BALTIMORE, Md. - Former Virginia Tech forward and 2007 MAC Hermann Trophy runner-up Patrick Nyarko was selected seventh in Major League Soccer's SuperDraft 2008 on Friday afternoon. The Kumasi, Ghana native will join the Chicago Fire, who qualified for the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 10-10-10 record last season.

"I'm really happy for Patrick," head coach Oliver Weiss said. "He is the first player from our program to be selected in the SuperDraft, and I am also really excited that he will continue to work toward his degree. I wish him all the best and can't wait to see him play with the Chicago Fire."

The Kumasi, Ghana native was one of four Atlantic Coast Conference players selected to the 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America First Team, in addition to being named a first-team All-ACC selection for the third consecutive season.

Nyarko led the way for Tech in its most successful postseason run in school history. He scored the only goal of the game to lead the Hokies to a 1-0 NCAA quarterfinal win at No. 1 UConn en route to their first-ever College Cup appearance. He also tallied the game-winning goal in Tech's 1-0 third-round win over Old Dominion and dished out two assists in a 3-2 second-round win versus California.

He ended his Tech career in the top four in each of the major offensive categories after playing only 57 collegiate matches: third place with 24 assists, tied for third on the goals list with 31, and fourth with 86 points.

Nyarko becomes the second Hokie to ever be drafted by MLS, following current Tech assistant coach Chase Harrison, who was taken in the third round of the 2006 supplemental draft with the 26^th pick by Real Salt Lake.

In addition to his Tech career, Nyarko also moved up after a successful pre-draft combine, which was detailed by Walter Villa of the MLSnet.com staff.

The Fire begins its 2008 season at Real Salt Lake at 6 p.m., on Saturday, March 28.

All selections from the draft can be viewed at http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/events/superdraft/2008/.