2008 MLS Combine, Day 3 (game 2)

White (AdiPure) remained undefeated scoring 4 first half goals on the way to an 4-1 victory over yellow (AdiTunit).

In the first 8 minutes, white scored 2 goals. The first was created by Matt Hatzke overlapping into the corner and crossing the ball back from the end line to George Josten who finished to the near post from 15 yards.

The second was all Eric Brunner. Brunner anticipated and was able to steal an errant square on his side of the field. He paraded down the field until he got to the top of the box and finished to the near post on his ex-college team mate, Casey Latchem.

The third goal (in less than 15 minutes) Brunner serves in a 30 yard free kick into the box. Pierre-Louis receives the ball is allowed to turn by Sherard and finishes from an acute angle after taking several touches.

The final white goal was taken with Josten coming across the box with Sherard on his hip. Josten created enough space to squeak in the goal to the — wait for it — yes to the near post. Sherard went down from an “injury” and did not return.

Shea Brek salvaged a pride goal with a good cross that Zambrano one-timed in the 38th minute (teams only played 35 minute halves today).

1st half:

White:

F: Ricardo Pierre-Louis, George Josten

M: Alex Nimo, Geoff Cemeron, Peter Lowry, Salinas Shea

D: Matt Hatzke, Eric Brunner, Yomby William, Jonathan Leathers

G: Brian Edwards

Yellow:

F: Jeremy Barlow, El-Hadj Cisse, Pavle Dundjer

M: Brek Shea, Keith Savage, Sherron Manswell

D: Hugh Cronin, Brandon Owens, Andre Sherard, Julius James

G: Casey Latchem

2nd half:

White:

F: Ely Allen, Ricardo Pierre-Louis, Damiano Maximilliano

M: Dan Stratford, Peter Lowry, Alex Nimo

D: Matt Hatzke, Eric Brunner, Yomby William, Jonathan Leathers

G: Andrew Kartunen

Yellow:

F: Sherron Manswell

M: Cesar Zambrano, Jeremy Barlow

DM: Brek Shea, Keith Savage, Jonathan Sabbatini
D: Hugh Cronin, Julius James, Matthew Britner, Brandon Owens

G: Casey Latchem

White:

Ely Allen didn’t get to take advantage of the goal scoring feeding frenzy. He’s a quality player with a good left foot.

Matt Allen was scheduled to play but did not.

Eric Brunner has terrific instincts and even scored a goal.

Geoff Cameron had his best game teamed up with Lowry. He was strong on the ball and was battling to stop yellow transitions. Adequate skill.

Maximilliano Damiano – Big. Soft feet. Had a nice head flick to free Pierre-Louis. No thanks. Not good enough.

Sean Franklin was my revelation of the combine. Terrific player. Top notch. Would like to see him several more times to ensure that this wasn’t a flash in the pan.

Matt Hatzke had the assist on the first goal. He’s playing better. But, at this point, future doesn’t look bright for him.

George Jostens scored 3 goals to win the “golden flip flops” award for leading goal scorer. He was a handful for a woeful yellow defense. I still question his first touch and his ability to get separation.

Jonathan Leathers had a rougher game. His clearances from the back weren’t well struck. He’s got very good speed.

Peter Lowry – best player at the draft. He makes people around him better. 2 goals on Sunday. Smart player.

Alex Nimo undersized wide midfielder that has a nice cross. He has a long way to go before he’s ready for 1st team action.

Pat Phelan is a good ball handler and smart player that has been well coached. He has speed issues as well.

Ricardo Pierre-Louis is a project. His first touch is questionable. In a weak forward class, some team may take a flier on him, but he will make a ton of mistakes and will be a major project to be productive. He’s big and strong. He should buy Lowry dinner because he made him look so good.

Shea Salinas is a fast wide midfielder. Tremendous confidence to get around the corner. Combines well (at the combine – ha ha ha, sorry). Reminds me of Eric Avila. Salinas was advised not to play at the combine because he supposedly broke a bone in his face, recently. Pretty gutsy.

Yomby William, the oldest player at the combine – 26yo, doesn’t have much upside. He might be worth a late round flier. He has good ball skills and wheels to cover. His defensive positioning is weak and would need to be improved.

Yellow:

Jeremy Barlow was erratic. Never slowing down to be more precise.

