Sounders Add White From 'Caps

Seattle traded allocation money to Vancouver in exchange for the 2007 Hermann Trophy winner.

RENTON, WASH. - MLS is only three days into the off-season, but the Sounders FC has already began re-tooling their roster for 2011.

After acquiring defenders Julien Baudet and Danny Earls from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for Peter Vagenas on Monday and losing midfielders Sanna Nyassi and Nathan Sturgis in the Expansion Draft on Wednesday, Seattle announced another trade with the Whitecaps, sending allocation money to the expansion club in a trade for forward O’Brian White, who was selected 12th overall by the Whitecaps in the Expansion Draft.

The fourth overall pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, the 24-year-old University of Connecticut product made nine starts for Toronto FC in 2010.  In 24 appearances, he logged 1,065 minutes and scored two goals to go with four assists.  In his rookie year in 2009, he played just 440 minutes in nine matches, five of which were starts, after recovering from a knee injury suffered at UConn in his senior season.  He still managed two goals.

One of his two goals in 2010 came in a 2-0 win over the Sounders FC at Toronto’s BMO Field in April.

“O’Brian is a forward with good pace and size” head coach Sigi Schmid said.  “He adds another option for us in our desire to be a club that scores goals.”

A youth international selection for Jamaica at the U15, U17 and U20 levels, White moved to Canada in 2002 and later starred at Uconn, where he earned the 2007 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy winner.  He scored 23 goals in 24 games for the Huskies in his junior season to win the award.

“We had been looking at a number of players who were available in the Expansion Draft,” owner/GM Adrian Hanauer said.  “O’Brian had a tremendous college career and he adds depth and competition at the forward position.  He can strike from distance with both feet and is a player that can be impact on our roster.”

White, 24, joins a core of strikers that includes incumbent starters Fredy Montero and Blaise Nkufo and bench contributors Nate Jaqua, Mike Fucito and Pat Noonan.