March 22, 2004
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes announced that rookie defender Ryan Cochrane will undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and will be out of action during teh early part of the Major League Soccer season.
The surgery will be performed by San Jose orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Ting, and is expected to sideline the Quakes top pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft for three-to-four weeks. Cochrane suffered the injury in the Quakes 2-1 exhibition loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy on March 12.
Cochrane, 20, was selected fifth in the 2004 draft as a Project-40 player out of Santa Clara University and does not count against the Earthquakes 18-man roster. The Portland, Ore. native was a second-team All-America selection and a member of the All-West Coast Conference first team at Santa Clara while helping the Broncos to the NCAA Semifinals in 2003. Cochrane started 19 matches in his final season at Santa Clara and was a semifinalist for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy.
Cochrane was also a key player on the United States Under-20 National Team, starting five matches at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championships. Cochrane helped the U.S. to its first group win ever and highest World Youth Championships finish since 1992.
