2011 MLS Combine Day 3 (Game 1)

Fort Lauderdale, FL – Jabulani beat AdiPower 2-1.

The first goal was scored by Alex Caskey on a long shot that no one closed on him.  Caskey is a player that I thought could have a break-out combine with his work rate and skill, but has been average at best until today.  The assist was from Levi Houapeu square ball.

The second goal to make the score 2-0 was scored by CJ Sapong.  Bobby Warshaw drove the ball down middle before distributing it wide to Houapeu.  Houapeu fired in a cross that Sapong redirected (at least from my angle).

AdiPower got a goal back by Ryan Kinne in the closing minutes of the half.  Michael Tetteh started the play with a give-n-go with Marlon Ganchozo.  Tetteh straddling the line, crossed the ball back to Kinne who one-timed it past the goal keeper.

1st half (Jabulani Green)

F: Paolo Cardoza, CJ Sapong (JMU)

M: Junior Burgos (Cal-Poly), Matt Gold (OSU), Alex Caskey (Davidson), Levi Houapeu (UMBC)

D: Chris Taylor (Tulsa), Bobby Warshaw (Stanford), Colin Givens (MSU), Billy Cortes (MD)

GK: Bryan Meredith (Monmouth)

2nd half (Jabulani Green)

F: Victor Estupinan

M: Justin Meram (Michigan), Martin Rivas, Alex Caskey (Davidson), Blake Brettschneider (USC)

DM: Bob Warshaw (Stanford)

D: Chris Taylor (Tulsa), Billy Cortes (MD),  Konrad Warzycha (OSU), Jon Okafor (Brown)

GK: Bryan Meredith (Monmouth)

1st half (adiPower Red)

F: Corey Hertzog (PSU), Ryan Kinne (Monmouth)

M: Marlon Ganchozo, Servando Carrasco (Cal), Karl Reddick (BC), Steven Beattie (N KY)

D: Michael Tetteh (UCSB), A. J. Soares (Cal), Rich Balchan (IU), Chris Korb (Akron)

GK: Joe Willis (Denver)

2nd half (adiPower Red)

F: Corey Hertzog (PSU), Ryan Kinne (Monmouth)

M:  Matt Marcin (Providence), Ashley McInnes (Tulsa), Servando Carrasco (Cal), JC Banks (UWGB)

D: Michael Tetteh (UCSB), A. J. Soares (Cal), Rich Balchan (IU), Ben Sippola (Butler)

GK: Joe Willis (Denver)

came on as a sub, Michael Boxall (UCSB),

ASSESSMENT

The third day is a day where the players are tired and are being asked to play in different situations.

Who had a good game (or played better than I expected)?

