akron), both of whom had strong senior seasons.
Other former standouts to be named in the Top 25 include the Carolina Dynamo’s Boyd Okwuonu, named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for North Carolina, and Sebastian Ibeagha, who shone as a senior for Duke. Two Michigan Bucks defenders, 2012 PDL Defender of the Year Kevin Cope and AJ Cochran, were also named to the Top 25 list, as Cochran used his experience with the Bucks and K-W United in 2013 to help Wisconsin to a strong fall.
Overall, 52 of the players selected brought PDL experience, with a number headed to next month’s MLS Combine to be held in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. from January 10-14. The 2014 MLS SuperDraft is set to be held on January 16 as part of the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia, as many PDL alumni take the next step into the professional ranks.