LAUDERHILL, Fla. – The opening doubleheader at the 2015 adidas MLS Player Combine is in the books after Friday's matches at Central Broward Regional Park.
MATCH 1:TEAM PREDATOR 0, TEAM NITRO CHARGE 0
The opening match of the 2015 adidas MLS Player Combine was a battle of two hot goalkeepers, with Washington’s Spencer Richey and Xavier’s Eric Osswald both showing well on Friday afternoon as Team Predator and Team Nitro Charge played to a scoreless draw.
Richey was particularly strong, making eight saves – several of them in spectacular fashion – to keep Nitro Charge off the board. His best stop came late in the first half when he stoned North Carolina midfielder/forward Rob Lovejoy twice on a clear breakaway.
Osswald wasn’t called into action as often, but he stepped up when it counted, making a solid double save on a pair of Predator players in the 63rd minute to keep things level.
Predator Lineup (4-2-3-1): Spencer Richey; Luke Mishu (Shawn McLaws 46), Boyd Okwuonu (Craig Nitti 46), Adrian Reta (Daniel Keller 46), Jose Ribas; Dan Metzger (Sal Bernal 81), Zach Steinberger (Boyd Okwuonu 65); Ignacio Maganto (Luke Mishu 79), Sal Bernal (Sagi Lev-Ari 46), Connor Hallisey; Romario Williams (Sidney Rivera 46).
Substitutes not used: Fatai Alashe.
Nitro Charge Lineup (4-1-4-1): Eric Osswald; Saad Abdul-Salaam (Nick Besler 85), Oumar Ballo (Aaron Simmons 46), Axel Sjöberg, Otis Earle (Oumar Ballo 57); Nick Besler (Seth Casiple 60); Khiry Shelton (Cameron Porter 46), Seth Casiple (Matt Polster 46), Laurie Bell (Rob Lovejoy 40), Akeil Barrett (Khiry Shelton 60); Stefano Bonomo (Christian Volesky 46).
Substitutes not used: Will Seymore.
MATCH 2: TEAM NATIVO 2, TEAM ADIZERO 0
Team Nativo notched the Combine’s first goals – and its first victory – in Friday’s second match, topping Team adiZero 2-0.
Davenport University midfielder Dzenan Catic put Nativo on the board in the 18th minute, pouncing on a poor touch from adiZero ‘keeper Tomas Gomez near the end line before pirouetting and slotting a left-footer into an empty net from the right side of the box.
University of Maryland-Baltimore Country forward Kay Banjo iced things in the 83rd, sliding home Clemson midfielder Manolo Sanchez’s cross to give Nativo a 2-0 lead that held up as the final score.
AdiZero Lineup (4-1-4-1): Tomas Gomez; Wes Charpie (Braian Acuña 46), Anthony Manning (Sergio Campbell 35), Ramon Martin Del Campo, Vladimir Hood (Connor Brandt 46); Tyler Arnone, Cristian Roldan, Andrew Tusaazemajja (Duke Lacroix 46); James Rogers (Kingsley Bryce 46), Dominique Badji (Cameron Iwasa 46), Fabio Machado (Dominique Badji 66).
Nativo Lineup (4-1-4-1): Earl Edwards Jr.; Oniel Fisher, Skylar Thomas (Nikola Paunic 46), Tim Parker, Andy Thoma (Andy Bevin 79); Jean Carlos López Moscoso (Marco Fenelus 46); Adria Beso Marco, Dzenan Catic (Ricky Garbanzo 46), Miguel Aguilar (Manolo Sanchez 46), Andy Bevin (Alberto Riascos 46); Adam Montague (Kay Banjo 46).
