University of North Carolina Athletics
Loyd Taken As Fifth Pick In MLS SuperDraft
January 14, 2010 | Men's Soccer
Jan. 14, 2010
PHILADELPHIA, PA. - University of North Carolina senior men's defender Zach Loyd will be playing his professional soccer as close to his hometown as possible as the Verdigris, Okla. native was the fifth player chosen in the 2009 Major League Soccer SuperDraft conducted Thursday in Philadelphia. Loyd, a consensus All-America pick as a senior, was drafted by FC Dallas of MLS.
Another Tar Heel senior defender, Jordan Graye, was taken by DC United in the fourth round as the 55th pick overall. Graye will also be playing professionally close to home as he is a Washington native and DeMatha Catholic graduate.
Loyd, who led the Tar Heels to back-to-back College Cup appearances in his junior and senior season, including the national championship game in 2008, is the highest Tar Heel picked in the draft since Michael Harrington went to Kansas City in 2007 as the third pick.
Since the MLS SuperDraft was instituted in 2000, five Tar Heels have gone in the first round - Chris Carrieri (1st) in 20001, David Stokes (5th) in 2003, Dax McCarty (6th) in 2006, Michael Harrington (3rd) in 2007 and Loyd.
Loyd played both defender and midfielder during his time at Carolina from 2006-09. He was a consensus first-team All-America as a senior, earning such honors from the NSCAA, Soccer America and CSN. After starting the final six games of his junior year at midfielder, he returned to the defense in 2009 after the Tar Heels were hit hard by injuries.
He led a defense in 2009 which allowed only 12 goals as the Tar Heels finished 16-2-4 and tied for the ACC regular-season championship. Battling an injury of his own at midseason, Loyd finished with 17 starts in 2009 and he scored two goals and had two assists.
He finished his career with seven goals and 10 assists playing primarily on defense. He started eight times in 19 matches as a freshman and then played in 59 matches his sophomore through senior years, starting all but one match.
After playing in only four games as a freshman in 2005 and then red-shirting in 2006, Graye came on, particularly in his junior and senior years when he started on defense and led the Heels to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA College Cup.
Graye missed only one match over the past two seasons. He played in and started 23 matches in 2008 when the Tar Heels reached the NCAA championship game. This season, he started in all 22 UNC contests and had seven points on two goals and three assists.
