CAPS ACQUIRE ROOKIE DEFENDER

July 27, 2007 - VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today they have acquired defender Sola (SH-laa) Abolaji (abo-laa-jee) from Carolina RailHawks in exchange for forward Joel Bailey, pending international clearance.

Abolaji, 22-years-old, joins the Whitecaps after playing 309 minutes in five games for the RailHawks this season; registering eight fouls and one shot. The native of Carbondale, Illinois was the United Soccer Leagues First Division (USL-1) first overall pick in the 2007 USL-1 College Draft.

Collegiately, the six-foot, 180-pound defender played at three different schools. In his last two years, he attended the University of Buffalo, where he played 18 games in his senior season, scoring two goals and assisting on one goal. In his junior season, Abolaji scored one goal and added three assists in 15 games. As the first overall draft pick to the RailHawks, Abolaji became the first athlete from University of Buffalo to be drafted first overall in any professional sports draft.

Before attending the University of Buffalo, Abolaji played at Northern Oklahoma College in 2004, where he lead them to the National Junior College Athletic Association Region II championship and was named the team’s defensive Most Valuable Player. In 2003, Abolaji played his freshman year at Barton County Community College in Kansas.

While attending the University of Buffalo, the defender played for the Boulder Rapids Reserve (now Colorado Rapids U-23) of the Premier Development League. In 10 games with the Rapids, Abolaji played 639 minutes and recorded seven shots and 16 fouls. Abolaji is scheduled to arrive in Vancouver on Sunday.

Bailey played 14 games with Vancouver this year after being acquired from the Montreal Impact before the start of the season. Bailey recorded one assist, 11 shots and 24 fouls for the Whitecaps.

The Whitecaps host Seattle Sounders tonight at 8:00 p.m. Tickets for tonight’s match start at just $16 and are available at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centres, on-line at ticketmaster.ca or by phone at 604.280.4400. For information on group rates, call 604.669.WAVE (9283)

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