CLEVELAND -- The fledgling New York Express, awarded the overall No. 1 draft pick when it gained admission to the Major Indoor Soccer League on May 15, Monday used that selection to take forward Tom Kain of Duke.
Kain, a 22-year-old native of Wall, N.J., scored 50 goals and added 45 assists in 80 games with Duke. He was a member of the Olympic, Pan American and U.S. national teams and received the 1986 Hermann Award, emblematic of collegiate soccer's top player.
'I've known (New York head coach) Ray Klivecka for a long time, and I look forward to playing for the Express,' Kain said.
'I'd like to thank the Wolsteins (owners of the Cleveland Force) for inviting us players to Cleveland for the exhibition games yesterday (Sunday at the Richfield Coliseum). That gave all of us a great taste of indoor soccer, and I know it helped me get drafted first.'
Klivecka said some aspects of Kain's game 'make him look like a fish out of water.'
'But Tom has a great work ethic and tremendous courage,' Klivecka added. 'He's coachable, teachable. I've watched him develop since I saw him at a New Jersey tryout when he was 16. His talent was obvious then.'
The four-round draft, conducted in less than two hours at a downtown Cleveland hotel, resulted in 52 players being selected.
Los Angeles chose St. Louis defender Jim Kavanaugh with the second overall pick.
'This is a thrill,' said the 23-year-old, who never missed a game in college. 'I hope to justify St. Louis's faith by playing well.'
Cleveland, which had three first-round picks, used the third selection overall to take defender Desmond Armstrong of Maryland and the sixth to select midfielder-defender John Stollmeyer of Indiana.
Tacoma used the fourth pick to grab forward Peter Hattrup of Seattle-Pacific and St. Louis followed by tabbing defender Chris Hundelt of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
Tacoma got UCLA forward Doug Swanson with the seventh pick and Dallas selected midfielder Mickey Kydes of Long Island University before Cleveland traded the ninth pick to Chicago for the Sting's top pick in 1987 and third-round selection this year, along with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Chicago then took the first goalkeeper of the draft, Paul Zimmerman of Michigan, and followed with defender Paul Krumpe of UCLA.
Wichita took midfielder Dale Irvine of UCLA, Dallas selected forward Ted Hantak of Missouri-St. Louis and MISL champion San Diego picked forward Rob Ryerson of Nevada-Las Vegas to complete the first round.
New York traded its second-, third- and fourth-round picks to Los Angeles for forward Amr Ali, who won the 1985 Hermann Award with Columbia University. The Express also received the Lazers's second-round pick in 1987.
Mitch Burke, the MISL's deputy commissioner, presided over the draft. Commissioner Bill Kentling was in Wichita, Kans., on personal business, a league spokesman said.
The draft, which was open to the public, was attended by most of the players selected.
