PHILADELPHIA - La Salle soccer alum Ryan Richter made his MLS debut this weekend, and appropriately enough, did so in front of a hometown crowd of over 17,000 at PPL Park in Toronto FC's 1-1 draw with the Philadelphia Union.

Richter entered the game in the seventh minute following an injury to starter Darel Russell and played a total of 83 minutes in defense in his debut.

He had been on the roster of the Philadelphia Union in 2011 after being selected fifth overall in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft, although he did not see playing time. He helped the Charleston Battery of the USL Pro league to the league championship title in 2012, before signing with Toronto FC for this season.

“It's great. Obviously I played here, but I grew up here, I went to school here too,” Richter said to the Delaware County Times. “It really is coming home. It's not just coming back to a team that I played for before. I had a lot of people in the stands, and I was really happy to get out there on the field.”

A native of nearby Southampton, Pa., Richter starred at La Salle from 2007-10, where he was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year as a senior. In four seasons, Richter amassed 28 goals and 13 assists for 69 points and was the Philadelphia Soccer Six Player of the Year his junior and senior years. Also a First Team Region selection by the NSCAA, Richter led the Explorers to the Atlantic 10 Championship game during his final season. La Salle was 9-7-2 overall, with Richter providing seven of the nine game-winning goals, and 6-2-1 in the Atlantic 10. He was featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd on November 16.