Avila making U.S. fans of his parents

In past years, when the USA took on Mexico in soccer, it felt like a civil war at Eric Avila's house.

His parents, Julio and Maria Avila, are both natives of Mexico and rooted for "los tricolores".

But Eric has always been about the Red, White and Blue.

"Now that I am in the U.S. national team program, my parents respect both teams," said Avila, 20, a native of San Diego. "But when Mexico gives up a goal, my dad is still not very happy, to be honest."

Other than that, the Avilas must be pretty pleased with soccer these days, especially as it pertains to their son. Eric won a national championship with his club team, the San Diego Nomads, played at the University of California-Santa Barbara, where he led the Gauchos to the 2006 NCAA title and scored the game-winning goal, and is now playing with the U.S. under-23 team in Bradenton, Fla.

He took the quick trip down to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, and in his lone game in the adidas MLS Player Combine, he posted an assist.

He said the assist gave him added confidence. But when asked for a highlight fron his performance, Avila did not mention that play.

"My highlight was just lasting 80 minutes," said the player nicknamed "Avi". "We've been working very hard in Bradenton, and I was pretty sore."

After the game, he went right back to Bradenton. His next stop is Baltimore, where he has been invited to participate in Friday's MLS SuperDraft festivities. Avila is one of nine players who are part of the 2008 Generation adidas class.

"That's a good sign," Avila said of the invitation. "But I still have no idea where I will be drafted. No clue.

"I'd love to get drafted by a California team, because that's where I am from. But I will be happy no matter I go."

MAKING AN IMPRESSION: Two players creating some buzz this week are midfielder Stephen King of Maryland and forward/midfielder Xavier Balc of Ohio State.

King, who is from Medford, N.J., was a first team All-American in 2007. Small at 5-foot-8 and 153 pounds, King has made the transition from goal-scorer to distributor. After scoring 15 goals as a sophomore, he had two as a senior but added 13 assists.

Balc, a two-time Ohio Player of the Year in high school, was a first-team All-American as a senior with the Buckeyes. He was also the 2007 Big Ten Player of the Year after contributing eight goals and 14 assists, both career highs.

NOT GIVING AWAY SECRETS: Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear didn't reveal much when asked about the prospects who are competing at Lockhart Stadium this week.

"You can't really say because it's just three days, and you have to be a do a little more thorough report on them," Kinnear said. "Guys can't have their best days every single time out. You never know. There are good players in every draft, it just depends on whether they go to the right situation."

In general terms, Kinnear did say that the level of play was better Sunday than Saturday.

"The intensity was better," he said. "But it all depends on the needs for each team. We won't know for sure who the best players are until two years from now."

When asked for an obvious high pick in Friday's SuperDraft, Kinnear did provide a name or two.

"Pat Phelan (Wake Forest) played really well," Kinnear said. "He stood out for me on Sunday. ... Patrick Nyarko (Virginia Tech) comes heavily touted. Good pace. Good quick feet. Put up some good numbers. I am sure he will be an early pick as well.

"But you don't want to say too much. You don't want to jog (a competing coach or general manager's) memory."

COMBINE NOTES:

Pierre-Louis, a native of Leogane, Haiti, was the 2007 NAIA Player of the Year while competing for tiny Lee University, located in Cleveland. A three-time All-American, he competed for the Haitian national team last summer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Lapira has yet to decide if he will sign in Europe or enter the MLS SuperDraft. Lapira, whose mother is from Ireland, made his debut for Ireland in May 2007 against Ecuador.

While the No. 1 overall pick in each of the last two years has been a college product (Maurice Edu, Maryland, last year, and Marvell Wynne, UCLA, in 2006), high-school age players were selected two years in a row in 2004 (Freddy Adu) and 2005 (Nikolas Besagno).