Folks who had been complaining about D.C. United failing to select a forward in the 2011 MLS Draft finally had their voices heard. You just had to wait an extra week. In today's Supplemental Draft, United selected forward Blake Brettschneider out of the University of South Carolina.

Brettschneider, who will also occasionally be known as Brett Blakeschneider on this blog whenever I'm writing too fast, was a four-year starter at USC and was named the 2010 Conference USA Co-MVP for his 7 goals and 10 assists last season. He'll get the chance to compete for a roster spot as training camp kicks off this month.

United selected Brettschneider with their second round Supplemental Draft pick, and chose to pass on selecting a player with their third round pick.

Some very knowledgeable and well-respected fans/writers don't like the Brettschneider pick, and especially don't like the PASS, but have wrongfully concluded that today's events mean that the United organization has no direction.

Not true. Shambles? I don't think so.

As we've been saying here all along, United is building a young hard-working team in Ben Olsen's image that will compete for multiple Cups in a few years. They've started the process by building quite the kick-ass midfield. The forwards added so far have just been... well... supplementary. I don't claim to know nearly as much about Brettschneider as Joe Mauceri does, but I'd also reckon that there's a possibility that different scouts can have different opinions on players. Pretty sure Kasper didn't just pick a name out of a hat containing the remaining Combine forwards.

I also don't get too worked up about the team passing with the third round pick of the Supplemental draft. I guess if any of the 13 players taken after United (and two other clubs) passed turns into the next Chris Wondolowski, we could be kind of upset. But we should also keep in mind that United has the opportunity to invite any players not drafted to their training camp. Just like they did last year with Barry Rice. Personally, I don't think its a big deal. I don't think we're really missing out on much. Agree or disagree?

I'm actually much more interested in seeing the future of Daniel Keat, the player selected by the LA Galaxy with the first round Supplementary pick that they acquired from United as we moved up to take goalkeeper Joe Willis last week. Keat also happens to be the player that I recommended taking in the second round of the SuperDraft during SB Nation's MLS mock draft.

More photos » Ned Dishman - Getty Images

Perry Kitchen poses with team executives, who did a great job yesterday of getting their preferred player later than expected.

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Our coverage of the 2011 MLS Draft is winding down as we prepare for the start of training camp later this month. But now having had the chance to sleep on our selections yesterday, here's a few more thoughts on Perry Kitchen and what the pick means for D.C. United.

1. Ben Olsen and Dave Kasper deserve credit for holding steady at No. 3. Olsen said that he would have selected Perry Kitchen first overall, but guess what, he didn’t have to. Rumors had the Vancouver Whitecaps shopping their top pick, and I’m sure D.C. United may have considered making a move to grab it to ensure that they could get Kitchen. That pick had to have been burning a hole in Kasper's pocket. But instead the team just let the draft play out, and it played out exactly as they hoped it would.

2. I don’t put any significant faith in Kasper saying that Kitchen will compete for a job at center back. He’s going to play wherever Olsen thinks he should play after two months of preseason evaluation. Kitchen played as a center back as a youth and for the U-20s, but Caleb Porter moved him to defensive midfield. He could play either spot. And it’s way too soon to tell which spot that will be.

3. With Kitchen, Branko Boskovic, Dax McCarty, Clyde Simms, Andy Najar, Santino Quaranta, and Chris Pontius, United might have the best midfield in all of MLS. If you add Kurt Morsink, Stephen King, and Junior Carreiro to the mix, we’ve certainly got the deepest. And the youngest. I don’t think I would trade our midfield for any other team’s.

D.C. United was only supposed to have two draft picks in the 2011 MLS Draft today, and two more in the MLS Supplemental Draft next week. But late in the day after many had already cleared out and gone home, United traded its two Supplemental picks to the Los Angeles Galaxy for the 50th overall selection of the draft, and used it to pick up University of Denver goalkeeper Joe Willis.

Willis was rated by many as the No. 2 goalkeeper in the draft behind Zac MacMath. United has posted some video highlights of Willis' time at Denver and at the MLS Combine, and one thing should be clear - the dude is big. Listed at 6'-5", Willis seems to know how to use his size to his advantage in blocking shots.

The irony of the Willis move is that United actually traded LA's fourth round pick, which we had acquired for Adam Cristman earlier this week, right back to them. So this move was essentially Cristman for Willis. That doesn't necessarily sound like a good move, since Willis will be competing in training camp for a roster spot with fellow goalkeepers Chase Harrison and Alex Horwath. But if Cristman wasn't going to sign for the amount we wanted anyway, its not a bad move at all.

And thus United's draft concluded with the team taking 100% defensive players. The obvious indication then is that the team is closing in on signing an international attacker or two. We can only hope.

D.C. United has missed the playoffs three years in a row now. Prior to today, there weren't a whole lot of players left on the roster who have had a whole lot of recent success. But D.C. has now added two players who have won a championship in the last month.

After selecting arguably best overall player Akron midfielder Perry Kitchen in the first round, United has now added his teammate Chris Korb in round two.

Korb started every single game for the Zips the past three seasons and helped his team set records for goals against average (0.27) and shutouts (19) while playing mostly at left back. According to Korb, he can play on either the left or the right. Thinking we'll need you most on the left, buddy.

Korb mentioned that his favorite players are Lionel Messi, Carlos Puyol, and Thierry Henry, one of which he'll have the chance to defend this season. He also told us about how Akron Coach Caleb Porter helps prepare his players for the next level, saying that he "tries to make it a pro environment."

The defender mentioned that he attended a D.C. United game as a kid "when I was like 8, or maybe 10". I asked Korb if there were any players on United's roster that he's looking forward to playing with, besides Kitchen. I expected to hear names like Andy Najar or Santino Quaranta, but instead Korb answered that he's excited to play with Barry Rice, saying "I haven't played with him since I was a kid".