Tony Beltran injured did not play.

Matthew Britner is a smart player with an adequate touch and good 1v1 tackler.

El-Hadj Cisse doesn’t have enough quickness on his first touch and his shot to be effective. He’s got speed, but doesn’t work off others very well.

Hugh Cronin lacks speed, but has good instincts and works hard for others, but that just may not be enough. He would be worth a very low draft pick.

Pavle Dundjer hard shot, but too slow to play wide – cheats to middle to try and play small game. He made a terrific cross to Cisse with an open goal that Cisse mis-kicked and wound up losing. ugh.

Julius James top class; Went to middle to stop the goal scoring in the first half.

Stephen King is a solid player. He’s heady and honest. He has athletic challenges.

Sherron Manswell doesn’t have enough speed to play up top, doesn’t have enough skill to play defensive midfield. Allows too much space and time for attackers.

Chance Myers has talent. I liked his ability to get forward from his right back position. He’s got a long way to go.

Brandon Owens is a tough tackler in 1v1 situations. He’s good in the air, but his best chance appears to be right back. He was shaky with Sherard in the middle. Gives up too much space to attackers.

Jonathan Sabbatini is absolute money. He goes both ways. He gets his head up. He is the only South American player at the combine worth picking up.

Keith Savage tries hard. Not a viable option – perhaps as a Josh Gros wide midfielder running up and down the line. But then you’re willing to be satisfied with Gros’s horrible crossing. He’s just not very good and he’s over his head.

Brek Shea – best of the U17. struggled in the back in the second half. Has much to learn but he has the core skills to be successful.

Andrew Sherard is the biggest disappointment at the combine. He has been a disaster in Titantic proportions. I thought that he was a viable central defender. He was horrible, horrible, horrible. I wonder if he was injured on the fourth goal or if his agent hired a sniper to put him out of his misery. He was worse on the outside but wasn’t bleeding goals.

Cesar Zambrano was another disappointment. After watching him play so smartly and so well against UMass in the NCAA. He scored a goal that was the total sum of his success at the combine. His passing was inadequate. He looked slow. Too bad.

 

2008 MLS Combine, Day 3 (game 1)

The Christmas match ended with green (PowerServe) winning 1-0 over red (Trofeo) on the final day of the 2008 MLS combine.

Kevin Forrest recorded his first goal of the competition with a quiet touch that set up his left footed shot.

1st Half

Green:

F: Patrick Nyarko, Kevin Forrest, Joe Germanese

M: Brian Grazier, Kai Kasiguran, Pat Healey

D: Mike Zaher, David Horst, Corey Sipos, Rauwshan McKenzie

G: Josh Lambo
Red:

F: Xavier Balc, Lukasz Tumicz

M: Ryan Cordeiro, Ciaran O’Brien, Scott Campbell, David Roth

D: Andy Iro, David Worthen, Scott Bolkan, Ryan Miller

G: Brian Edwards

2nd Half

Green:

F: Patrick Nyarko, Kevin Forrest, Joe Germanese

M: Brian Grazier, Eric Burkholder, Pat Healey

D: Mike Zaher, David Horst, Rauwshan McKenzie, Lucas Fernadez

G: Josh Lambo

Red:

F: Xavier Balc, Lukasz Tumicz

M: Roger Espinoza, Ciaran O’Brien, AJ Kulp, Scott Campbell

D: David Worthen, Andy Iro, Scott Bolkan, Luke Sassano

G: Andrew Kartunen

This is going to be my over-all assessment, combined with today’s observations.

Green:

Jacobson and Chevannes did not play for green. Jacobson had a good combine – Chevannes did not. Jacobson came in with a small injury and he tweaked his hamstring midway through the first half of the first game. He probably shouldn’t have played on Sunday, but he tried to play, but he was holding his leg the entire time.

Eric Burkholder had a forgettable combine. After watching tape of him blowing by defenders at Tulsa, he didn’t do anything. He was static and he didn’t play well.

Nyarko did not do anything special. You can see touches that few other players could knowingly conceive, but never broke down and went on a scoring tear. Worse is that he had the perfect stooge today (Worthen) and didn’t score on his opportunities. I think he would have been better served playing on Saturday rather than going to the Herman award dinner. I still take him with the #1 pick.

