The New York Red Bulls announced today that they have acquired midfielder Eric Alexander from the Portland Timbers in exchange for allocation money.

"Eric is a young midfielder who has earned a large amount of experience during his three years in Major League Soccer," said Red Bulls Sporting Director Andy Roxburgh. "He can play a number of roles for us and we are pleased that he has joined the Red Bulls."

Alexander just finished his second full season with the Timbers, making 24 appearances and recording a team and career high six assists. The 24-year-old joined Portland from FC Dallas in a midseason trade for defender Jeremy Hall on Aug. 19, 2011. That year, Alexander played in a career-high 28 games.

In his rookie campaign in 2010, Alexander was part of the FC Dallas squad that made it to the MLS Cup Final. That season, Alexander featured in 17 games, scoring two goals and three assists. Alexander's efforts were noticed and he was called-up to the U.S. National Team in January 2011. He earned his first international cap against Chile on Jan. 22, 2011.

Alexander was drafted in the third round (44th overall) in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Indiana.