Pride Make Slew of Roster Moves in lieu of injuries; Activate Hajj, Vlahakis & Wedin
June 9, 2004


MONTCLAIR – After last weekend’s game that left Pride midfielders Joe Ghedina and Austin Garrison hobbling, the team placed both men on the 30-Day Injured List, and activated draft picks Walid Hajj and Peter Vlahakis.

Also, the Pride traded the rights to midfielder Greg Traynor and a first-round pick in this year’s Supplemental Draft to the Boston Cannons in exchange for midfielder Eric Wedin.

To make room for Wedin, the Pride added midfielder Jack Lingo to the seven-man Practice Squad, meaning that Hajj, Vlahakis and Wedin will be eligible to play for the Pride this weekend when the team has its home opener, Saturday at 4 p.m. against the Philadelphia Barrage.

“We think that all these players that we’ve added can certainly have a positive impact on our team,’’ said Pride Assistant General Manager Steve Ferretti. “Walid [Hajj] was a 1st-Team All American this past season, and Eric [Wedin] was Long Island’s primary face-off midfielder when the Lizards won the MLL Championship in the first year of the league. Peter [Vlahakis] should also be able to contribute at the face-off X, and make sure that we don’t lose anything until Joe [Ghedina] comes back from injury.’’

Hajj was a two-time All-America selection at Georgetown as a midfielder, and Vlahakis served as Fairfield’s main face-off specialist this past season. Wedin has an extensive MLL resume, but was unable to play for Boston this season due to geography.

Ghedina was injured late in the first quarter of the Pride’s game last weekend in Denver against the Baltimore Bayhawks when he apparently stepped on another player’s foot, and severely turned his ankle.

While the original prognosis was extremely bleak, X-rays revealed a severe sprain and not a break, which should allow Ghedina to play again this season.

Garrison was hit up high by a Baltimore defender in the second quarter, and his leg stuck in the Invesco Field at Mile High turf, twisting his knee.

The severity of Garrison’s injury is not known at this point.

“We hope that Austin is OK,’’ said Georgalas. “He is a guy who can help lead us to where we want to go, losing him would be a big blow to the team.’’

 
 
  Sponsored Links