Letter of Intent Day for Soccer Too: Sounders Academy Product Stays Local

Sure, Coach Sark and Coach Wulff will get most of the attention on "signing day" but let's give a little love to the Husky soccer team. The other football had two NLIs come in and one of the players you likely have seen play already, as he's on the Sounders U-18 team.

Drew White, usually at centerback, will be coached by Jamie Clark (no relation). Clark was recently coached at  Creighton, prior to that at Harvard. He has developed recent MLS reserve talents like Mike Fucito (no I don't think he's only a reserve) and Andre Akpan (I don't really think his future is as a reserve either) and also played with Taylor Graham. White is 6'0" and 177, choosing to stay with a school that he already had committed to attend. As a centerback he has 3 goals in Academy play on the season.

Villyan Bijev is the other player who sent in letters today. Diehard fans of the USSDA Academy system may know him from Cal Odyssey (Central Cali non-MLS Academy team). The 6'1", 150-pound forward has 7 goals (50% of team output) in 9 played, all starts. Odyssey is 3rd in the same Academy division as Sounders FC Academy. Bijev is out of Fresno, California.

For the Sounders it can't help but be good that they will be able to easily keep track of a player for whom they hold first rights. Especially knowing that he's coached by someone who knows the League both through developing talent and having played alongside it.