Zaher didn’t get his head up on long passes. Instead he just sends it across hoping that someone is there. This is going to impact him. His defense wasn’t money either.

Pat Healey has played much better the last 2 days. His touch and passing was much better.

Brian Grazier played much better in the DM role. He made a key play supporting deep (behind his defensive line) on one Balc pass to Tumicz.

Lucas Fernandez is just not a good player. Anticipates well, but can’t do much when he gets there.

Kevin Forrest (see goal above). If he could beat anyone, he’d be a viable prospect.

David Horst makes the tough tackles. He reads the game well.

Corey Sipos had a much better game, but it would have been hard to top scoring 2 own goals! It’s not just the own goals. Even before that he was not playing well.
Joe Germanese does something every game that makes me say, “Wow”! Today, he made a move on Bolkan that may have broke Bolkan’s ankles.

Kai Kasiguran is just out of his depths. Given time, he can make a nice play. Problem is that MLS midfielders will eat him up.

Josh Lambo was very impressive today. He made several plays coming off his line to retrieve through balls that would have caused problems. Over-all, after a tentative start on Saturday, he’s looked good. He’s the youngest player at the combine, just turning 17 in November. He has a way to go before he’s 1st team though.

Dominic Cervi didn’t play today. He’s with the U23 team.

Rauwshan McKenzie looked best in central defense. His technical skills need to improve.

Red:

Eric Avila what I expected (on Sunday). Good on the ball, willing to try and get around the defense, needs to trap better (quicker).

Xavier Balc is the best technical player at the combine. In the right situation with the proper support his lack of speed can be minimized. He’s magic if the ball is on his foot. His best position is probably withdrawn forward.
Scott Bolkan – mixed feelings. Today, he was giving too much ground. He’s good in the air on defense and a target on set pieces.

Scott Campbell showed very well today, getting involved with the offense. Taking responsbility. Made a killer move by shifting speed to get 1v1 with GK – didn’t finish. He’s versatile.

Ryan Cordeiro plays the same position regardless of where he’s supposed to be. So if you need a left wing/high left midfielder who doesn’t cross to anyone, he’s your man.

Roger Espinoza had a disappointing combine. After watching him at the Big 10 tournament and the NCAA tournament, he can play much better. He stunk up the combine. He seems to be only able to play LM. Asked to do anything else is a disaster. He is quick enough to get around the corner, but wasn’t doing too much.

Andy Iro played satisfactorily but was exposed by Germanese with speed. He’s probably better than I originally tagged him, but I think too many people over-estimate his ability. He’s big.

AJ Kulp played AM. This should be the last time that he’s put there. He doesn’t have enough game.

Ryan Miller had a rough game. I like his speed, but he doesn’t seem to want to stay at home and play right back. He kept slowly creeping up.

Ciarnan O’Brien had a better game starting deeper to connect with the defenders.

David Roth has a sweet touch. He’s quality. His middle name is not Lee. Over the next several months that joke will age (poorly).

Luke Sassano continued his poor combine by playing right back and showing consistency with what I’ve previously seen – just bad stuff.

Ben Shuleva – injury

Lukasz Tumicz played much better. He needs to be serviced which Balc was doing successfully. He can’t create his own shot. He wasted an opportunity from Espinoza.

Julian Valentin played as expected. Against slower players, he can hold his own. Against faster players, he is going to be beat.

David Worthen was over his head.

Brian Edwards and Andrew Kartunen were ok, but nothing to write about (so I won’t).

 

2008 MLS Combine, Day 2 (game 2)

Did you say that you wanted offense? 4 goals in 1 game. 2 players scored 2 goals – Peter Lowry and Corey Sipos. The only problem is that Sipos deflected 2 past his own goal keeper. AdiPure (white) won 4-0 over Pretender PowerServe (green).

