The stars of Major League Soccer (MLS) were out in full force Thursday night at the MLS and EA Sports FIFA 15 launch party held in New York City, with the league showcasing their "MLS Next" talent and their brand new logo.

The Seattle Sounders' Clint Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin, the New York Red Bulls' Tim Cahill and league scoring leader Brad Wright-Phillips, the Philadelphia Unions' Maurice Edu, and NYCFC's David Villa all made appearances with the league revealing their new logo as MLS prepares to celebrate their 20th anniversary next season.

"As we celebrate all that our players represent, as we celebrate the commitment and all of the resources that our owners have put forward to make our league what it is today, as we celebrate the fact that we will break our sell-out record for this year and have over six million fans attend our games and millions more who will be watching on television, it's time for us to launch Major League Soccer with a new brand," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said.

"A new brand that represents the character, a new brand that represents the core of values of our league going forward. Those core values will be represented in the three stars that you will see in the new logo; our commitment to club, our commitment to country, and our commitment to community," he added.

Chivas USA's Erick "El Cubo" Torres is an embodiment of those traits that Garber is emphasizing as the league is going through its rebrand phase.

The 21-year-old striker, who is currently on loan from Liga MX's CD. Guadalajara, (Chivas Guadalajara) is enjoying his time with Chivas USA since coming onto the roster last year, having a break out year in the league.

Torres leads Chivas USA with 14 goals and is fourth in the league, tied with LA Galaxy's Robbie Keane, in the chase for the MLS scoring title. Torres also is having an incredible run playing in Los Angeles, becoming MLS's all-time Mexican-born scoring leader, as well as tying Ante Razov's Chivas USA record for most goals in a season. He is third on the team's all-time scoring list.

"I love playing in Los Angeles," Torres said to the Latin Post at the FIFA 15 launch party. "Los Angeles has been good to me. It's great playing in front of fans who have been so supportive, and I have enjoyed how the Mexican community has embraced me. It's been an honor to be one of the young players in this league."

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Torres came on board as a "Designated Player" -- done by a rule which allows MLS franchises to spend over the $3.1 million salary cap in signing players to contracts over the league maximum salary or paying for transfer fees that allow for the league and clubs to compete for talent on the international soccer player market.

MLS teams have used the "Designated Player" rule to not only bring in players like Cahill, Keane, Villa, Kaka (who will play with the Orlando City Soccer Lions when they launch next season) and Thierry Henry, but also to bring back U.S. Men's National Team players such as Dempsey, Edu, Toronto FC's Michael Bradley and New England Revolution's Jermaine Jones.

Torres believes MLS has done a solid job in how they have implemented the "Designated Player" rule allowing teams to attract players from around the world and of all ages.

"They have used the rule and gotten a good combination of young and veteran players and it can only help the league," Torres said.

Torres also achieved another dream this year, having been tapped to play for the Mexican national team. Torres has played solidly with the U-17 and U-20 Mexican youth national teams throughout his career and made his debut with "El Tri" this summer, playing in friendlies against Bolivia and Chile last week. Torres is excited not only about the possibility of playing in the Gold Cup and Copa America tournaments, but also playing for Mexican national team head coach "El Piojo" Miguel Herrera.

"Playing for the national team is a dream come true," Torres said. "[Herrera] has brought so much energy to the team. He excites the fans with his energy and I'm looking forward being a part of that."


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