SECAUCUS, N.J. - Red Bull New York announced today that they have acquired forward Edson Buddle from the Columbus Crew in exchange for midfielder Eddie Gaven and the rights to defender Chris Leitch.
"In the past two weeks we've experienced a sea change within our organization and these moves are in accordance with our new direction and philosophy," said Red Bull New York President and General Manager Alexi Lalas.
Buddle- a 24 year-old native of New Rochelle, NY- has played 106 games and scored 42 goals during his four seasons in MLS. Last season, Buddle netted nine goals and handed out two assists in 23 games played for Columbus. He set a career high in goals scored during the 2004 season with 11, including four in one game against the MetroStars on September 18, 2004.
After graduating from Portchester (NY) HS in 1999, Buddle went on to play one year of collegiate soccer at State Fair CC in Sedalia, Missouri before joining the A-League's Long Island Rough Riders. While with the Rough Riders in 2000, Buddle led the team in scoring with 11 goals and four assists in 26 games, despite being the youngest player on the team at age 19.
Buddle was originally selected by the Crew in the third round (#27 overall) of the 2001 MLS SuperDraft. He has one cap with the full U.S. National Team, which came during a friendly against Venezuela on March 23, 2003.
Eddie Gaven, 19-years old from Hamilton, NJ, has had three successful years with the club. He holds the club record for youngest player to play a game for NY (16 years, 232) and youngest player to score a goal for NY (16 years, 253). He has played in 69 games over his MLS career, tallying 16 goals and 12 assists. He was named to the 2004 MLS Best XI after tallying seven goals and seven assists.
A veteran of four MLS seasons, Chris Leitch originally joined New York on March 13, 2003 in a trade with Columbus. He appeared in 72 regular season games for New York and notched three assists from the backline. Leitch had the distinction of being named the MetroStars 2004 Iron Man (the award given to the player who plays the most minutes in the regular season) by logging 2,610 minutes in 29 games during the '04 season. He also garnered the 2005 MetroStars Defender of the Year award after seeing action in 28 games and registering one assist. He was waived by the club on March 1, 2006, but when he was not selected in the waiver draft on March 3, his rights reverted back to New York.
Buddle is scheduled to travel to New York today, and participate in the Red Bulls practice tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. ET at Giants Stadium.
