Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Men's Soccer	SIUE Men's Soccer SIUE Athletics

Mike Banner

January 12, 2007 Banner Drafted by Chicago's MLS Franchise           INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Mike Banner (Washington D.C.), an All-American at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, was selected in the third round as the No. 34 overall pick by the Chicago Fire in the Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft Friday.           Banner, who completed his career at SIUE with 18 goals and 15 assists, was a first team All-American selection in 2005. Spending much of his time double-teamed, Banner took 92 shots in three seasons as a Cougar and scored seven game-winning goals.           "Mike has some tremendous ability at high speed with the ball," said SIUE Coach Ed Huneke. "He is well-suited for getting the ball to the baseline and has a good work ethic along with his great athletic ability."           The Chicago Fire also drafted four other players in the 2007 SuperDraft, including Virginia's Bakary Soumare, Alabama-Birmingham's Jerson Monteiro, Notre Dame's Nate Norman and Penn State's Simon Omekanda.           SIUE advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the three seasons Banner played at SIUE. The Cougars advanced to the NCAA Division II national championship game in 2004, the NCAA Division II national semifinals in 2005 and the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional title game in 2006.           Banner was just one of two NCAA Division II student-athletes selected in the SuperDraft. The other was Fort Lewis forward John Cunliffe.                     -siue cougars-