“A few teams had expressed interest, but I had no prior information that I would be drafted. I was just keeping my fingers crossed.”
Sias said he had already spoken with members of the Fire organization and he is making plans to attend training camp in a couple of weeks.
He said he won’t be able to complete the high school season or his current courses at UCI.
“I just started the second quarter and I was planning on graduating in March, but soccer, right now, will have to come first,” Sias said.
A center defender, Sias was a four-year standout who made 69 career starts for the Anteaters, whom he helped lead to their first Big West regular-season and conference tournament titles, en route to the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
With Sias, a co-captain, anchoring a defense that limited opponents to one or fewer goals in 17 games, including six shutouts, UC Irvine finished 15-2-6, before being eliminated by St. John’s in the round of 16.
Sias was named first-team All-West Region by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America and was named third-team All-American by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
Chicago was 13-10-7 last season, finishing second to Columbus in the Eastern Division and advancing to the Eastern Division final, where it lost to eventual MLS Cup winner Columbus, a team that featured former UCI star Brad Evans.
Sias is the fourth UCI player ever selected in the MLS SuperDraft.
BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.
