Red Bulls select two in the first round and two in the second round
HARRISON, N.J. (January 9, 2020) - Following a trade with Chicago Fire FC to move up to the 10th overall pick, the New York Red Bulls selected Marquette defender Patrick Seagrist in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday. The Red Bulls traded $100,000 in General Allocation Money for Chicago Fire FC’s No. 10 pick.
Following the selection of Seagrist, the Red Bulls wrapped up the first round with Louisville forward Cherif Dieye as the 15th overall selection.
New York then selected UC-Davis goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley with the 10th pick in the second round (36th overall). With the 41st pick, the Red Bulls picked Wright State forward Deri Corfe.
Patrick Seagrist (No. 10)
Defender * 6-0 * 170 lbs. * Streamwood, Ill.
Seagrist was a four-year letterwinner for Marquette and capped of his Golden Eagle career with a team-best seven assists his senior campaign. The Streamwood, Illinois, native earned All-BIG EAST First team honors in 2018 and 2019. He started 63 of the 65 matches he played in and recorded six goals and 16 assists as a defender.
Cherif Dieye (No. 15)
Midfielder * 5-9 * 150 lbs. * Dakar, Senegal
Dieye, a native of Dakar, Senegal, becomes Louisville’s 23rd player chosen all-time the MLS SuperDraft. He is the seventh Louisville player to be drafted in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft. Dieye ended his career as a Cardinal leading the team in every offensive statistic on the season. He led the Cards with seven goals, including three game-winners. He dished out six assists for 17 points and also led the team with 79 shots and 36 shots on goal. Dieye was named to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-South Region Second Team and the USC Scholar All-South Region Second Team. In addition, he was a 2019 All-ACC Second Team selection and was a third team selection in 2018.
Wallis Lapsley (No. 36)
Goalkeeper * 6-5 * 205 lbs. * Seattle, Wash.
With Lapsley in goal for the Aggies throughout the last four years, his team advanced to the championship game of the Big West Tournament during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, won two Big West regular season titles and the program's inaugural Big West Tournament championship this past fall.
Once this year's NCAA Tournament field was announced, the Aggies earned a First Round bye as the event's No. 14 seed and the right to host a Division I Tournament Second Round game at Aggie Soccer Field for the first time in school history.
By collecting a single-season career-high nine shutouts, the Seattle native set a new all-time career program record with 21 clean sheets. His 0.89 career goals against average is a new Div. I-era program record and the second-lowest all-time figure. By finishing with a .784 career save percentage and 35 wins, Lapsley is now responsible for the highest figure in school history in each category. In addition to posting a 0.63 GAA, his .809 save percentage was No. 1 among his BWC counterparts in 2019. Among all goalkeepers in the nation, he ranked No. 6 and No. 9 respectively.
Lapsley graduated from the fifth-ranked public school in the nation this fall with a degree in global disease biology as one of the most decorated Aggies in program history. As a senior, he earned All-Far West Region, Scholar All-America and Division I Men's scholar All-West Region accolades from the United Soccer Coaches; coaches and officials bestowed the league's top on-field honors to Lapsley by selecting him as their Goalkeeper of the Year and naming him to the All-Big West First Team.
The two-time league All-Academic Team selection earned Big West Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year distinction as a junior; he also collected CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII and All-Big West Honorable Mention awards shortly after the 2018 season ended. UC Davis enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in program history, in 2019, by ending the season ranked in all three major polls: Soccer America (No. 11), Top Drawer Soccer (No. 21) and United Soccer Coaches (No. 25).
Deri Corfe (No. 41)
Midfielder * 6-0 * 178 lbs. * Chester, United Kingdom
Corfe's selection marks just the fifth time in program history that a Raider player has been drafted. Prior to joining the Wright State family, Corfe played in the Manchester City FC organization for six years.
During the 2019 season, Corfe appeared in 21 matches (20 starts) for the Raiders recording 1,769 minutes contributing 13 goals and eight helpers, including the eventual game-winning goal during the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship at Notre Dame as Wright State walked away with a 3-2 victory, its first postseason win in program history. The midfielder recorded 106 shots (44 on goal) and helped Wright State earn a Horizon League Championship title and reach the second round the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship for the first time in program history. Following his performance on the pitch during the 2019 season, Corfe was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-North Region First Team along with First Team All-Horizon League.
In 2018, Corfe tallied 28 points on 10 goals and eight assists in 19 games (18 starts), recording a team-high 75 shots (34 on goal) with one game-winning goal on the way to being named to the Horizon League second team and earning Second-Team All-North Region honors by the United Soccer Coaches Association.