• Rich Balchan (IU) loved the way that he partolled the central defense. good tackler. good dribbler.  MOTM (maybe?). ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), good dribbling, beat Murray and was able to get into the meat of the defense.  Good balance on 1v1 defending.  Average defensive heading ; From 1/8/11 (adequate), got forward adequately and intercepted several passes late in the first half.
• Corey Hertzog (PSU) very active, involved with the attack. split the double-team getting the ball to Carrasco. long shot was tipped over the cross-bar. Good square to Kinne – shot at the goal keeper. ; from 1/10/11 (+), different Hertzog.  Found Indy Smith and claimed him as his whipping boy.  When Smith moved to the right central back so did Hertzog. He needs to get physically stronger ; From 1/8/11 (-), best plays were tracking back.  He didn’t do anything positive in the attack.  His best asset was allowing Pila to knee him in the groin to allow the other players to get a few minutes break.
• Ryan Kinne (Monmouth) scored the lone goal.  very active, but needs to be quicker.  Works hard, shoots with both feet ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), was better on both sides of the ball. good cross to Marcin, but his shot was blocked.  Had a look, took the shot, gk caught it. set up Ampaipitakwong for a shot that the goal keeper tipped ; From 1/8/11 (adequate), wasn’t moving with confidence.  He was combining with Keat very well. Kinne didn’t attack the goal sufficiently.
• Colin Givens (MSU) consistently steps up and makes the defensive play.  Uses his body well.; from 1/10/11 (+), co-incidence that when he departed from the game that green surrendered 2 goals, I think not.  He tracks the ball well; makes the defensive plays provided to him; From 1/8/11 (adequate), tracked over to stop an attack for Sarkodie.  I liked Givens defensive positioning.
• Joe Willis (Denver) huge stops late in the game.  moves very well.  let in 2 goals but that is more of the defense letting him down. ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), allowed 2 goals in 2nd half; From 1/8/11 (+), made several good stops to maintain the shut out.
• CJ Sapong (JMU) scored a goal on a deflection.  high work rate.  giving tremendous effort.  Needs to finish his chances better.  ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), working very hard on both sides of the ball, but being neutralized by Ababio; From 1/8/11 (+), was the second best player at the combine (after Anibaba).  He was explosive.  He got into the open field and de-cleated Tyler Lassiter on a beautiful, efficient move.  He needs to show that he can create his own shot which he didn’t do today.
• Alex Caskey (Davidson) today is what I expected to see from him.  scored a goal because no one closed on him.  more importantly he was moving off the ball – combining with Cardozo.  Stealing the ball from Kinne.  tried to force things that weren’t there; from 1/10/11 (adequate), better. but wasn’t able to get by Ababio’s strength.  he was moving without the ball better and playing better balls – still a long shot; From 1/8/11 (-), was a player that I expected would surprise many, but just never got involved and he didn’t mesh successfully with Warzycha. He destroyed Perry on a tackle, but I wanted to see him be more involved in the attack and he wasn’t.
• Levi Houapeu (UMBC) made an explosive diagonal run, held his balance off a physical challenge. Had both assists.  Burst around the corner but was over the end line.  Overall – not a good combine.; from 1/10/11 (-), not able to beat anyone 1v1.  This is not the same player that I’ve seen for the last 2 years. Yells loudly for the ball with tremendous urgency.  He needs to find a way to get separation and for him and Sapong to combine much more effectively. ; From 1/8/11 (-), wasn’t able to break down Duckett.  He needs to work harder on the defensive side.  I expected him to combine better with former team-mate (DCU friendly) CJ Sapong.  Houapeu was able to get to the end-line but his cross was too close to the goal line.

Who was adequate?

