By Jack McCarthyWith holes to fill at midfield and on defense, Fire officials seemed pleased that they found players to help with both at today's Major League Soccer SuperDraft in Philadelphia.
The Fire selected Corben Bone, a 21-year-old playmaking midfielder from Wake Forest, in the first round (13th overall).
Bone, a two-time Hermann Trophy finalist, is a two-time first-team All-American as well as 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference offensive player of the year. The 5-foot 9-inch Plano, Texas native collected 15 goals and 38 assists during a three-year Deacon career. He led the nation in assists in 2008 with 17. He was one of four Wake Forest players selected in the first round.
"I've watched Corben over the last year and a half," Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas said by phone from Philadelphia. "He's a very exciting player and has a lot of ability. He's dynamic, he's skillful and he's got a lot of ability."
Photo: Corben Bone participates at the MLS player combine earlier this month in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Doug Benc/Getty)
The Fire used its two second-round picks on Connecticut defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe (26th overall) and Maryland midfielder/forward Drew Yates (29th overall).
Yates helped lead the Terps to the 2009 NCAA Division I Elite Eight and played off the bench for Maryland's 2008 national champions.
The 6-foot, 3-inch Watson-Siriboe, 23, was a first-team Big East selection this past season and the league's co-defensive player of the year. He helped lead the Huskies to their 12th straight NCAA tourney appearance.
Watson-Siriboe had been projected to go as high as the middle of the first round.
"Everybody has different needs and you never know what happens going into the draft," Klopas said. "We needed help in the back and we had graded him very high."
In the third round, the Fire selected Elon defender Steven Kinney and went with Central Florida goalie Sean Johnson with their fourth-round and final pick.
Michael Stephens, a UCLA senior midfielder from Naperville, was the 16th and final first-round pick by the L.A. Galaxy. He's also played on several youth national teams and started four of six games last year for the U.S. Under-20 men.
Stephens' older brother John played was a team captain at Notre Dame from 2002-05. Another brother, Jimmy, played at Benet Academy and Colgate.
Illinois-Chicago goalie Jovan Bubonja was projected as one of the draft's top 20 players, but wasn't among the final 64 draftees.
Ex-Fire star Peter Nowak, now coach of the expansion Philadelphia Union, took Oregon State forward Danny Mwanga as the draft's overall No. 1 selection.
Yates helped lead the Terps to the 2009 NCAA Division I Elite Eight and played off the bench for Maryland's 2008 national champions.
The 6-foot, 3-inch Watson-Siriboe, 23, was a first-team Big East selection this past season and the league's co-defensive player of the year. He helped lead the Huskies to their 12th straight NCAA tourney appearance.
Watson-Siriboe had been projected to go as high as the middle of the first round.
"Everybody has different needs and you never know what happens going into the draft," Klopas said. "We needed help in the back and we had graded him very high."
In the third round, the Fire selected Elon defender Steven Kinney and went with Central Florida goalie Sean Johnson with their fourth-round and final pick.
Michael Stephens, a UCLA senior midfielder from Naperville, was the 16th and final first-round pick by the L.A. Galaxy. He's also played on several youth national teams and started four of six games last year for the U.S. Under-20 men.
Stephens' older brother John played was a team captain at Notre Dame from 2002-05. Another brother, Jimmy, played at Benet Academy and Colgate.
Illinois-Chicago goalie Jovan Bubonja was projected as one of the draft's top 20 players, but wasn't among the final 64 draftees.
Ex-Fire star Peter Nowak, now coach of the expansion Philadelphia Union, took Oregon State forward Danny Mwanga as the draft's overall No. 1 selection.
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