NEW YORK - Major League Soccer today announced the initial list of 58 college seniors from 44 Division I schools who have been selected to participate in the 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine. The annual player combine will be held at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Jan. 5-8, 2007.
The coaching staffs and general managers from all 13 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent at the 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine, which concludes four days before the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. The 2007 MLS SuperDraft will be held on Friday, Jan. 12, 2007 in Indianapolis, Ind. in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention at the Indiana Convention Center. Of the 48 players selected in the four rounds of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, 23 had participated in the 2006 adidas MLS Player Combine.
The initial list of players for this year's combine was determined by a select panel of Division I college coaches representing all conferences who nominated and voted for players in conjunction with MLS coaches. Youth players from the Generation adidas program will join additional collegiate players from NCAA Division II and III schools, NAIA schools and Division I alternates to finalize the 2007 adidas Player Combine. These players will be announced in the near future.
The 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine will separate all players into four teams and feature doubleheaders at Lockhart Stadium on Jan. 5, 6 and 8. Each team will be coached by one of the following four college coaches: John Trask (University of Illinois at Chicago), John Rennie (Duke University), Mike Noonan (Brown University) and Greg Andrulis (George Mason University). Players will arrive on Jan. 4 and participate in organizational training sessions that same afternoon. The Sheraton Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hotel will serve as the official headquarters of the adidas MLS Player Combine and the host hotel for players and coaching staffs.
Following are the names of the 58 players selected, broken down by position and by school:
2007 ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (5): Talmon Hall (San Diego State University); Justin Hughes (University of North Carolina); Chris Konopka (Providence College); Phil Marfuggi (Clemson University); Nick Noble (West Virginia University)
DEFENDERS (11): Andrew Boyens (University of New Mexico); Ty Harden (University of Washington); Michael Harrington (University of North Carolina); Kyle Helton (Duke University); Aaron Hohlbein (University of Wisconsin); Zach Kirby (Boston University); Hugh MacDonald (Monmouth University); Nigel Marples (Towson University); Billy Meier (University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee); Jay Needham (Southern Methodist University); Steve Purdy (University of California)
MIDFIELDERS (19): Rich Asante (Syracuse University); Karim Boukhemis (Marshall University); Bryan Byrne (University of California - Santa Barbara); Alex Cunliffe (Fairfield University); Steven Curfman (Wake Forest University); Greg Dalby (Univeristy of Notre Dame); John DiRaimondo (St. Louis University); Eric Ebert (University of California); John Michael Hayden (Indiana University); Scott Jones (University of North Carolina - Greensboro); Jared Kent (Old Dominion University); Nick LaBrocca (Rutgers University); Justin McGrane (Northern Illinois University); Nate Norman (University of Notre Dame); Ryan Solle (Wake Forest University); Wells Thompson (Wake Forest University); Josh Tudela (Indiana University); Sinisa Ubiparipovic (University of Akron); Chase Wileman (Southern Methodist University)
FORWARDS (23): Charles Altchek (Harvard University); Gerardo Alvarez (Northwestern University); Corey Ashe (University of North Carolina); Aaron Chandler (University of San Francisco); Adam Christman (University of Virginia); Omar Cummings (The University of Cincinnati); Andrew Daniels (Brown University); Edson Elcock (Old Dominion University); Brad Evans (University of California - Irvine); Robbie Findley (Oregon State University); Jeff Gonsalves (University of Rhode Island); Willy Guadarrama (Campbell University); Ryan Guy (University of San Diego); Chris Loftus (Duke University); Jerson Monteiro (University of Alabama at Birmingham); Frederico Moojen (Clemson University); Simon Omekanda (Penn State University); Riley O'Neill (University of Kentucky); Randi Patterson (University of North Carolina - Greensboro); Dane Richards (Clemson University); Mike Sambursky (University of South Carolina); Jarrod Smith (West Virginia University); Erik Ustruck (Santa Clara University);
ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY SCHOOL
* Finalist for 2006 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy
Boston University
D Zach Kirby
Brown University
F Andrew Daniels
Campbell University
F Willy Guadarrama
Cincinnati University
F Omar Cummings
Clemson University
F Frederico Moojen
F Dane Richards
GK Phil Marfuggi
Duke University
D Kyle Helton
F Chris Loftus
Fairfield University
M Alex Cunliffe
Harvard University
F Charles Altchek
Indiana University
M John Michael Hayden
M Josh Tudela
Marshall University
M Karim Boukhemis
Monmouth University
D Hugh MacDonald
Northern Illinois University
M Justin McGrane
Northwestern University
F Gerardo Alvarez
Old Dominion University
F Edson Elcock
M Jared Kent
Oregon State University
F Robbie Findley
Penn State University
F Simon Omekanda
Providence College
GK Chris Konopka
Rutgers University
M Nick LaBrocca
Santa Clara University
F Erik Ustruck
San Diego State University
GK Talmon Hall
Southern Methodist University
D Jay Needham*
M Chase Wileman
St. Louis University
M John DiRaimondo
Syracuse University
M Rich Asante
Towson University
D Nigel Marples
University of Akron
M Sinisa Ubiparipovic
University of Alabama at Birmingham
F Jerson Monteiro
University of California
M Eric Ebert
D Steve Purdy
University of California - Irvine
F Brad Evans
University of California - Santa Barbara
M Bryan Byrne
University of Kentucky
F Riley O'Neill
University of New Mexico
D Andrew Boyens
University of North Carolina
F Corey Ashe
D Michael Harrington
GK Justin Hughes
University of North Carolina - Greensboro
M Scott Jones
F Randi Patterson
University of Notre Dame
M Greg Dalby
M Nate Norman
University of Rhode Island
F Jeff Gonsalves
University of San Diego
F Ryan Guy
University of San Francisco
F Aaron Chandler
University of South Carolina
F Mike Sambursky
University of Virginia
F Adam Christman
University of Washington
D Ty Harden
University of Wisconsin
D Aaron Hohlbein
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
D Billy Meier
Wake Forest University
M Steven Curfman
M Ryan Solle
M Wells Thompson
West Virginia University
F Jarrod Smith
GK Nick Noble