• A. J. Soares (Cal) good on defense – but mis-hit a low corner ; from 1/10/11 (+), better. much more defensively assertive.  good 1v1 defense with Adlard. smart chest trap, because no pressure.  Confident on the ball. battled Bruin in the air; From 1/8/11 (-), passing was poor including without pressure.  His coverage was spotty.  His clearance was blocked by Herrick, because he took to long to release the ball.
• JC Banks (UWGB) good cross to Hertzog (off-target) good dribbling – good passing; from 1/10/11 (-), not able to generate much scoring opportunities in his half of play ; From 1/8/11 (+), had several incisive crosses into the box but weren’t converted.
• Michael Boxall (UCSB) much better – hit a header from Carrasco. good defensive heading. ; from 1/10/11 (-), brutal game for Boxall, gave up the PK, and didn’t help on the game winner. ; From 1/8/11 (adequate), was a force in the air and his passing was fairly good.
• Servando Carrasco providing only tacit pressure. good dribble and good passing with pressure. much more attack-oriented.  Nice free kick that found Boxall’s head.; from 1/10/11 (adequate), his defensive stop led to the first goal. Sits very deep.  Good defender ; From 1/8/11 (observe), no notes.
• Matt Marcin (Providence) nice cross late in the game that went for a corner kick. had a couple of nice steals.  this is what I expected to see from him.  ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), plays hard defense, but was pushed off the ball by Campbell. Dispossessed Braga numerous times. Does not head the ball to a target.; From 1/8/11 (observe), I thought he didn’t play until I finally noticed near the end of the half that he had played the entire half.
• Chris Korb (Akron) got forward with some slick dribbling just outside the box. ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), better. got forward (with team down by 3), crossing the ball into the box and even had a powerful shot that went for a corner kick ; From 1/8/11 (-), had lapses of concentration missing the ball on traps.  He seemed unduly nervous in the first half.
• Steven Beattie (N KY) willing to play both sides of the ball.  telegraph’s his passes. He has heart. hit a full volley with power and dipping too high.  He’s going to be drafted. ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), had an assist.  seemed to calm down – played better; From 1/8/11 (-), didn’t know how to combine with anyone and seem over-anxious to try to impress, make the soccer hall-of-fame and be MLS player of the year in this one game.  He never got comfortable and doing the things he does well.
• Michael Tetteh (UCSB) started the play (with the assist) that led to the goal.  quick. knows how to build out of the back.; from 1/10/11 (adequate), made 1 foray forward taking a long-hopeful shot; From 1/8/11 (adequate), is small, but like a chihuahua doesn’t realize his size – and hits hard.  He’s quick and plays good defense, but I wonder if he can withhold the rigors of MLS attackers and a long season.  Also, Tetteh, you haven’t been able to wear earrings on the field, why do you need to have the ref tell you to take them out.
• Efrain Burgos (Cal-Poly) not sharp – good corner kick that Caskey flicked on; from 1/10/11 (+), inconsistent free kicks, 1 was beautiful right to the back post (no one fought to get to it). Another hit the wall.  Driven diagonal, can switch the point of attack ; From 1/8/11 (+), hit a cracker that struck the post.
• Paolo Cardozo bad free kick hit wall. good diagonal ball to Estupinan hit wide ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), was pushed around by diminutive Greg King.  He’s fluid on the ball.  He knows how to play ; From 1/8/11 (+), the insertion of himand Victor Estupinan changed the complexion of the game.  Cardozo is small, but has confidence on the ball.  He scored the winning goal on a nice touch in the box and buried the shot.  He seemed focused on combining with Estupinan.
• Victor Estupinan received ball 1v1 touched it but goal keeper made good play to stop goal.  bad free kick, too far too ambitious too high; from 1/10/11 (adequate), inconsistent on his touch, weak left foot shot; From 1/8/11 (+), the insertion of him and Paolo Cardozo changed the complexion of the game.  Cardoza seemed focused on combining with Estupinan. Estupinan times his runs well and has a nose for the goal.  He was the best international in the long run
• Bryan Meredith (Monmouth) can’t be blamed on the single goal.  Still I don’t like the way he moves compared to Willis ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), didn’t get scored upon in his half (hint. buy Givens a beer). Got down on a shot from Rooney and knocked it wide ; From 1/8/11 (-), should have done better on the first goal.  He needs to improve his ball skills.
• Billy Cortez (MD)  late sub for Sarkodie at right. misplayed high ball – shielded Ganchozo off the ball – played center back for the first time in his life (probably); from 1/10/11 (-), just kicking the ball, allowed Jimenez to steal the ball from him; From 1/8/11 (adequate), looked clumsy on the ball earlier, but did better later.
• Justin Meram (Michigan) Doesn’t like physical play.  good vision to serve a long ball in that Estupinan. pass to Estupinan that he was too slow to release shot. Dispossessed by Sippola, but got back to regain possession. ; from 1/10/11 (-), bad day for Team Meram.  He couldn’t beat anyone excluding Ushedo.  Shut down by Ababio ; From 1/8/11 (adequate), was confident on the ball and he is not shy to take a shot.  He can create a shot.
• Chris Taylor (Tulsa) good tackle on Sippola ; from 1/10/11 (-), let’s end the Taylor as a center back experiment now.  didn’t know how to move around; From 1/8/11 (adequate), has an active work rate. He served a nice cross that Estupinan tried a flying side volley.

Who needs to improve?

