Daniv to Leave Wake Forest for Major League Soccer
All-America midfielder signs Project 40 contract.
March 16, 1999
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.- Serge Daniv, a senior midfielder on the Wake Forest
men's soccer team, has signed a Project 40 contract with Major League
Soccer and will forego his final year of collegiate eligibility to enter
the professional ranks. Daniv has not yet been allocated to a specific
MLS team.
Daniv earned third-team NSCAA/Umbro All-America honors in both his
freshman and sophomore seasons (1995 and 1996), but suffered a serious knee
injury which caused him to miss the entire 1997 campaign. He eased back
into the Demon Deacon lineup in 1998, starting 10 of the last 12 games and
tallying five goals and two assists. He was named to the All-ACC first
team and earned College Soccer Weekly Honorable Mention All-America honors.
Had he returned for the 1999 season, Daniv would have been considered a
strong candidate for the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top collegiate
player in the nation.
Project 40 is a joint venture between the MLS and US Soccer, aimed
at identifying America's top young soccer players and providing them with
training in the professional arena to enhance international success.
Project 40 signees train and compete with an MLS team on a daily basis,
earning the minimum league salary, and are also awarded a five-year
academic package covering tuition by the United States Soccer Federation.
A traveling Project 40 squad will also compete in the USL's Division II
A-League in the summer of 1999.
Daniv's departure comes shortly after the Demon Deacons announced
the signing of one of the nation's top recruiting classes. The
seven-member class, which boasts an impressive list of high school and
international honors, is headlined by two-time Parade All-America marking
back Aaron Thomas and Dutch National Team captain Bobby Gehring.
