NEW YORK - Major League Soccer today announced the names of 66 college seniors who were selected to participate in the 2005 adidas MLS Player Combine which will be held for the second consecutive year at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California from January 8-11, 2005.
MLS general managers and members of all 12 MLS coaching staffs will be in attendance to scout talent at the event leading up to the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. The adidas MLS Player Combine will take place just a few days before the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, which will be held in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, January 14 in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. Last year a total of 42 players who participated in the Player Combine were eventually selected in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, in which a total of 60 players were drafted.
The field of players was determined by a select panel of Division I college coaches in conjunction with MLS coaches and the consultation of select Division II, Division III and NAIA coaches. A total of 47 colleges are represented, including teams from Division I, Division II, Division III and the NAIA. Six of the eight quarterfinalists in the NCAA College Cup are also represented. The semifinals will be held on Friday, December 10 and Sunday, December 12 at The Home Depot Center and televised on ESPN2.
The University of Maryland has the largest representation with four players while four other schools have three players selected (Southern Methodist University, St. John's University, University of Notre Dame and Wake Forest University).
The list of players for the 2005 adidas MLS Player Combine includes nine of the 15 semifinalists for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, the Player of the Year award for Division I competition. The winner will be determined in voting by NSCAA Division I member coaches and announced in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday, January 7.
The 2005 adidas MLS Player Combine will feature doubleheaders at The Home Depot Center on the mornings of January 9, 10 and 11 at 9:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. local time. Players will arrive on January 8 and participate in organizational training sessions that same afternoon at The Home Depot Center. The Torrance Marriott (3635 Fashion Way - Torrance, California 90503; TEL: 310-316-3636) will serve as the official headquarters of the adidas MLS Player Combine and the host hotel for players and coaching staffs.
For the second consecutive year, collegiate coaches will be selected to manage the squads during the course of the three-day competition. The names of the coaches and any alternate call-ups will be released at a later date.
What follows are the names of the 66 players selected broken down by position and by school:
ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (6): Dan Kennedy (UC-Santa Barbara); Jay Nolly (Indiana); John O'Hara (George Mason); Noah Palmer (Maryland); Christopher Sawyer (Notre Dame); T.J. Tomasso (Southern Methodist)
DEFENDERS (23): Stephen Arias (Connecticut); Drew Cavanagh (College of Charleston); Chris Corcoran (St. John's); Dan Gargan (Georgetown); Kevin Goldthwaite (Notre Dame); Ugochukweu Ihemelu (Southern Methodist); Ryan Kelly (St. John's); Craig Klaas (Washington); Cameron Knowles (Akron); Matt Kovar (Loyola Marymount); Jeff Larentower (Brown); Tony Lockhead (UC-Santa Barbara); Aaron Lopez (UCLA); Guy Melamed (Boston College); Tim Merritt (North Carolina); Matt Oliver (Virginia); Aaron Pitchkolan (West Virginia); Nick Pollard (SW Missouri); James Riley (Wake Forest); Troy Roberts (UC-Berkeley); Gonzalo Segares (Virginia Commonwealth); Jack Stewart (Notre Dame); Danny Sullivan (Bowdoin College)
MIDFIELDERS (19): Hans Bevers (New Mexico); Mubarike Chisoni (Coastal Carolina); Michael Enfield (UCLA); Kevon Harris (Old Dominion); Chris Karcz (Rutgers); Thabiso Khumalo (Coastal Carolina); Jeffrey Krause (New Mexico); Luke Kreamaimeyer (Bradley); Doug Lascody (SW Missouri); Amir Lowery (Wake Forest); Domenic Mediate (Maryland); John Minagowa-Webster (Michigan State); Danny O'Rourke (Indiana); Steven Rhyne (Clemson); Ian Rodway (Maryland); Simone Salinno (St. Johns); Jamal Shteiwi (Kentucky); Marcus Storley (North Carolina); Nick Van Sicklen (Wisconsin - Madison)
FORWARDS (18): Knox Cameron (Michigan); Justin Cook (Ohio State); Jamie Holmes (Birmingham Southern); Antouman Jallow (Wisconsin - Milwaukee); Ryan Latham (Southern Methodist); Jerrod Laventure (Seton Hall); Chris Lee (Marquette); Alon Lubezky (Hartford); Julian Nash (Creighton); Orlando Ramirez (Fresno Pacific University); Chris Rolfe (Dayton); Edwin Ruiz (Hartwick); Scott Selay (Wake Forest); Eugene Sepuya (Alabama A & M); Chad Severs (Penn State); Abe Thompson (Maryland); Mychal Turpin (Michigan); Usiel Vasquez (Southern Connecticut)
ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY SCHOOL
University of Akron
DF Cameron Knowles
Alabama A&M
FW Eugene Sepuya
Birmingham Southern
FW Jamie Holmes
Boston College
DF Guy Melamed
Bowdoin College (Division III)
DF Danny Sullivan
Bradley University
MF Luke Kreamaimeyer
Brown University
DF Jeff Larentower
University of California - Berkeley
DF Troy Roberts
University of California - Los Angeles
MF Michael Enfield
DF Aaron Lopez
University of California - Santa Barbara
GK Dan Kennedy
DF Tony Lockhead
Clemson University
MF Steven Rhyne
Coastal Carolina University
MF Mubarike Chisoni
MF Thabiso Khumalo
College of Charleston
DF Drew Cavanagh
University of Connecticut
DF Stephen Arias
Creighton University
FW Julian Nash
Dayton University
FW Chris Rolfe
Fresno Pacific University (NAIA)
FW Orlando Ramirez
George Mason
GK John O'Hara
Georgetown
DF Dan Gargan
University of Hartford
FW Alon Lubezky
Hartwick University
FW Edwin Ruiz
Indiana University
GK Jay Nolly
MF Danny O'Rourke
University of Kentucky
MF Jamal Shteiwi
Loyola Marymount University
DF Matt Kovar
Marquette
FW Chris Lee
University of Maryland
GK Noah Palmer
MF Ian Rodway
MF Domenic Mediate
FW Abe Thompson
University of Michigan
FW Mychal Turpin
FW Knox Cameron
Michigan State University
MF John Minagowa-Webster
University of New Mexico
MF Jeffrey Krause
MF Hans Bevers
University of North Carolina
MF Marcus Storley
DF Tim Merritt
University of Notre Dame
GK Christopher Sawyer
DF Jack Stewart
DF Kevin Goldthwaite
Ohio State
FW Justin Cook
Old Dominion
MF Kevon Harris
Penn State University
FW Chad Severs
Rutgers University
MF Chris Karcz
Seton Hall University
FW Jerrod Laventure
Southern Connecticut State University (Division II)
FW Usiel Vasquez
Southern Methodist University
GK T.J. Tomasso
DF Ugochukweu Ihemelu
FW Ryan Latham
Southwest Missouri State University
MF Doug Lascody
DF Nick Pollard
St. John's University
MF Simone Salinno
DF Chris Corcoran
DF Ryan Kelly
University of Virginia
DF Matt Oliver
Virginia Commonwealth University
DF Gonzalo Segares
Wake Forest University
MF Amir Lowery
DF James Riley
FW Scott Selay
University of Washington
DF Craig Klaas
University of West Virginia
DF Aaron Pitchkolan
University of Wisconsin - Madison
MF Nick Van Sicklen
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
FW Antouman Jallow