• Marlon Ganchozo better – but I’m not sure that it’s possible to have played worse.  Still not consistent. shot on goal. – but had an horrific square ball into the middle of all of the opponents.  ; from 1/10/11 (horrific), is over his head.  The worst player in this game.  Unceremoniously removed after playing less than his half.  I think the coach saw that the team had come back 2-3 and wanted to give his team a chance for the draw. MLS  – please end the Ganchozo experiment.; From 1/8/11 (horrific), best part of his game is his hair.  He had the dreaded swing-n-miss. He was a detriment on the field.
• Ben Sippola (Butler) too slight. over his head. was able to get around the corner as the right back, but was tracked down by Meram. Good body defensive body positioning to shield ; from 1/10/11 (-), lost Grossman in the box for the first goal. but he wasn’t stopping anyone coming through the middle (did make 1 defensive stop on Braga ; From 1/8/11 (-), looked lost in the middle of the field.  He held an attacker on-side because he surrendered ground needlessly.
• Ashley McInnes (Tulsa) stole the ball from Caskey – but didn’t add much to the attack.  I question his fitness, is his heart in this?  He was much better the couple of times that I’ve seen him at Tulsa ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), had a pair of wild shots 1 was from very far out and the second was so far off target that it almost hit the ball kid.  stole the ball from Murray, jump starting an attack to Banks and Ampaipitakwong; From 1/8/11 (-), didn’t aggressively attack – he seemed too laid-back. Perhaps, he was attempting to show cool confidence instead it came to me as passive.
• Jon Okafor (Brown) athletic without the ball, clumsy with.  doesn’t track high balls well. good diagonal passing.; from 1/10/11 (adequate), not a right back, had a ball go over his head. bad free kick unforced.  When moved up to his more familiar midfield, did much better ; From 1/8/11 (+), showed previously unnoticed speed (with purpose).  Additionally, he did this while breezing into the box with the ball at his feet and defenders around.  He made a dumb play putting his hand up to slow the ball – “the hand of DOG”? even blind people saw the play.  I need to watch his crossing.
• Matt Gold (OSU) horrible square ball that turned into a dangerous transition – luckily it was such Gonchozo. Seemed slow; from 1/10/11 (adequate), I’ve seen him play better – but he wasn’t horrible.  I’d like to see him have more of an impact.  Played right back late in second half and was adequate; From 1/8/11 (adequate), made a good run into the box from his deep midfield.
• Konrad Warzycha (tOSU) played center back uninspired; from 1/10/11 (-), allowed a ball to go by him that wound up a goal.  Must use his right foot to attack.  Lost Rooney for first goal. ; From 1/8/11 (adequate), scored the first goal on a rebound but he needs to combine better.
• Bobby Warshaw (Stanford) long run from the back set up the game winning goal. had problems marking attackers(specifically Kinne). I have a bad feeling about this one – Obi-Wan; from 1/10/11 (-), negatively involved on both goals (slid as Rooney’s shot went into the goal.  just didn’t do too much positive; From 1/8/11 (adequate), didn’t seem to do well, but as I reviewed my notes, he kept blocking shots.  He’s a target on corner kicks. His passing was not up to his standard.
• Blake Brettschneider (USC) bad cross weak left foot. good tackle on Balchan, though it was more because Balchan pushed the ball too far and it looked like Brettschneider was in slo-slo-slo motion ; from 1/10/11 (horrific), Not very good in either moving with the ball, with his first touch or passing.  Estupinan is not going to give him the ball again after he kept losing it. He reminds me of a poor-mans George Josten (Gonzaga) – he was so successful. ; From 1/8/11 (need to observe), only played 2nd half and no notes.

Who should consider a couple of days on the beach before starting a regular job?

• Karl Reddick (BC) fell asleep and Cardoza stole the ball from him – given that he’s been sleep-walking through this combine, it’s apropo; from 1/10/11 (-), horrific miss after corner kick in his box ; From 1/8/11 (-), was not comfortable-looking at right back.  His dribbling was erratic.

Who do I need to continue to observe/didn’t do enough today?

• Martin Rivas no comment ; from 1/10/11 (-), not clean with their touch creating turn-overs. poor defense on Paul. Poor decisions on passes and poor execution of his passing ; From 1/8/11 (need to observe), played deep midfield in the second half but not much noticed.

Who didn’t play/missing

• Anthony Ampaipitakwong (Akron) DNP; from 1/10/11 (adequate), found space underneath, but his team mates weren’t finding him. defensive stop on Grossman in the box.   ; From 1/8/11 (-), makes a nice pass, but he doesn’t follow or provide other to be creative with him as a target.  He needs to be cognizant of his defensive responsibilities.
• Daniel Keat (Dartmouth) DNP? ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), working off the ball well, good passing and hard tackles. His pass was blocked leading to the winning goal at midfield. ; From 1/8/11 (+),  linking with the midfielders and making some hard tackles to win the ball.  I love his tenacious-ness.
• Kofi Sarkodie (Akron) DNP ; from 1/10/11 (adequate), had a good cross which I’m told he is unable to do. quick defensive feet , but his first touch was not sharp; From 1/8/11 (+), demonstrated at the kick-off why he’s a special player.  He “zoomed”  down the line that just demonstrated the speed difference between him and everybody else. He got a cross into the box that Ford tipped to the top of the box for the first goal.  His thigh trap was sloppy – I want the ball to go down softly, not go up even a little.  I liked the tenacious defense to track Farfan across the field.

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