1st half:

White:

F: George Josten, Maximiliano Damiano

M: Ely Allen, Dan Stratford, Geoff Cameron, Shea Salinas

D: Matt Hatzke, Yomby William, Pat Phelan, Sean Franklin

G: Brian Edwards

Green:

F: Kevin Forrest, Patrick Nyarko

M: Brian Grazier, Pat Healey, Kai Kasuguran, Joe Germanese

D: Mike Zaher, Lucas Fernadez, Corey Sipos, Rauwshan McKenzie

G: Dominic Cervi

2nd half:

White:

F: Ricardo Pierre-Louis, George Josten

M: Salinas Shea, Pat Phelan, Peter Lowry, Alex Nimo

D: Eric Brunner, Jonathan Leathers, Yomby William, Sean Franklin
G: Josh Lambo

Green:

F: Patrick Nyarko, Kevin Forrest

M: Eric Burkholder, Brian Grazier Andrew Jacobson, Joe Germanese

D: Mike Zaher, David Horst, Corey Sipos, Adrian Chevannes

G: Andrew Katunen

Who had a good game?

• Sean Franklin (CS-Northridge) white – U23. MOTM. In the first half, I was having a “man-crush” on him! He plays terrific 1v1 defense. Additionally, he makes overlapping runs. He megged Grazier then made a 80 yard run to support the attack. Best wide defender. Now, I’m angry for missing the MD-CS-Northridge match to watch Loyola-Fairfield! argh!
• Jonathan Leathers (Furman) white – Continues to shine. On the third goal, got forward shot from 35 yards and it deflected off Sipos.
• Shea Salinas (Furman) white – Terrorizing Zaher (and any other left back in his way). I’m sold.
• Peter Lowry (Santa Clara) white – 2 goals. On the second goal, he was winding up for several seconds waiting for the ball to come. He’s very good. He only played 2nd half. Hmmmm. No goals the first half and no Lowry. 4 goals the second half and Lowry plays. Coincidence, perhaps.
• Ely Allen (Washington) white – Very left foot oriented. Involved in the first 2 goals starting the attack from the left side. He has potential to be a left sided option – not immediate though.
• Andrew Jacobson (Cal) green – only 2nd half. Good touch. Very composed and sharp. He’s money.
• Joe Germanese (Duke) green – High work rate. quick. good crosser. This year’s Wells Thompson? Perhaps. Should have scored in the 1st half, but was caught from behind.

Who was adequate?

• Yomby William (ODU) white -hmmmm. Caught Germanese from behind, good foot speed, because Phelan didn’t have a chance. Had a horrible clearance, ball just up in the air at the top of the box. Needs to be stronger to shield the ball out of bounds. Still not playing as well as I’ve seen him.
• [EDIT -UPDATED: reason - missed; Pat Phelan (WF) white. Steady foot skills - what I expected. Germanese ran away from him on a through ball. Speed will be his issue.
• Eric Brunner (OSU) white – played left back, but in the first half – he only had to defend against Grazier. In second half, did well against Germanese. Didn’t embarrass himself. I don’t see him being out wide in MLS.
• Ricardo Pierre-Louis (Lee) white – Big and strong. aggressive, but not money for putting the ball in the next.
• Geoff Cameron (Rhode Island) white -prefer outside. he and Stratford seem to get in each other’s way.
• Dan Stratford (WV) white – accurate passer, lacks ability to stay with quick AM.
• Brian Edwards (WF) white – didn’t have bad game, consistent goal kicks and punts.
• Rauwshan McKenzie (MSU) green – first touch is raw. not on the field during the 4 goal give-away.
• Lucas Fernandez (Argentina) green – hair and game reminds me of Facundo Erpen. Good instincts. He doesn’t really cover his mark.
• Patrick Nyarko (VT) green – sweet touch. started too deep. He’s still the 1st pick in the draft and the best forward option.
• Pat Healey (Towson) green – played much better. took a full volley shot in the 1st half on target. In the second half, was passing much more accurately.
• Dominic Cervi (Tulsa) green – Good stuff solid in the back.
• Kai Kasiguran (Messiah) green – composed on the ball, feeling better. Still needs to up his level.
• Josh Lambo (U17) white – 2nd half only. came out quickly on 1 through ball, but not too many dangerous opportunities besides this.
• Alex Nimo (U17) white – assists in first two goals. Still many questions for me. I question how quickly that he could help 1st team – 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, ever?

Who needs to improve?

