D.C. United Protects 11 Players Ahead Of 2011 MLS Expansion Draft

With the 11-man protection list finalized for each MLS team, the Montreal Impact is left with a wide array of talented players to choose from on Wednesday in the 2011 MLS expansion draft. They'll be able to assemble their roster for their first MLS season by selecting 10 players from across the league.

There were some surprises on the list of players left exposed by DC United for the draft. The list was revealed today and includes veteran leader Santino Quaranta. The midfielder was drafted by United in 2001 and after journeying to a few other MLS clubs, returned to D.C. in 2008 and set career highs in minutes, games, and goals. Since then, Quaranta has seen his playing time decrease as Chris Pontius and Andy Najar have emerged as two of the top wingers in the league, and has evidently been deemed expendable by head coach Ben Olsen. Still, Quaranta was a valuable contributor off the bench for United in 2011, and could be an attractive commodity for the Impact to select in the expansion draft.

United's exposed list for the expansion draft also includes Brandon Barklage, Branko Boskovic, Blake Brettschneider, Marc Burch, Steve Cronin, Austin da Luz, Stephen King, Devon McTavish, Kurt Morsink, Joseph Ngwenya, and Jed Zayner. As young inexpensive players with plenty of potential, rookie forward Brettschneider and midfielders King and da Luz could each be targets for the Impact.

The 2011 MLS Expansion Draft is this Wednesday as the league welcomes the Montreal Impact for the 2012 season. The Impact will begin to assemble its roster by selecting 10 players from MLS teams. But today, each MLS team released its list of 11 players that it will be able to protect from the draft.

The protection list for D.C. United includes a mix of stars and role players who were of high-value to the team this past season. United didn't hesitate in protecting 2011 MLS MVP Dwayne De Rosario, along with proven starters Chris Pontius, Perry Kitchen, Dejan Jakovic, Brandon McDonald, Clyde Simms, and Josh Wolff. United also elected to protect young players Daniel Woolard, Chris Korb, and Joe Willis, while also securing the rights to Charlie Davies by protecting him despite the fact that he might leave the league this offseason.

Young players Andy Najar, Bill Hamid, Ethan White, and Conor Shanosky are also automatically protected due to their homegrown status.