Revolution Protected XI

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In advance of Wednesday’s expansion draft, which will allow Vancouver and Portland to cherrypick players from around the league, the New England Revolution announced that they have protected the following players from selection:

D Kevin Alston
D Darrius Barnes
M Shalrie Joseph
M Kenny Mansally
M Sainey Nyassi (Intl.)
M Marko Perovic (Intl.)
D Emmanuel Osei (Intl.)
GK Matt Reis
F Zack Schilawski
GK Bobby Shuttleworth
M/D Chris Tierney

Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Diego Fagundez is automatically protected as a Homegrown Player, and thus, exempt from selection.

Accordingly, the following players are available for selection:

M Zak Boggs
GK Preston Burpo
M Nico Colaluca
F Kheli Dube
D Cory Gibbs
M Jason Griffiths (Intl.)
M Roberto Linck
GK Tim Murray
M Pat Phelan
D Seth Sinovic
M Khano Smith
F Ilija Stolica (Intl.)

Perhaps the most surprising member of the non-protected list is striker Ilija Stolica, who provided the club with the much-needed attacking presence it lacked in the first half of the season. And once again, Khano Smith is left unprotected for the third straight time. The 6-3 winger was chosen by Seattle during the 2008 Expansion draft, but subsequently waived before the start of the 2009 season.

Meanwhile, the two players involved in this year’s trade with Colorado – Preston Burpo and Cory Gibbs – were left unprotected.

MLS Clubs may lose no more than two players from their 2010 roster during the Expansion Draft. According to the Revolution press release, the Revolution were mandated to protect at least three international players, as the 2010 Expansion Draft rules indicated that teams must protect at least two players fewer than their international player total.

Representatives from all 18 MLS clubs will participate in an Expansion Draft teleconference, which will be streamed live on MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday beginning at 1:45 p.m. ET.