VANCOUVER, BC – New York City FC selected Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy as their sixth selection in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft.
As with all teams who had players selected in the Expansion Draft, Whitecaps FC will be compensated with allocation money for losing Ballouchy.
Ballouchy, 31, was selected by Vancouver in Stage 2 of the 2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft on December 18, 2013 and officially signed with the club on January 27, 2014. The native of Casablanca, Morocco made nine appearances, including three starts, for 297 minutes in his first and only season with Whitecaps FC.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound midfielder previously played for San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bulls, Colorado Rapids, and Real Salt Lake. Ballouchy was teammates and played under New York City FC head coach Jason Kreis while in Salt Lake in 2006 and 2007.
See the full Expansion Draft results below.
<strong>ROUND</strong> |
<strong>ORLANDO CITY SC</strong> |
<strong>NEW YORK CITY FC</strong> |
1 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/donovan-ricketts" target="_blank">GK Donovan Ricketts</a> (POR) |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/ned-grabavoy" target="_blank">MF Ned Grabavoy</a> (RSL) |
2 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/tony-cascio" target="_blank">MF Tony Cascio</a> (COL) |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/patrick-mullins" target="_blank">FW Patrick Mullins</a> (NE) |
3 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/jalil-anibaba" target="_blank">DF Jalil Anibaba</a> (SEA) |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/jason-hernandez" target="_blank">DF Jason Hernandez (SJ)</a> |
4 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/pedro-ribeiro" target="_blank">MF/FW Pedro Ribeiro</a><a> (PHI)</a> |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/daniel-lovitz" target="_blank">MF Daniel Lovitz</a> (TOR) |
5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/lewis-neal" target="_blank">MF Lewis Neal</a> (DC) |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/tony-taylor" target="_blank">FW Tony Taylor</a> (NE) |
6 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/jairo-arrieta" target="_blank">FW Jairo Arrieta</a> (CLB) |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/mehdi-ballouchy" target="_blank">MF Mehdi Ballouchy</a> (VAN) |
7 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/heath-pearce" target="_blank">DF Heath Pearce</a> (MTL) |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/george-john" target="_blank">DF George John</a> (DAL) |
8 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/danny-mwanga" target="_blank">FW Danny Mwanga</a> (COL) |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/thomas-mcnamara" target="_blank">MF Thomas McNamara</a> (DC) |
9 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/mark-sherrod" target="_blank">FW Mark Sherrod</a> (HOU) |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/sal-zizzo" target="_blank">MF Sal Zizzo</a> (SKC) |
10 |
DF Eric Gehrig (CLB) |
DF Chris Wingert (RSL) |
The MLS Waiver Draft will take place at 1:30 p.m. PT and the list of eligible players will be released at 1 p.m. PT. Stay tuned to whitecapsfc.com for complete coverage.
