LAUDERHILL, Fla. — Creighton star Ethan Finlay could hardly have asked for a better first day at the MLS Combine.
The Hermann Trophy runner-up scored a hat trick in the first 30 minutes of adiPure’s 4-2 victory against Prime on Sunday after missing the first day of the combine to attend the trophy ceremony on Friday night.
“It was nice to come out and get the legs moving after not really playing some good soccer in at least a month,” Finlay told MLSsoccer.com. “It was fun, good to get out there. We had great chemistry between all four of us up there, so it was a fun day.”
Finlay was the beneficiary of adiPure’s attacking quartet consisting of himself, Luke Holmes (Akron), Sam Garza (UC Santa Barbara) and Kohei Yamada (Japan). Prime’s back line couldn’t cope with the pace and interchanging of that front four, and within 30 minutes adiPure had a 4-0 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
“We clicked right away,” Finlay said. “I talked to Sam before the game, and I love how he plays. ... The movement was what made us so difficult to cover today.”
The trio of goals closed out a whirlwind weekend for the attacker, who endured a hectic travel day on Saturday getting from St. Louis to Ft. Lauderdale. And even though he finished runner-up to Hermann Trophy winner Andrew Wenger, it was a great experience all around.
“It was absolute class,” he said of the ceremony. “The Missouri Athletic Club does a great job, and I was just proud to be one of the finalists and be a part of that event. … Wenger is a deserving guy and he’s going to do great things for MLS and the national team.”
HIGHLIGHTS: Prime 2, adiPure 4