• Maximiliano Damiano (Argentinan) white -didn’t do anything.
• George Josten (Gonzaga) white – bad game. took the FOS award (Feet of Stone). was a detriment to any flowing attack.
• Matt Hatzke (Santa Clara) white – had a good combo in the first half. Long shot that Cervi easily handled. Too weak to hold off forward pressure gives up corner.
• Adrian Chevannes (SMU) green – I’m expecting Adrian to announce that he has a twin that has been playing at the combine while he has been sitting in a beach chair drinking concoctions with little umbrellas in them. I’ve seen Adrian and this is not how he plays. Time to step it up.
• Mike Zaher (UCLA) green – Mike – see Adrian’s entry. Just not playing up to what I’ve seen him do before. At this time, I might suggest that he consider doing videos with pop stars as a full-time gig!
• Eric Burkholder (Tulsa) green – Really disappointed. I watched 4 Tulsa games before the draft and I was expecting to see a player getting around the corner, serving in crisp corners. Instead Eric is like a castaway on a deserted island that can’t get forward!
• Kevin Forrest (Washington) green – Good thinker, but can’t separate. Tries to step over to unbalance his defender, but it’s not effective.
• Brian Grazier (SLU) green – Was awful out wide. Not moving to space (apprehensive/tentative) in the first half. His touch was sophomoric and his passing was poor. He wasn’t stopping the attacks in the second that led to the 4 goals (not blaming him, just he didn’t step up either).
• David Horst (ODU) green – 4 goals on his watch in the middle of the pitch. He needs to do better. I still question his foot speed.
• Andrew Kartunen (Stanford) green – allowed 4 goals. 2nd goal was because he didn’t cover near post. Starting to work himself into a job outside of soccer.

Who should consider just enjoying a couple of days on the beach before starting a regular job:

• Corey Sipos (Akron) green – scored 2 own goals. Congrats. Update your resume. If Andrulis had any heart, he’d keep him on the bench on Tuesday and claim that he had an injury.

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

• nobody….

Who was missing?

• nobody….

 

2008 MLS Combine, Day 2 (game 1)

With the inclusion of the U23, an additional day of familiarity and some other new players, the level of play continued to increase. That’s not saying that it was good, just better.

The main difference between this year and last year is this year the players seem to be normalized on a bell curve (i.e., there’s some players who are clearly better, alot of average players and a few players that are not good enough). Last year, there were just too many players that were mystifying why they were here (e.g., Chris Loftus, Luis Faz, Karim Boukhemis, etc.). This year there are a few that are out of their element, but the difference isn’t as obvious.

Game was 1-1.

1st half:

Red:

F: Xavier Balc

M: Roger Espinoza, Scott Campbell

DM: Ryan Cordeiro, Luke Sassano, Eric Avila

D: AJ Kulp, Andy Iro, Julian Valentin, Ryan Miller

G: Matt Allen

Yellow:

F: Sherron Manswell

M: Pavle Dundjer, Stephen King, Jeremy Barlow

DM: Brek Shea, Cesar Zambrano

D: Chance Myers, Julius James, Hugh Cronin, Andre Sherard

G: Casey Latchem

2nd half:

Red:

F: David Roth, Lukasz Tumicz, Eric Avila

M: Ryan Cordeiro, Ciaran O’Brien, Luke Sassano

D: David Worthen Ryan Miller [EDIT: Dang Black Numbers on Red Uniforms], Andy Iro, Scott Bolkan, AJ Kulp

G: Matt Allen

Yellow:

F: Keith Savage, El-Hadj Cisse

M: Jeremy Barlow, Stephen King, Jonathan Sabbatini

DM: Sherron Manswell

D: Chance Myers, Matthew Britner, Brandon Owens, Julius James

G: Casey Latchem

Who had a good game?

• Brek Shea (U17) yellow – class of the team. Made a deep run in the 18th minute that Julian Valentin could not keep up with and Shea was fouled right outside the box. Nice shot early. He still needs work.
• Julius James (UConn) yellow – made a long run from his central defender role and crossed the ball to Zambrano (who made a bad touch that forced his shot to be blocked). Played left back and right back in the second half. Nothing that I’ve seen makes me change my opinion.
• Chance Myers (UCLA) yellow – Had an assist. He’s with the U23. Was able to get forward. His dribbling was a little rusty. I’d like to see him at outside midfield. He was able to handle Avila effectively.
• Jonathan Sabbatini (Uruguay) yellow – only 2nd half. Smart player who effectively found the holes in the defense. I love his turns. Best of the South Americans here at the combine. He could be very good. He’s only 19 years old.
• Eric Avila (UCSB) red – U23. Assist. Quick feet and good runs. His powerful shot in the 2nd half forced Latchem to give up a corner kick. His 1st touch needs to be more consistently softer.

