Five teams involved in flurry of trades

NEW YORK (Wednesday, January 20, 1999) - Five Major League Soccer teams were involved in trades today, including deals featuring two of the league's top three all-time leading goal scorers and a championship goalkeeper.

Savarese

Raul Diaz Arce, MLS' all-time leader in goals (56) and points (128), was traded from the New England Revolution to the MetroStars for Giovanni Savarese, who ranks third all-time in the league with 41 goals. In addition to the 28-year-old Savarese, New England received the MetroStars' second-round selection in the 2000 MLS College Draft.

Diaz Arce, who has 16 goals in 50 appearances with El Salvador's National Team, is the only player in MLS history to record four goals in a game, a feat he accomplished on two different occasions. Diaz Arce, who will turn 29 years old on February 2, finished tied for fourth in MLS scoring in 1998 with 18 goals and eight assists for 44 points. Last seasason Savarese finished eleventh in league scoring with 14 goals and seven assists for 35 points.

Diaz Arce

After receiving Diaz Arce, the MetroStars traded the Salvadoran forward and midfielder Marcelo Vega to the San Jose Clash for one allocated player (to be named at a later date) and future considerations. The 27-year-old Vega, a member of Chile's 1998 World Cup team who had an assist in his country's 4-1 loss to Brazil at France '98, is expected to fill the attacking midfielder role for Brian Quinn's club. Vega tallied one goal and six assists in 17 appearances with the MetroStars in 1998. Diaz Arce's move to San Jose reunites him with fellow Salvadoran National Team forward Ronald Cerritos, giving the Clash two players who finished among the top nine scoring leaders in MLS during the 1998 regular season.

Garlick

In another trade, Tampa Bay acquired goalkeeper Scott Garlick from D.C. United in exchange for the Mutiny's first-round selection in the 1999 MLS Supplemental Draft (No. 4 overall pick) and third-round selection in the 1999 MLS College Draft (No. 28 overall pick). Garlick, 26, started 24 of 32 regular season games during the 1998 regular season, compiling a 19-5 record and 1.43 goals against average. He was the winning goalkeeper in United's 2-1 victory over Colorado at MLS Cup '97. Although Tom Presthus played every minute of the MLS postseason for United, Garlick played the entire match in United's historic 2-0 upset of Brazil's Vasco da Gama in the Interamerican Cup on December 5.

FT. LAUDERDALE TO HOST 1999 MLS DRAFTS: Major League Soccer will once again travel to South Florida for the league's annual College and Supplemental Drafts. All three rounds of each draft will be held at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport at 9 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, February 7. The two drafts will he held in conjunction with the Umbro Select College All-Star weekend at Lockhart Stadium. More details regarding the College and Supplemental Drafts will be announced in the near future.

MLS TEAMS BEGIN PRESEASON TRAINING NEXT WEEK: Major League Soccer's 12 teams officially kick off the 1999 preseason next week. Clubs are allowed to begin fitness training without using the ball on January 24. Training with the ball will begin on February 1. A complete overview of where each MLS team will be training will be distributed to the media and available on www.MLSNET.com tomorrow, January 21.