LAUDERHILL, Fla. – Ethan Finlay (Creighton) scored a first half hat trick to power adiPure past Prime, 4-2, in the fourth game of the 2012 MLS Combine on Sunday.
Finlay, the Hermann Trophy runner up who missed the combine’s first day for the ceremony, didn’t skip a beat, scoring all three of his goals inside the game’s first 30 minutes to lead his side to a comfortable win. Prime added two second half goals through James Kiffe (UC Santa Barbara) and Babayele Sodade (UAB).
After missing a couple of early chances, Finlay finally converted a 13th-minute opportunity to put adiPure on the board. Sam Garza (UC Santa Barbara) forced a turnover from Prime defender Patrick Sigler (Cal Poly), collected the ball and slotted Finlay in behind the defense to finish comfortably past Jhojan Obando (Providence).
Luke Holmes (Akron) doubled adiPure’s lead three minutes later, sliding home to convert an excellent cross from right back Andrew Duran (Creighton).
With adiPure’s midfield bossing the game, it wasn’t long before they scored again. Finlay grabbed his second after Obando failed to deal with a shot by Kohei Yamada (Japan), who was impressive in running adiPure's central midfield. Obando snuffed out Garza’s follow up, but the rebound bounced to Finlay, who powered home.
In the 30th minute, Finlay rounded out the hat trick on an excellent team move. Yamada zoomed towards Prime’s box, finding a streaking Holmes, who spotted Finlay’s diagonal run. The Creighton star took Holmes' pass in stride and chipped a neat finish over Obando.
A host of subs at the second half helped Prime come to life. Early on, Sodade collected an entry pass at the top of the 18-yard box, turned and fired a low shot that goalkeeper Chris Blais (South Florida) turned out for a corner.
Prime finally got on the board in the 67th minute thanks to good work from Darren Mattocks (Akron). The striker snuck in behind the adiPure back line and drove in a cross that Blais deflected to his far post. Kiffe got to the bouncing ball first and volleyed a shot that snuck into the back of the net.
In the 73rd minute, Mattocks had a chance to add a second for Prime, finally getting a look at goal. But Blais was equal to the test, deflecting it over with a trailing foot.
Mattocks helped set up a second Prime goal in the 82nd minute. The Jamaican used his speed to get past Tyler Polak (Creighton) and onto an Antoine Hoppenot (Princeton) through ball. He took the ball into space and curled in a low cross Sodade poked home past Blais.
Despite a continued effort, Prime couldn’t keep the come back going, losing 4-2.
AdiPure are now 1-0-1, while Prime are 0-2-0.
HIGHLIGHTS: Prime 2, adiPure 4
