Two Liberty men's soccer players taken in MLS supplemental draft

Former Liberty University men's soccer players Darren Amoo and Phillip Aseweh were selected in the third round of Major League Soccer's 2012 supplemental draft, held last week.

Amoo and Aseweh become the sixth and seventh Flames soccer players to be drafted by a MLS team. Liberty has had six players taken in the MLS Supplemental Draft, while one player, Josh Boateng, was selected in the Super Draft in 2008.

Amoo, a forward, was taken by the Columbus Crew with the 10th pick of the third round of the draft, while Aseweh, a midfielder, was chosen with the 18th pick of the same round by the Houston Dynamo. Both players were key contributors for the Flames, who posted a 11-6-3 record this past season, claiming the Big South title.

"This is a great day for Darren and Phil and their families," said Jeff Alder, head men's soccer coach at the Lynchburg, Va. school. "I'm very proud of them both for their efforts in the classroom, in the community and on the field of play. They have stayed faithful to the cause and God has blessed them both with the opportunity to compete for roster spots at the next level. The Liberty soccer family and the Alder family will miss them both and thank them for their willingness to serve during their time with our program."

Amoo became Liberty's all-time leading goal scorer during his final year as a Flame this past fall.  The forward scored seven goals in 18 contests in 2011 to finish his career with 37 goals, eclipsing the previous mark of 36 by James Wright (1992-1994) and Darryl Roberts (2002-06). He also finished his career third on the school's career points list with 83 points.

The Accra, Ghana native also became the fourth player in program history to be named to the Big South all-conference first team three times during his career. The forward joins Ben Strawbridge (1999-01), current Liberty assistant men's soccer coach Dean Short (1999-01) and Osei Telesford (2003, 2005-06). In addition, he earned All-South Atlantic Region second team honors in 2009 and 2010.

Aseweh completed his final season as a Flame by being named to the prestigious 2011 Capital One Men's Soccer Academic All-America University Division team and to his first All-South Atlantic Region team. He became the 17th Liberty student-athlete to be honored by CoSIDA as an Academic All-America team member.

A native of Navrongo, Ghana, the midfielder was named to the Big South all-conference first team for the second consecutive year and was named to the NSCAA Men's Collegiate Scholar All-American team at season's end.

The midfielder started all 20 games for the Flames this season, compiling a team-leading 22 points on seven goals and eight assists. He finished the year tied for the lead in assists and fourth in points in the Big South.  In addition, the senior ranked 21st in the nation in assists.

During the season, Aseweh was named the Disney Soccer/NSCAA National Player of the Week and Big South Attacking Player of the Week for Sept. 21.  He also earned selection to the SoccerAmerica Team of the Week for the same week. During the prior seven days, the midfielder scored three goals and recorded an assist, as Liberty defeated No. 10 Virginia, 2-0, and Howard, 4-0.

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