Whitecaps take J’can Mattocks with No. 2 pick in SuperDraft
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (CMC) — Jamaican Darren Mattocks had the distinction of going to the Vancouver Whitecaps with the second overall pick in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft on Thursday.
The 21-year-old forward was expected to be the No1 pick, but the Montreal Impact swooped for Duke University star Andrew Wenger instead.
“I knew from the get-go that it was going to be between me and Wenger,” said Mattocks. “They chose Wenger. That’s ok. It doesn’t really matter where I go. I’m concerned with getting good playing time and scoring a lot of goals. That’s what I’m here for.”
Mattocks scored 39 goals in 47 career matches for collegiate powerhouse University of Akron in the state of Ohio.
He scored 18 goals as a freshman two years ago, finishing third nationally, and helped lead the Zips to the national title, following that feat by scoring 21 goals in 22 games during his recently concluded sophomore season.
Mattocks was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year in 2011 and was a semi-finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.
He was named to the 2012 Generation Adidas class, a joint venture between the MLS and national governing body US Soccer aimed at raising the level of young talent in the United States by encouraging early entry (without college graduation) of American players into the League.
Mattocks decided to forgo his final two years at Akron to take up the Generation Adidas contract, joining a long list of talented Akron players drafted in recent years, including a record five Zips taken among the top eight picks last year.
“My pace is going to speak volume in the league because I’m pretty good,” he said. “So hopefully I can use that to score a bunch of goals in MLS.”
Mattocks is currently a member of the Reggae Boyz’s Under-23 national team pool and said his decision to attend Akron had paid dividends.
“In Jamaica, it’s always 80 to 90 degrees all year round… the main reason I went to the University of Akron is to get acclimatised to the weather, and look where I am now going, to Vancouver in Canada,” he said.
