Pope And Jepson Drafted By Major League Soccer

DURHAM, N.C. --- Duke seniors Zack Pope and Tim Jepson were taken in the Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft late last week in New York, N.Y. Pope was chosen by the Chicago Fire in the third round with the 40th pick overall and Jepson was picked up by the San Jose Earthquakes in the fourth round with the 43rd pick. The duo became the 18th and 19th Blue Devils drafted into the MLS.

Pope, a native of Round Rock, Texas, scored eight goals and tallied 28 assists in his four years, which ranks 11th all time at Duke. The midfielder played in 76 matches and started in 50 of them. Pope was an ACC All-Tournament selection in 2005 and an All-ACC Academic team selection in 2006. As a freshman, he earned National All-Freshman honorable mention accolades from Top Drawer Soccer.

Jepson started all 77 matches he played in at Duke, missing only 10 games at the start of his senior season due to an injury. A product of Yorba Linda, Calif., he tallied two goals and four assists while anchoring a strong Blue Devil defense. Jepson was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District second team two years in a row and was named to the All-ACC and All-South Region second teams as a senior. In 2007, he was one of 19 national semifinalists for the all-collegiate sports Wooden Cup and one of five first team finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS award for men's soccer. Jepson was a two-time team captain and a two-time All-ACC Academic choice. He was named to the ACC All-Tournament team in 2006.

Pope and Jepson are the fourth and fifth Blue Devils from the 2007-08 senior class of 13 that were picked up by MLS teams. Michael Videira, Joe Germanese and Spencer Wadsworth were all drafted by the New England Revolution on Jan. 18 in the MLS SuperDraft. Videira was taken with the 18th pick overall in the second round, Germanese was picked 27th overall in the second round and Wadsworth was taken in the fourth round with the 55th pick.

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