NEW YORK - Major League Soccer today announced the full rosters, game schedule, and coaches for the 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Jan. 4-8. More than 60 top collegiate and youth prospects will be divided into four teams that will compete against each other in games coached by four prominent NCAA coaches. The players will also train and perform physical testing throughout the week.
Duke University head coach John Rennie will lead the adidas Azteca team; George Mason University head coach Greg Andrulis will guide the adidas Tango team; Brown University head coach Mike Noonan will guide the adidas Teamgeist team; and, University of Illinois-Chicago head coach John Trask will lead the adidas Tricolore team in the 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine.
Four youth coaches were selected by adidas to assist the college coaches during the Combine. Steve Nicols of the Baltimore Bays in Baltimore, Md. will team with Rennie to lead the adidas Azteca team; Bruce Talbot of the Capital Area Soccer League in Raleigh, N.C. will assist Andrulis with the adidas Tango team; Derek Armstrong of Nomads FC in San Diego, Calif. will pair with Noonan to coach adidas Teamgeist; and, Dale Schilly of Metro United of Edwardsville, Ill. will assist Trask with the adidas Tricolore team.
The Combine gives MLS coaches and general managers a final chance to evaluate talent in preparation for their draft day selections. SuperDraft 2007 takes place on Jan. 12, in Indianapolis, Ind. at 12 p.m. ET. (ESPN2/MLSnet.com).
Combine participation is by invitation only. A committee of NCAA Division I coaches from every conference, along with MLS representatives, chooses seniors from schools throughout the country who have completed their college eligibility. Additional players are invited to the MLS Player Combine from Generation adidas, a joint program between MLS, adidas and the U.S. Soccer Federation that identifies and develops the best underclass and youth soccer prospects in the country to be professional players. A complete list of Generation adidas players will be announced prior to the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. All Combine participants are automatically eligible for the SuperDraft.
The 62 players were divided into the following teams:
adidas AZTECA
GK - Phil Marfuggi (Clemson University), F - Willy Guadarrama (Campbell University), F - Tommy Krizanovi (Jacksonville University), F - Adam Cristman (University of Virginia), F - Omar Cummings (University of Cincinnati), M - Nick LaBrocca (Rutgers University), M - Justin McGrane (Northern Illinois University), F - Simon Omekanda (Penn State University), F/M - Dane Richards (Clemson University), F - Mike Sambursky (University of South Carolina), M - Ryan Solle (Wake Forest University), D - Kyle Helton (Duke University), F - Randi Patterson (University of North Carolina - Greensboro), D - Justin Douglass (Missouri State University), D - Bakary Soumare (University of Virginia)
Coaches - John Rennie (Duke University) and Steve Nicols (Baltimore Bays)
adidas TANGO
GK - Nick Noble (West Virginia University), F/M - Karim Boukhemis (Marshall University), M - John Michael Hayden (Indiana University), M - Jared Kent (Old Dominion University), M - Steven Curfman (Wake Forest), F - Robbie Findley (Oregon State University), D - Ty Harden (University of Washington) D/M - Michael Harrington (University of North Carolina), F - Frederico Moojen (Clemson University), F/M - Nate Norman (University of Notre Dame), F - Jarrod Smith (West Virginia University), M - Luis Faz (NO INFO), F - John Cunliffe (Fort Lewis College), M - Abdus Ibrahim (NO INFO), M - Eric Ebert (University of California), D - Zach Kirby (Boston University)
Coach: Greg Andrulis (George Mason University) and Bruce Talbot (Capital Area Soccer League)
adidas TEAMGEIST
GK - Justin Hughes (University of North Carolina), F - Ryan Guy (University of San Diego), M - Scott Jones (University of North Carolina - Greensboro), M - Wells Thompson (Wake Forest University), F - Gerardo Alvarez (Northwestern University), M - Rich Asante (Syracuse University), M - Alex Cunliffe (Fairfield University), M - Chase Wileman (Southern Methodist University), F - Aaron Chandler (University of San Francisco), F/M - Josh Trott (College of the Holy Cross), M - Nico Colaluca (University of Virginia), D - Hugh MacDonald (Monmouth University), D - Billy Meier (University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee), M/D - Jay Needham (Southern Methodist University), F - Chris Loftus (Duke University),
Coach: Mike Noonan (Brown University) and Derek Armstrong (Nomads FC)
adidas TRICOLORE
GK - Tally Hall (San Diego State University), F/M - Corey Ashe (University of North Carolina), M - John DiRaimondo (St. Louis University), F/M - Sinisa Ubiparipovic (University of Akron), M - Greg Dalby (University of Notre Dame), F/M - Edson Elcock (Old Dominion University), F - Brad Evans (University of California - Irvine), M/D - Aaron Hohlbein (University of Wisconsin), D - Nigel Marples (Towson University), M - Josh Tudela (Indiana University), F - Erik Ustruck (Santa Clara University), F - Charles Altchek (Harvard University), F - Andrew Daniels (Brown University), F - Jerson Monteiro (University of Alabama at Birmingham), D - Steve Purdy (University of California)
Coach: John Trask (University of Illinois at Chicago) and Dale Schilly (Metro United)
FLOATING PLAYER
GK - Chris Konopka (Providence College)
MLS PLAYER COMBINE SCHEDULE
All games are open to the public. Training sessions and testing are closed.
Thurs. January 4
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM: Player Performance Testing (Sheraton Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hotel)
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM: Player Organizational Training / Small Sided Games (Las Palmas Soccer Complex - Sunrise, Fla.)
Friday, January 5
10:45 AM - 12:30 PM: Player Performance Testing (Sheraton Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hotel)
12:00 PM: Tricolore & Teamgeist - Field Testing (Lockhart Stadium)
1:00 PM: Adidas Tricolore vs. adidas Teamgeist (Lockhart Stadium)
2:00 PM: Tango vs. Azteca - Field Testing (Lockhart Stadium - Auxillary Field)
3:00 PM: Adidas Tango vs. adidas Azteca (Lockhart Stadium)
Saturday, January 6
1:00 PM: adidas Tricolore vs. adidas Tango (Lockhart Stadium)
3:00 PM: adidas Teamgeist vs. adidas Azteca (Lockhart Stadium)
Sunday, January 7
10:00 AM: Coaches and GM Meeting (Sheraton Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hotel)
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM: Athlete Testing and / or GK Session and / or Small Sided Games (Sheraton Ft. Lauderdale Hotel; Las Palmas Soccer Complex - Sunrise, Fla.)
Monday, January 8
9:00 AM: adidas Tricolore vs. adidas Azteca Lockhart Stadium
11:00 AM: adidas Teamgeist vs. adidas Tango Lockhart Stadium
