Jan. 17, 2017
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Penn State men's soccer players Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Robby Sagel (Las Vegas, Nev.) were selected in the MLS Draft Tuesday, Jan. 17.
Maloney was selected by the Columbus Crew in the third round, while Sagel was selected by Houston Dynamo in the fourth round. The two mark the 13th and 14th Penn State players to be drafted by the MLS, joining former Nittany Lions Brian James (2016, Toronto FC), Andrew Wolverton (2015, L.A. Galaxy), John Gallagher (2013, Chicago Fire), Mark Fetrow (2012, Vancouver Whitecaps), Corey Hertzog (2011, NY Red Bulls), Drew Cost (2011, Real Salt Lake), Jason Yeisley (2010, FC Dallas), Simon Omekanda (2007, Chicago Fire), Brian Devlin (2006, MetroStars), Derek Potteiger (2002, New England Revolution) and, Ricardo Villar (2002, Dallas Burn) in that illustrious club. Ted Gillen was Penn State's first MLS draftee, selected in the sixth round (59th overall) by the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in 1996 in the league's inaugural draft.
Furthermore, Maloney and Sagel mark the 31st and 32nd student-athletes that head coach Bob Warming has had selected in the MLS SuperDraft. Warming has had a player drafted in all but one year since the league's inception in 1996.
Maloney has been vital to the Penn State offense for the last four seasons, appearing in and starting 75 matches with 27 goals and 16 assists to total 71 career points in 6,104 minutes on the pitch. In his freshman year he was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team after leading Penn State with seven assists. Moving into his sophomore campaign he paced the Nittany Lions with 10 goals and added three assists en route to a number of accolades including: Big Ten Player of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten, College Sports Madness Big Ten Player of the Year, and College Sports Madness All-America Fourth Team.
The Harrisburg, Pa. native added seven goals and two assists to his tally in his junior season for a team-best 16 points and his second All-Big Ten First Team honors. In his final season donning the Blue and White the senior midfielder led the Nittany Lions with eight goals and five assists, while putting 23 shots on goal in 1,348 minutes on the field.
Sagel senior played in 32 matches and started 31 in his two-year career at Penn State, playing 2,805 minutes on the backline. The Las Vegas, Nev. native scored two crucial goals for the Blue and White, finding the game-winning goal in the 2015 season against then-No. 10 Indiana on Mack Brady Night and netting the game-winner against No. 19 Michigan State in the 2016 campaign.
The senior defender has been a key component of the Nittany Lion backline that has helped to secure 10 shutouts in his two-year career donning the Blue and White. Sagel earned All-Big Second Team honors and Big Ten All-Tournament team honors to close out his career as a Nittany Lion.