Originally published January 17, 2012 at 6:03 PM | Page modified January 18, 2012 at 2:06 PM
Sounders FC pick up five new players
As preseason training nears, the Sounders added five to the camp roster through Tuesday's MLS Supplemental Draft and a trade.
Seattle Times staff reporter
Abdul Aman
Drafted: 53rd overall (third round).Position: Forward.
Height: 6-1.
Age: 22, born Aug. 15, 1989.
College: Washington.
Tim Pontius
Drafted: 33rd overall (second round).Position: Defender.
Height, weight: 6-0, 170.
Age: 22, born Dec. 21, 1989.
College: UC Santa Barbara.
Jason Banton
Drafted: 34th overall (second round).Position: Midfielder.
Height, weight: 6-0, 172.
Age: 19, born Dec. 15, 1992.
Last team: Burton Albion on loan from Leicester City.
Wes Feighner
Drafted: 72nd overall (fourth round).Position: Defender.
Height, weight: 5-10, 175.
Age: 21, born April 3, 1990.
College: Cal Poly.
Andy Rose
Drafted: 6th overall (first round) by Real Salt Lake, traded to Seattle.Position: Midfielder.
Height, weight: 6-2, 170.
Age: 21, born Feb. 13, 1990.
College: UCLA.
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Sounders FC's preseason training camp roster increased by five after the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft and a related trade Tuesday.
With its four picks, Seattle drafted UC Santa Barbara defender Tim Pontius (33rd overall), English midfielder Jason Banton (34th), Washington forward Abdul Aman (53rd) and Cal Poly defender Wes Feighner (72nd).
The Sounders also acquired the rights to UCLA midfielder Andy Rose, who was drafted sixth overall Tuesday by Real Salt Lake, in exchange for the rights to defender Leone Cruz, who was selected by Seattle in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft but didn't make the team.
"All of these players are going to have to fight to make the roster," said technical director Chris Henderson in a news release. "We have a deep team."
Rose, 21, and Banton, 19, are from England and each participated in the MLS combine earlier this month in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The 6-foot-2 Rose could provide needed depth at center midfielder for the Sounders. He was a two-time all-conference first-team selection at UCLA, where he started 73 of his 81 games. Banton came up through youth systems of Arsenal, Blackburn and Liverpool, and is an attacking wide midfielder.
Pontius and Aman, each 22, were at the Sounders' invitational combine in Las Vegas last month. Pontius is the younger brother of star D.C. United forward/midfielder Chris Pontius, and projects as a central defender. Aman, a Seattle native, was at UW for just one season. He played in high school at Nathan Hale and Roosevelt, and also at Whatcom Community College, before joining the Huskies.
Feighner, 21, was a part of the U.S. under-17 national team in 2007.
In another local pick Tuesday, UW defender Jamie Finch, a Bothell native, was selected by the Columbus Crew with the 29th overall pick in the second round.
Sounders exploring PDL affiliation
The Sounders are in discussions to partner with a local amateur Premier Development League in the fourth-tier of American soccer. Seattle general manager Adrian Hanauer said that having an affiliated PDL team as an option for Sounders FC academy players would be "an ideal situation."
"There are still details to sort out, but I believe we're on the right track," Hanauer said in a statement.
Notes
• Erin Mayovsky, who joined Sounders FC broadcasts last year as a sideline reporter, will not be retained for the upcoming season. Due to a shift to a two-man broadcast booth, the team will not have a sideline reporter in 2012. The studio team during pregame and halftime, featuring analysts Alan Hinton and Peter Fewing, is expected to be the same.
• The installation of new FieldTurf at CenturyLink Field is scheduled to begin soon and is expected to be completed around Feb. 25. The Sounders play their first home game on March 7 in a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Mexico's Santos Laguna and are trying to schedule a home friendly beforehand.
• Due to the threat of snow, the Sounders will move the start of training camp Thursday to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, which has an indoor facility. Practices this week were originally scheduled to take place at the Starfire Sports Campus in Tukwila.
Joshua Mayers: 206-464-3184 or jmayers@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @joshuamayers.
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