COLUMBUS -- The defending MLS Cup champions don't believe there are any holes in the lineup entering the 2009 season but there are a few areas that could using shoring up and the Columbus Crew's first pick in the SuperDraft could fill one of them.
Paul Gerstenberger was a steady, defense-first left back for Boston College in his four-year career and he'll get an opportunity to back up veteran Gino Padula.
"We're a little thin on the left side, whether it's on the flank with Robbie Rogers or in the back with Gino," Crew technical director Brian Bliss said.
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Gerstenberger had four goals and 10 assists in 66 games for the Golden Eagles.
"I'm a two-way player. Obviously, I have to be strong defensively but I'm willing to take risks to get into the attack when needed," he said.
If he makes the squad he won't be asked to do much of that. The savvy Padula stabilized the backline with his hard-nosed defending and quickness in starting the transition game, especially to the speedy Rogers. Gerstenberger would take a similar role.
"He's a very talented player. He has good size (6-0, 180) and has good speed," Crew first-year coach Robert Warzycha said. "His first priority is defending. He's smart enough to understand that."
The Crew did not have a selection until the 30th position and Warzycha said Gerstenberger was the best option available.
"We have a championship team. If we had been picking at No. 1 he wouldn't have been our pick," he said.
Still, Warzycha said Gerstenberger, who turns 22 on Jan. 26, has a good chance of making the team because he is a true left back.
"He's a very good addition," he said.
With retirement of Ezra Hendrickson, Warzycha would have had only Danny O'Rourke, Andy Iro and developmental player Jed Zayner as options on the left side barring signing a discovery player. Zayner has seen limited duty; O'Rourke can play any of the back positions but is more comfortable at right back or in the middle and Iro is better suited for the center back spot.
Gerstenberger will have to battle to make the team. There will likely be only one senior spot left on the 20-player roster and just two of four developmental openings left.
"We were looking for another player on the left side," Warzycha said. "I saw him at BC and at the combine. After seeing him at the combine we decided he was the player we were looking for."
Gerstenberger called being chosen "crazy." He had hoped to be picked but wasn't sure and was sitting at home in Schenectady, N.Y, with his family and friends when his named popped up on the computer.
"My mom was in the kitchen and somebody yelled, 'You've just been drafted.' Someone from Columbus called me a few minutes later," he said. "To be drafted by the championship team is unbelievable. I watched them win the final over New York. They've got a very good team. They score goals and play really sound defensively."
He didn't follow one MLS team growing up but he did have a favorite player. "It's pretty ironic. It was Brian McBride and he played for the Crew before he went to Europe."
Gerstenberger doesn't know much about Columbus or Ohio although several of his relatives are big Cleveland Browns fans. The only player on the Crew roster he knows is Rogers, a teammate on the U.S. national U-18 squad. Gerstenberger played two friendlies for the team in April 2005.
With the 45th pick, the Crew chose University of Pennsylvania midfielder Alex Grendi (5-11, 175). The native of Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., had eight goals and 20 assists in 65 career games. He's third on the school's career assist list.
Columbus selected Tulsa defender Chris Clements (6-2, 185) from the University of Tulsa. He had three goals in 78 games and was chosen for the U.S. U-20 national team in 2006. He is from Allen, Texas.
History has shown late picks have seldom contributed to the Crew. The most notable was forward Edson Buddle, the 27th selection in the third round of the 2001 SuperDraft. Last season, forward Steven Lenhart was the 48th pick and scored some important goals for the Crew in a reserve role, including a stoppage time equalizer against Kansas City in the first game of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
