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Syracuse forward among three Union second-day draft choices

The Union completed rounds three and four of the Major League Soccer draft on Tuesday by selecting forward Chris Nanco of Syracuse, midfielder-defender Jack Elliott of West Virginia, and forward Santi Moar of Pfeiffer.

The Union completed rounds three and four of the Major League Soccer draft on Tuesday by selecting forward Chris Nanco of Syracuse, midfielder-defender Jack Elliott of West Virginia, and forward Santi Moar of Pfeiffer.

On Friday, the first day, the Union selected South Florida midfielder Marcus Epps with the third pick in the second round, 25th overall, and then chose Clemson defender Aaron Jones with the 33rd overall pick.

The Union did not have a first-round pick after trading it to the Chicago Fire in the deal that allowed them to acquire Alejandro Bedoya via the allocation process.

The 5-foot-6, 145-pound Nanco turns 22 next month. He is from Brampton, Ontario, and was the 11th player taken in the third round, 55th overall. Nanco was a four-year starter at Syracuse with 21 career goals and seven assists.

The fourth-round selections were Elliott (77th overall) and Moar (82nd).

Elliott (6-5, 180), a native of London, played in the back for West Virginia. The 21-year-old defender made 66 starts in his four-year career with six goals and six assists.

Moar (5-9, 170) is from Coruna, Spain. In two seasons at Pfeiffer in North Carolina, Moar, 23, had 24 goals and 33 assists.

Midfielder-forward Jorge Gomez Sánchez became the first MLS draft choice from Temple when he was the seventh player selected in the third round, 51st overall, by the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Union also said they will play in the 2017 Rowdies Suncoast Invitational, a preseason tournament that will take place in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla., area from Feb. 18 to 25.

The team will report to preseason camp Monday in Philadelphia and will spend the majority of its preseason training in Clearwater. Other MLS teams set to participate in the preseason tournament are the Montreal Impact, D.C. United, Chicago Fire, and Toronto FC.

The Union will begin their eighth MLS season March 5 at Vancouver.

mnarducci@phillynews.com

@sjnard