To close out its 2011 MLS SuperDraft, the Philadelphia Union selected University of Maryland Baltimore County forward/midfielder Levi Houapeu with the 41st overall pick in the draft (fifth pick of the third round). Houapeu is 21-years-old, coming off of his senior year in which he scored 15 goals and had four assists.
The young attacking player from the Ivory Coast led the nation in points scored the past two seasons, accumulating 30 goals and 17 assists over the course of his junior and senior years at UMBC. In 2010 Houapeu was named the America East Stiker of the Year and added to his 2009 ECAC First Team selection by retaining it in 2010.
At 5'8", 160 pounds, Houapeu projects to play on the wing or at right midfield in the MLS but is also able to feature as an out-and-out striker for the Union. His selection gives the Union a speed option off of the bench in 2011, after the loss of Shea Salinas in the 2010 Expansion Draft, and also provides for some attack depth up front.