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Fire Forward Nate Jaqua selected by Toronto FC in 2006 MLS Expansion Draft

November 17, 2006 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


BRIDGEVIEW, IL (Friday, November 17, 2006) - Major League Soccer held its 2006 Expansion Draft for Toronto FC on Friday, with the team selecting 10 players to begin constructing its roster for the 2007 season. Among the players tabbed by Toronto FC was Fire forward Nate Jaqua, who finishes his career in Chicago after four seasons with the "Men in Red."

The 25-year-old Jaqua joined the Fire after Chicago made the University of Portland product its first round pick - and third overall selection - in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft. In his four seasons in Chicago, the towering Jaqua scored 21 goals and 11 assists in 92 games (63 starts) in a Fire uniform, the 21 tallies good for sixth place on the club's career scoring chart. After seeing his goal output rise in each of his first three seasons, Jaqua outdid himself in 2006 by scoring a career-high eight goals to go along with two assists in 28 League appearances, including 22 nods in the Chicago starting XI.

"Nate had concluded his four-year contract this year and had expressed his desire to go overseas to further his development. Although we wanted Nate to remain here in Chicago, we try to honor the wishes of our players and, in this case, we elected to leave Nate unprotected in this expansion draft," said Fire Head Coach Dave Sarachan. "Nate has come a long way since we first drafted him and had a great impact on our success over the past four years. I wish him the best of luck in his European pursuit."

Jaqua's considerable size and skill earned him plenty of notice in his four seasons with the Fire, and the Oregon native served as an integral part of the Chicago sides that won the 2003 Supporters Shield and 2003 and 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup crowns. Jaqua's highest individual accolade came this past summer, when he was the lone Fire representative to take part in the 2006 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game against Chelsea FC on his home field of TOYOTA PARK. Jaqua earned Honda MLS Player of the Month honors once in his career in June of 2005, in which he scored six times while helping the Fire to a 4-1-1 record and first place in the Eastern Conference at the time. That month, Jaqua also joined former teammates Ante Razov and Damani Ralph as the only players to register a hat trick for Chicago in MLS play, as his three tallies against Chivas USA on June 4 at Soldier Field marked the fourth hat trick in Fire history in a 5-2 triumph. Jaqua also earned a unique spot in Fire history by becoming the first-ever player to register a goal in two of its home venues - the renovated Soldier Field in October 2003 and TOYOTA PARK this past June.

Jaqua's success for the Fire spun off into his debut stint with the U.S. Men's National team, as an invite to the U.S.'s camp last January led to his first "cap" for the Red-White-and-Blue, a 24-minute appearance off the bench on Jan. 29, 2006 against Norway in a 5-0 win at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.

Toronto FC selected a player from each of the six Eastern Conference teams and one from four Western Conference teams. FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids were the two teams that did not have a player selected in the draft. Toronto FC, Major League Soccer's 13th team, will begin play in the Eastern Conference in the 2007 season at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada. Below is the complete list of players selected in the 2006 MLS Expansion Draft.

1. Paulo Nagamura (Los Angeles Galaxy)
2. Danny O'Rourke (New York Red Bulls)
3. Jose Cancela (New England Revolution)
4. Adrian Serioux (Houston Dynamo)
5. Nate Jaqua (Chicago Fire)
6. Rod Dyachenko (D.C. United)
7. Jason Kreis (Real Salt Lake)
8. Tim Regan (Chivas USA)
9. Ritchie Kotschau (Columbus Crew)
10. Will Hesmer (Kansas City Wizards)

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