Chivas USA continued their offseason makeover on Tuesday, announcing that they have acquired the rights to attacker Eric Avila from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for midfielder Nick LaBrocca.
The Rapids had acquired the rights to the San Diego-born Avila, who has Mexican heritage, from Toronto FC in the 2012 Re-Entry Draft but did not reach an agreement with the 25-year-old.
Avila started his career at FC Dallas, scoring three goals in 63 appearances in his first three-and-a-half seasons in the league. He was then traded to Toronto FC in mid-2011, where he made 33 appearances. He enjoyed the best season of his career in 2012, recording a goal and two assists while playing a career high 24 games.
LaBrocca, 28, returns to the club where he kicked off his MLS career, appearing in 61 games and scoring four goals between 2007-10. He had a brief stint in Toronto in 2010 before moving to Chivas USA, where he had a career year in 2011, starting all 34 of the clubs games and tallying eight goals and six assists en route to an All-Star nod.
