Colorado selects Ritchie in MLS draft

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2003-03-28

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Colorado selects Ritchie in MLS draft Former South Medford High and University of Washington soccer standout Bryn Ritchie was selected by the Colorado Rapids in the third round of Sunday's Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Ritchie, picked 28th overall, was one of three selections in the third round by Colorado. The 6-foot-2, 22-year-old Ritchie starred as a defender for Washington where he earned the men's soccer Division I national scholar-athlete player of the year award. Ritchie also was a third-team All-American his senior year and second-team All-American last year at Washington. With South Medford High, Ritchie was the 1997 Oregon Class 4A player of the year after leading the Panthers to their only state title. Colorado used its first selection, the 16th overall, to grab defender Danny Jackson, a starter and captain for last year's NCAA champion North Carolina Tarheels. Three spots later, the Rapids landed defender Jeff Stewart of Santa Clara University. After Ritchie, Colorado chose Furman University midfielder Daniel Alvarez (29th) and Stanford midfielder Matt Moses (34th). Each of the players selected by the Rapids were expected to join the team in Bradenton, Fla., on Monday, where the team will convene for the start of a two-week training camp. Colorado will then head to Portugal to train at the beginning of March. Chris Gbandi, the 2000 Hermann Trophy winner from the University of Connecticut, was taken as the first-overall selection by the Texas Burn.   Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.