The New England Revolution selected Kelyn Rowe with the No. 3 overall selection of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft. Rowe will be an interesting pairing with Benny Feilhaber in the Revolution midfield. The question will be where do the goals come from? As good as Rowe was, he was much more of a creative force than scorer.
At the start of the season, Rowe was expected to be one of the top players in the draft and is an incredibly skilled midfielder that can be the type of playmaker that is so difficult to find. He almost left UCLA for a Generation adidas contract last year, but chose to stay in college and picked up Pac-12 Player of the Year honors for his play. Rowe scored six times and added 10 assists as a sophomore in 2011, playing the lead creative role for the Bruins en route to the College Cup.
All was not rosy for Rowe in 2011 though as it was rumored that the fantastic midfielder let some of the hype get to his head, leading to him being dropped from the starting lineup. He took the move in stride though and still played the bulk of the matches after coming off the bench and thrived late in the season, proving to observers that he was every bit the player he was said to be.
While the former U.S. U-20 and current U-23 midfielder is on the small side at 5-foot-8, 150 pounds his skill and quickness more than make up for it. He's proven just how good he is on the ball at the youth international level and is among the handful of players most expect to not just be a good player in the long-term, but one that Revolution can also expect step in and make an impact as a rookie.
For live coverage of the draft, make sure to follow this StoryStream.
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