Bryan Gallego of Kinnelon signed with MLS' | Daily Rec... http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20140116/NJSPORTS0311/301160043...

Bryan Gallego of Kinnelon signed with MLS' Portland Timbers Written by Jane Havsy @dailyrecordspts Jan. 16, 2014 | dailyrecord.com

Bryan Gallego spent a few anxious hours watching ’s SuperDraft on Thursday afternoon.

But Gallego, a junior defender at Akron, wasn’t worried about his own future. He had already signed a professional contract as a homegrown player with Portland, a deal formally announced just 24 hours earlier.

Now it was Gallego’s turn to support his Zips teammates.

The Zips lost two more players in the second round of the SuperDraft on Thursday. Philadelphia selected Akron defender Robbie Derschang 27th, while Red Bulls New York chose midfielder Eric Stevenson at No. 34.

The Red Bulls had selected Wake Forest defender with their first pick on Thursday, No. 22 overall.

“Imagine me going through that?” said Gallego, a 20-year-old from Kinnelon. “It’s so nerve-wracking. I’m happy I got everything done and the contract signed before the draft.”

Gallego had expected to be wearing a Red Bulls jersey when he turned pro. Gallego played at St. Benedict’s Prep for three seasons, and had been part of the Red Bulls academy program from 2007-11. But the Red Bulls dealt his rights — and allocation money — to Portland on Dec. 3, 2012, part of the deal which brought defender Kosuke Kimura and the Timbers’ second-round 2013 SuperDraft pick to New Jersey.

Gallego played for current Portland coach Caleb Porter at Akron, as well as with the United States u-18 national team. There are now five former Zips on the Timbers roster, and 21 total in MLS.

“Caleb knows what I can bring to the table,” said Gallego, who reports to Portland for a physical on Jan. 24. “For me, the hardest part was proving to everybody else I was worth the trade. I didn’t want to go there and not show my ability and have people question me and what Caleb did for the trade.”

An aggressive, vocal center back who can also play on the wing, Gallego appeared in 10 matches with the Timbers’ U-23 PDL team last summer. Gallego led the defense to six shutouts and allowed just 12 goals, both best in the Northwest Division, and was named Player of the Year.

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