Belmont's Rodrigues Selected First in USL First Division College Draft
Date Posted: 1/26/2006
Tampa, Fla. – Junior J.P. Rodrigues (Lutz, Fla.) of the Belmont men’s soccer team was the first collegiate player drafted in the United Soccer League First Division College Draft on Tuesday afternoon. The defender, who was chosen by Miami, is the only Atlantic Sun player to be drafted in the USL expansion.
The 6-1 defender played a team-high 1,317 minutes during his junior campaign and recorded two goals and one assist for a total of five points. He anchored a defensive line that helped the Bruins to a 1.45 team GAA and three shutouts in 2005. For his efforts, he was tabbed A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year, a first for a Belmont player, and earned All-Conference First-Team honors for the second year in a row.
The Lutz, Fla., native played in almost every game for Belmont over the last three years, earning the starting nod 36 times. Rodrigues, the anchor of the Bruins defensive line, also earned NSCAA/adidas All-South honors back-to-back seasons (2004 and 2005).
