With the 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine ready to commence on Thursday, Major League Soccer has unveiled the rosters of the four teams that will compete with the hopes of catching the eye of an MLS coach before the 2007 SuperDraft.
The Combine will take place Jan. 4-8 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Sixty-two players have been invited to participate in the Combine, automatically making each available for selection in the SuperDraft. Representatives from all 13 MLS teams will be on hand to scout talent at the Combine. A committee of NCAA Division I coaches and MLS representatives chooses the college seniors that are invited to the Combine.
The players will be divided up into four teams, who will be coached by Duke University head coach John Rennie, George Mason University coach Greg Andrulis, Brown University boss Mike Noonan and University of Illinois-Chicago coach John Trask. Four youth coaches have also been invited to assist the college coaches during the Combine.
The 2007 SuperDraft will take place in Indianapolis in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) convention on Jan. 12. The first hour of the draft will be televised live on ESPN2, with the remainder set to be exclusively available on MLSnet.com.
Additional players may take part in the Combine or SuperDraft as part of the Generation adidas program, a cooperative effort between the league, adidas and U.S. soccer to identify and develop the brightest young talent in the nation. A complete list of Generation adidas players available for selection will be announced prior to draft day.
Following are the Combine team rosters and match schedule:
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
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
