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UC Irvine and Chivas USA U23 defensive midfielder and central defender Tarek Morad will join the Sounders as a trialist. According to his Twitter account, he passed up an opportunity to participate in the NASL combine to accept the invitation to participate in Sounders pre-season training as a trialist.
@hdn517 nah I'm not man. I'll be in Seattle for their preseason!
— Tarek Morad (@tmorad92) January 24, 2014
Morad played a total of 61 matches for UC Irvine in his 3 seasons with the school. He spent his first two seasons with the school playing as a midfielder before being moved to the back line as a senior.
In his senior season at UC Irvine, Morad started all of the team's 23 matches, leading the Anteaters with 2,136 minutes played. The defense, led by Morad, conceded only 19 goals for a GAA of 0.80 and posted 10 shutouts. UC Irvine also allowed the fewest shots in the Big West with 77. Morad helped UC Irvine win the Big West South division and the Big West conference tournament before equaling the school's best finish in the NCAA tournament, losing to Maryland in the quarterfinals.
In Morad's first two seasons with UC Irvine, he recorded 3 goals and 2 assists in 38 games as a defensive midfielder. The Anteaters appeared in the 2011 NCAA Tournament in his first season with the team. UC Irvine was eliminated in the second round by St. Mary's.
As a freshman, Morad played for Mt. San Antonio College and provided 2 assists, earning second team all-conference honors as his team won the California community college state title.
Morad also played as a defender for Chivas USA's U23 team last year, helping it win the Coast Soccer League state title. The team's defense only allowed 8 goals in 10 matches, including the playoffs. Chivas USA's U23's finished the season unbeaten, capped off by Morad heading in the final goal in a 3-0 win in the final.