Houston Dynamo midfielder Eric Alexander, left unprotected by the organization in today’s MLS Expansion Draft, went with the fourth of five picks made by FC Cincinnati today.
FC Cincinnati, in preparing to make the leap from USL to MLS, chose a player in Alexander who could conceivably be a regular starter in either a defensive midfield or central midfield role. Alexander played 21 MLS league matches for the Dynamo in the 2018 season, his third for the squad, starting all but one of those. He scored his first and only goal for the Dynamo this past season, adding two assists. He also played in two games (including a start) during the team’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title run this past summer.
In nine years with MLS, he has played in 212 matches, starting 161 of them, with a total of nine goals and 24 assists. The Michigan native started his career in Texas, playing with FC Dallas during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, before moving to Portland to join the Timbers. He has also played with the New York Red Bulls and Montreal Impact; FC Cincinnati will be his sixth MLS squad.
Dynamo Senior Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan admitted the MLS Expansion Draft provided the organization with some touch choices, including leaving Alexander off the team’s list of 11 protected players. “It’s always difficult having to decide which players to protect and not to protect each year at this time,” he noted. “You always hope that you won’t lose any of your players, but Eric is a quality player and a true professional who will help FC Cincinnati as they make the move into MLS.”
He added, “We appreciate all of his contributions to the club on and off the field the last three seasons, and we wish him all the best in this next phase of his career.”
Alexander took to his rarely-used Twitter account to send well wishes, saying:
I just wanted to thank the @HoustonDynamo for my time! It has been a pleasure working with every teammate, coach, and member of the club. I’m looking forward to my new journey with @fccincinnati !
— Eric Alexander (@EzDoesIt17) December 11, 2018
Alexander joins a group of Expansion Day draftees that include DC United and Jamaican international forward Darren Mattocks, FC Dallas winger Roland Lamah, and Red Bulls defender Hassan Ndam. MLS’s latest team also added Atlanta United left back Greg Garza and Vancouver Whitecaps and Costa Rica international defender Kendall Waston today through trades, and dealt Expansion Day draft pick Kei Kamara to the Colorado Rapids after owning him for a hot minute.