Lions select Dodson with 8th pick

Forward the first of 4 SuperDraft choices

Orlando City trades up to pick Georgetown forward in MLS SuperDraft.

Orlando City added depth to its balanced roster with four selections in the MLS SuperDraft on Thursday.

The rookies will join a team that saw little turnover in the offseason, returning 25 players from the 2020 season.

In the hour leading up to the draft, the Lions traded up to select forward Derek Dodson with the No. 8 overall pick.

Orlando City spent $100,000 in General Allocated Money (GAM) in a trade with the Portland Timbers to pick up the higher draft slot. The payment will be slit up over two years, with $75,000 going to Portland in 2021 and $25,000 in 2022.

Executive vice president of soccer operations Luiz Muzzi said the move was made with the intention of securing Dodson. The team mapped out a draft board predicting he would go No. 8 overall, then made the trade to select him at that spot.

“We had a strategy that we wanted to guarantee that a few players would be available when our first pick came,” Muzzi said. “We had Dodson in mind from

the very beginning . ... We thought it was a great move and got a guy we really wanted.”

Dodson was a proficient goal scorer at the college level, netting 30 goals in 65 appearance during his three years with the Hoyas. He will add depth to the striker unit for the Lions, who have operated in different systems with either one or two strikers at the top of the attack.

Muzzi said Dodson has been on the team’s radar ever since the front office saw his performance in the NCAA College Cup in 2019, where he scored one goal for Georgetown during a 3-3 shootout victory.

Although former designated player Dom Dwyer was released at the end of 2020, the Lions’ striker unit is fairly well balanced with Daryl Dike, Tesho Akindele and Matheus Aiás.

The draft isn’t always a mechanism to secure top-level strikers, but four of the Lions’ top attackers in franchise history — Dike, Akindele, Chris Mueller and Cyle Larin — have been products of the draft.

“Everybody’s always talking about the draft and college and we think that college is part of our system,” Muzzi said. “We’ve gotta give value to our system. There’s a lot of good players in college; there’s a lot of great programs out there. We like it. We think there’s a place for college, there’s a place for academy . ... You’ve just got to be selective.”

The Lions switched focus to the defensive end with their other two first-round picks. The team selected Georgetown defender Rio Hope-Gund with the No. 19 pick and Penn state defender Brandon Hackenberg out of Penn State with the No. 22 pick.

Both players will bring physicality and depth to the centerback position, one of the strongest units on the Lions’ roster. Starters Robin Jansson and Antonio Carlos are proven veterans committed to Orlando City for several more seasons, while Rodrigo Schlegel brings a fiery energy as a backup.

But after the departure of Kamal Miller and the release of Alex DeJohn, the Lions could use young players with the potential for development to provide depth at the position.

“We have a need for the position,” Muzzi said. “We need depth.”

Muzzi said the Lions rated Hope-Gund highly and were doubtful that he’d drop as low as No. 19. When he did, it was an automatic selection for the team.

With their final pick, the Lions selected goalkeeper Andrew Pannenberg out of Wake Forest with the No. 49 overall selection. Since keeper Brian Rowe remains in re-signing negotiations, Pannenberg could serve as a third-string backup as homegrown Mason Stajduhar moves into a backup role.

The four players will join an Orlando City team looking to build their success during the 2020 season.

The Lions still have several areas that could use reinforcement — particularly at left back, which is markedly thin following Miller’s departure and João Moutinho’s surgery recovery, which will likely spill over into the 2021 season.

Coach Oscar Pareja said the team is focusing on bringing in players at every position to further internal competition.

“Seeing that the players can feel that there is someone else there chasing their jobs is something that we look for because that helps us a lot on their development,” Pareja said. “Every area is to be improved, especially ours as coaches.”

MLS has yet to announce dates for the 2021 preseason and the ensuing regular season. However, Commissioner Don Garber continues to state the league hopes to start play in mid-March.