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D.C. United signs Murphy and Thorpe, waive Kpene

28 Mar, 2008

D.C. United announced Friday the signing of goalkeeper James Thorpe and midfielder Dane Murphy to developmental contracts, and the waiving of Guy-Roland Kpene. 

D.C. United originally selected Thorpe in the fourth round (38th overall) of the MLS Supplemental Draft on January 24, 2008.  Thorpe, the NSCAA/adidas Division II Player of the Year, helped lead Franklin Pierce to its first National Championship in 2007.  He was a first team All-America selection last fall, after earning second team honors in 2006 and third team in 2005.  Thorpe is also a four-time All-NE-10 first team pick, and recently received an NCAA Institutional Sportsmanship Award.  As a senior, Thorpe made a save to preserve his team’s National Championship victory, earned his 12th shutout of the season, and 49th of his four-year career.  Thorpe also broke the NCAA all-division record for minutes played in the opening minutes of the tournament, with 8,391 minutes played.

Murphy signed with United having gone undrafted after a four-year career at the University of Virginia.  The Danbury, CT native scored one goal in 21 games last season.  In 2006, Murphy appeared in 21 games (20 starts), and scored the game-winning goal in overtime against St. Francis.  He also recorded assists in wins over Boston College and No. 2 Maryland.  The midfielder scored his first two career goals in 2005 in UVA’s NCAA Tournament win over USF. 

Forward Guy-Roland Kpene leaves D.C. United after tallying two assists in 548 minutes for the Black-and-Red.  Kpene was a third round selection (37th overall) in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft.  The rookie also contributed to United’s reserve team, scoring two goals and one assist in eight games.  Kpene’s first start and first career assist came on 5/6 in United’s 2-1 win over Chivas USA.

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