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January 15, 2010
AKPAN PICKED UP BY COLORADO
Anxious to get pro career started
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Andre Akpan seemed confident and happy as he talked on a Colorado Rapids video, talking about coming to Colorado, a state he had never been to.
Photo by Linda Cuttone |
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Forward Andre Akpan of the Harvard men’s soccer team, the Dallas Soccer News’ Men’s College Player of the year, was chosen in the second round with the 22nd overall pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by the Colorado Rapids.
A runner-up for the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, presented to the nation’s top collegiate player, Akpan was named to the Soccer America MVPs first team, as well as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-America first team and College Soccer News All-America first team as a senior.
From the Colorado video on its website, Akpan looked confident and relieved. He had fallen from 1st round predictions to the second round, but was still Colorado’s first picked.
“I’m so excited,” Akpan started.”I’m so anxious to get out to the team and get started. I am so grateful for Colorado taking a chance on me. I’m excited to get out to and start my professional career.
“I think I bring good creativity in the attacking third. I can use my size to hold the ball up but I can also be dangerous slipping passes or finish myself.”
He said he had never been to Colorado, but had heard great things about it from a friend, Ugo Ihemelu now with Dallas but formerly of Colorado. To fans, he said, “Just thank you. I won’t disappoint.”
A native of Grand Prairie, Texas, Akpan, a three-time semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy, was the Ivy League Player of the Year this season after leading Harvard and the Ancient Eight with 30 points and 12 goals. Akpan netted four game-winning tallies and earned his fourth straight unanimous nod to the All-Ivy League first team.
A member of the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Year, Akpan helped Harvard win its second Ivy League title in four seasons this fall, as the Crimson went 14-4-1 overall and 5-1-1 in Ivy play. Harvard, which finished the season ranked ninth, reached as high as No. 6 in the national polls during the regular season and advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament after defeating Monmouth, 2-0, in the second round Nov. 22.
In 2009, Akpan ranked 13th in the nation with 0.63 goals per game and 15th with 1.58 points per contest. He ranks first in school history with 33 assists, and with a goal against Monmouth in the NCAA tournament, he tied Chris Ohiri ’64 for first in the Crimson annals with 47 tallies. A co-captain of the Crimson this fall, Akpan, a three-time NSCAA All-America performer, was tabbed the Ivy League Player of the Week twice and netted two goals in a game on three occasions. An ECAC Division I Men’s All-Star choice, Akpan also succeeded in the classroom, earning a spot on the prestigious Academic All-Ivy League team.
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