James Thorpe

With all the excitement surrounding the international signings of Gonzalo Martinez, Franco Niell, and Jose Carvallo, it would be easy for us to overlook the drafts that United has participated in the past couple of weeks. So this will be the first in a series of posts taking a look at the players selected by our beloved DCU in the Super Draft and the Supplemental Draft.

We'll start at the end and work our way back, which means we're starting with goalkeeper James Thorpe. This may be the one pick that at first doesn't really seem to address a major need, but it does make sense the more you think about it. Thorpe adds even more depth to the goalkeeping ranks, and should provide solid support in case of injury to Wells or Carvallo.

At first I thought Thorpe would just be a name to fill out the Reserve team. To take Shawn Crowe's spot. I mean c'mon, he played for a Division II school! But the more I read about Thorpe, he could actually have a chance of getting some MLS playing time in the coming years.

Not only did Thorpe guide Franklin Pierce to their first NCAA Division II Championship in 2007, but he was also named the NSCAA/Adidas Division II Player of the Year! And he was just one game away from setting the Division II record for most shutouts in a career with 49 (The record is held by Bo Oshoniyi). And he set the record for most minutes played in a career with 8,391 - that's an all-Division record, not just D2. So I'd say he's probably not prone to injury...

So James Thorpe has got some potential, and I look forward to seeing him dressed in black with the Reserves on the Auxiliary fields. He might not challenge Zach Wells and Jose Carvallo for a starting role this year, but Thorpe could definitely have some potential in MLS.