Guzman drafted by Houston

By Brian Witter

Medhi Ballouchy will not be the only Santa Clara men's soccer player to enter Major League Soccer next season.

Hector Guzman, a senior forward originally from Costa Rica, was taken in the MLS Supplemental Draft last Thursday by Houston 1836, the franchise previously known as the San Jose Earthquakes.

The Supplemental Draft is an opportunity for all those who were unselected in the Jan. 20 MLS SuperDtaft, as well as other players nominated by the major league coaches, to be drafted. At the SuperDraft, Santa Clara midfielder Ballouchy was taken second overall by Real Salt Lake.

After attending high school in Santa Cruz, Guzman left the country for his native Costa Rica where he played for Saprissa FC, a top Central American club. Also, briefly in 2004 before his transfer to Santa Clara, Guzman was a member of Nervion AD in Spain. His career at the Mission Campus spanned two years where he was named to the All-West Coast Conference Team in 2005 as well as WCC Player of the Week twice.

In all, Guzman started 13 games for the Broncos last season and had five goals total, including two game-winners. He appeared in all of Santa Clara's matches and was second on the team in goals scored. Senior forward and fellow Bronco Kelechi Igwe was also eligible for selection in the Supplemental Draft but was not selected.

The San Jose Earthquakes were re-located to Houston after team officials became disappointed with fan turnout. San Jose drew an average crowd of about 13,000 per home game. The Houston franchise was only named last week and has drawn flack for its unusual title. It becomes the fourth franchise in MLS to adopt a European-style name along with Real Salt Lake, CD Chivas USA, and FC Dallas.

Houston 1836 hopes to build upon its fan base by attracting local Hispanics, which number about 1.6 million to the games. MLS teams were allowed to begin preseason practice last Monday. The season begins April 1.

Contact Brian Witter at (408) 551-1918 or bwitter@scu.edu.