Wisconsin Soccer Central

As the Major League Soccer SuperDraft unfolded Thursday afternoon in Baltimore, the San Jose Earthquakes were hoping to see Patrick Hodan (Brookfield/Milwaukee Marquette) still on the board when their pick came up in the second round.

"We had a group of guys in the second round that we were looking at, and Patrick was in that group so we are happy he was available," Earthquakes coach Dominic Kinnear said of the midfielder, who had a stellar career at Notre Dame.

San Jose selected the 22-year-old Hodan with the eighth pick in the second round, No. 28 overall in the draft. 

Hodan scored 29 goals and added 19 assists in 87 appearances (51 starts) for the Fighting Irish, who went 57-15-17 during his career and won the national championship in 2013.

He was the Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year, a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and was named a first-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as a junior in 2014. Last fall, Hodan had three goals and a career-best six assists in 22 appearances (all starts), and was named the Academic All-America of the Year for NCAA Division I men's soccer by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

"Patrick had a good college career at a very good school, so he has a good pedigree," Earthquakes general manager John Doyle said. "He has goals in him – we've seen that at college level."

He is believed to be the third Marquette alum drafted by an MLS team, following defenders Andrew Daniels (second round by FC Dallas in 2007) and Steve Bode (fourth round of Supplemental Draft by Chicago Fire in 2008). Two other Hilltoppers players, midfielder Mike Huwiler (D.C. United, 1996) and goalkeeper Andy Kirk (San Jose Clash and MLS Pro-40, 1998; Tampa Bay Mutiny, 1999-2000), also played in MLS, but joined the league through different processes.

The MLS SuperDraft concludes Tuesday with rounds 3 and 4, which will be conducted via conference call. Forwards James "C" Nortey (Marquette) and Logan Andryk (Milwaukee Marquette/Milwaukee School of Engineering) – Hodan's former prep and FC Milwaukee club teammate – and defender Eric Schoendorf (Delafield/Waukesha Catholic Memorial) are among the players eligible for selection.

On Twitter: @phodan18 @cicinho17 @Loges777

• Midfielder Laurie Bell (UW-Milwaukee) returned home to England and signed with Hyde United of the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The 23-year-old Bell, a native of Poynton, England, had one goal in 22 appearances for the USL's Tulsa Roughnecks last season after completing his college career. He played in youth programs at Manchester City and Rochdale, where one of his teammates was current Hyde player Reece Gray. The Tigers are 9-12-5 and 15th in the 24-team league, which is the seventh tier of English soccer. On Twitter: @LBellBell