De Vera and Shepherd Both Selected in Second Round of MLS Draft
Story Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
PHILADELPHIA -- Two more MAC players were selected in the second round of the 2018 MLS Super Draft on Friday, January 19th. Akron Senior Niko De Vera was selected 31st overall by the New York Red Bulls, and Western Michigan Senior Drew Shepherd was selected 46th overall by Toronto FC.
A three-year starter for the Zips, De Vera started 41 of the 60 games in which he appeared in for Akron, including starting all 23 games in which he played in this past season. He helped spark a Zips' defensive unit that has posted 41 shutouts over his four-year career, including 12 this fall.
This past season, De Vera earned All-Mid-American Conference recognition for the first time as a second-team honoree after registering four assists on six shots, including three on goal. He finished his distinguished Zips' career recording a goal and seven assists on 16 shots, including nine on frame.
De Vera became the 22nd Zip to be drafted during the MLS SuperDraft after teammate Joao Moutinho (Lisbon, Portugal) was selected No. 1 overall by Los Angeles FC.
Western Michigan senior goalkeeper Drew Shepherd was drafted as the No. 46 overall pick by Toronto FC in the 2018 Major League Soccer (MLS) Draft. Shepherd became the second Bronco drafted on Friday, following teammate Brandon Bye who went as the No. 8 overall pick to the New England Revolution.
Prior to this season, Western Michigan had only had one other soccer player drafted in school history. Goalkeeper Eric Pogue was selected 53rd overall by New England in 2001.
Shepherd had a 16-3-1 record in goal this season, earning Second Team All-America, Academic All-America and First Team All-Mid-American Conference honors. Responsible for 13 of the team’s 14 shutouts, he ranked third in Division I for shutouts in 2017. His .727 goals-against average ranked 22nd and he was 25th for goalkeeper minutes played (1857:03).
Shepherd set a new WMU record for goalkeeper single-season wins (16), single-season shutouts (13), consecutive shutouts in a season (6) and career shutouts (29). A four-year starter, Shepherd’s career 0.75 goals-against average will also go down as best in school history. He finished with the second most career goalkeeper wins at WMU, totaling a career record of 34-12-10.