Korb closed out the interview smartly with a little bit of coachspeak.

I just want to play to the best of my ability, get better every day, do what Coach tells me to do.

As you might expect from a Championship winning freshman who was just selected third overall in the 2011 MLS Draft, Perry Kitchen is a rather quiet young man. I got the chance to speak with him shortly after he became the newest member of D.C. United, and he spoke of the hard work and energy that it will take to be a part of Olsen's Army (my words, not his unfortunately).

In reference to being selected with the first draft pick under the Ben Olsen regime, Kitchen immediately pointed to the "determination and desire" that has allowed him to prosper as a soccer player. He said he knows that Olsen is "hard-nosed and loves to win", and he expects to continue that "tradition" (yes, his word, not mine).

I asked Kitchen next who he's looking forward to playing with at United and he pointed to fellow U-20 players Conor Shanosky and Ethan White. It will surely be a big help to have some familiarity with a few of his teammates. I also asked Kitchen what MLS players he looked up to and modeled his game after when growing up. He gave about the best answer I could imagine.

One of my favorite players was Eddie Pope. He's actually the reason I wore No. 23.

Well there ya go. Just like Pope, Kitchen has scored some big goals in his days, and he's got half the talent of Pope, we've got a real good player on our hands.

To close things out, Kitchen gave the requisite shout-out to United's awesome fans.

They've been great. I can't wait to see them at the game.

We agree, Perry. On both accounts.

Since Ben Olsen took over the reigns of DC United in November, the legendary midfielder has done his best to put his stamp on the team. He's already turned over roughly half the roster, and just about every player over the age of 26.

Olsen has sent a clear message that last year's finish at the bottom of the league and with the worst goal scoring performance in MLS history is not good enough. Today, the team chose to ignore the forward position, which is currently occupied by only two players, and instead took the best player on the board. United continued to improve its midfield by selecting Akron's Perry Kitchen.

With Kitchen on board, United has unquestionably one of the most talented midfields in all of MLS. Kitchen could either compete for playing time with newcomer Dax McCarty, and holdovers Clyde Simms, Stephen King, and Kurt Morsink for a central defensive midfield role. Or Kitchen could possibly be moved to fullback or central defense. It all depends on how quickly the 18-year old develops.

Taking the podium to heavy applause from the United fanbase and chants of his name, Kitchen thanked God, his girlfriend, and Thomas Rongen. In that order. You're going to love it in D.C. dude. And we're glad to have you.

More later.

All of MLS seems to be in agreement that D.C. United will select a forward in Thursday's 2011 MLS Draft. Kevin Payne said himself that the team is "focused on the attacking players that we've seen." And that's what they'll select, short of The Portland Timbers passing on Perry Kitchen, which seems entirely unlikely since they've all but signed Kenny Cooper.

Even though United will almost certainly select either Will Bruin, Omar Castillo, or Joao Plata, let's take a look at some of the defenders that will be available anyway. If only so we can look back and weep as one of them turns into the next Carlos Bocanegra or Omar Gonzalez.

Kofi Sarkodie was by many accounts the college soccer player of the year, which must be tough to do from a fullback position. Sarkodie scored the game-winning goal for Akron in the semi-finals of the College Cup against Michigan, and is known best for his ability to get forward with pace. This is also my top concern. I'm not sure if MLS coaches see Sarkodie more as a right winger than a right back. He's probably going to have to prove himself capable of defending for a 90 minute match with intelligence. Even though he might be the best player available when United picks third, I don't see them picking someone whose best position could be the same as Andy Najar.

Onto more defensive-minded defenders. The comparison between the two highest ranked center backs may be similar to the conversations we've been having about our forwards. Jalil Anibaba might be to Zarek Valentin what Will Bruin is to Omar Salgado. Anibaba, a senior out of UNC, is widely thought as one of the players who showed the best at the MLS Combine. Kyle McCarthy speaks of not only his defensive organization and leadership, but also his accurate passing. He could absolutely start in MLS from Day 1.

Valentin started all 25 matches for Akron as a 19-year old sophomore. He's more MLS ready than Salgado (some think he's the best defensive player in the draft), but he might fall down the draft board as teams look to add a bit more experience to their backlines.

There's no one else that has shot up the 2011 MLS Draft Big Board faster than Ecuadorean forward Joao Plata. He may be only 18 years old, and he may not be much taller than 5'-0", but Plata sure knows how to score. He's got three goals so far at the MLS Combine, including one goal where he quickly cuts in from the left and shooting through a crowd of defenders just inside the post. Sort of reminds me of the goal that Andy Najar scored against the Houston Dynamo last year.

Obviously Plata's height is the biggest factor that could keep him from going high in the draft. Two MLSsoccer.com writers have the phenom going in the top five, but it seems also just as likely that he will drop out of the first round. This is another high-risk high-reward type pick, similar to Omar Salgado. But unlike Salgado, Plata looks like he could contribute right away as a goal-scorer off the bench.

Comparisons to Franco Niell seem unfounded. Not every short player sucks. Not every tall player is good. Scoring three goals in two matches at the Combine indicates to me that at the very least, Plata could tear up the MLS Reserve Division and earn time as a substitution.

But is that enough to make him the No. 3 overall pick? Probably not. He can score, but his goal-scoring seems like more of a gimmick. I would worry that D.C. United wouldn't get much else out of him.

The worst news in all this is that some team with a late first round draft pick is probably going to get yet another player who can score lots of goals. Great.

Oh yeah, and here's a picture of Plata with Will Bruin.