Who was adequate?

• El-Hadj Cisse (NC State) yellow – scored only yellow goal. On the goal, he wasn’t closed down. He took 3 or 4 little touches to move the ball slightly before hooking the ball around the keeper. I’m not convinced about his long term possibilities.
• Pavle Dundjer (UIC) yellow – started in place of Beltran. Hard shot from 30 yards that GK caught. Over-all –> so-so.
• Hugh Cronin (NC State) yellow – questionable sufficient athletic ability, but understands the game very well.
• Sherron Manswell (BC) yellow – played 1st as forward, was not connecting with King. 2nd half played DM, didn’t embarrass himself which surprised me. Speed lacking; hard shot not lacking; accurate shot not today.
• Stephen King (MD) yellow – Solid player; didn’t connect with Manswell well. Had an opportunity in the box but wound up running toward the post rather than North-south. Nothing in 1 day is going to change my mind after watching King for 4 years.
• Matthew Britner (Brown) yellow – Good defense on Avila late. At the left back, admitted to his team mate that he should have made a supporting run. Identifying a mistake is the first part to fixing a deficiency. Coachable.
• Ryan Miller (Notre Dame) red – good balance in the back. Smart header back to the GK.
• Andy Iro (UCSB) red – Solid in the back. Not making mistakes. He’s clumsy with his right foot.
• Scott Bolkan (Stanford) red – He was the person who hurt his hand yesterday (not O’Brien). Made a good defensive play in the 50th minute. Tall, best in the middle.
• Lukasz Tumicz (Rhode Island) red – Taking chances, shooting when given the opportunity.
• David Roth (NW) red – scored goal on a bouncing ball that he shot past Latchem from the top of the box. Right foot is a liability.

Who needs to improve?

• Jeremy Barlow (UVA) yellow – Consistency. Active and aggressive, but just trying to do to much. Take it down a notch and do the little things better.
• Cesar Zambrano (UIC) yellow – his first touch continues to be problematic. his defensive support on Cordeiro and Espinoza was very good. However, his ability to cover quick wings 1v1 is in doubt.
• Andre Sherard (UNC) yellow – playing right back. Earned the first yellow on a bad tackle on Roger Espinoza. His ability to play wide defense is in question. The other thing that bothers me is the quickness to calm the ball. He won’t have 4 touches on a bouncing ball in MLS. Taking too long to pass the ball giving Espinoza time to close.
• Ryan Cordeiro (UConn) red -Espinoza and him couldn’t work together. Both were standing next to each other. Switching the 2 midway was the change that red needed. Just kicks the ball when under pressure. Hoping doesn’t seem like a long-term effective tactic.
• Roger Espinoza (OSU) red – Cordeiro and him couldn’t work together. Both were standing next to each other. Espinoza doesn’t seem to understand the team aspect of the game without direct instruction. Caused the first good shot by playing aggressive defense high on Sherard and getting a deflection that Balc laid off to Roth (shot high)
• Ciaran O’Brien (UCSB) red – Not putting his stamp on this combine. Allowed Manswell to catch him from behind.
• David Worthen (UNCG) red -nothing impressive. [UPDATED: Because he didn't play! ooops.]
• Xavier Balc (OSU) red -best technical player in the draft, but just not doing enough. Got behind Sherard and James in the 8th minute and took a strong shot on goal to the near post that Latchem caught. His free kick in the second half was off-target. I expected more.
• Julian Valentin (WF) red – U23 – a favorable matchup in the first half against the slow Manswell was looking good until Brek Shea ruined his day with a deep run that exposed him. Surprisingly, he didn’t play in the second half. Not surprisingly, he wasn’t missed (i.e., I didn’t even notice his absence until I reviewed my notes).
• Scott Campbell (UNC) red – didn’t do anything. Seems to blend into the background.
• Matt Allen (UNC) red – in each half, he comes out and doesn’t get to the ball. He would be punished in MLS for doing the same thing.

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

• Keith Savage (West Florida) yellow – Easy to see why some become enamored with his work rate (very good), just doesn’t understand what to do. The only possibility is that he could play in the back. Then, it would be a long term commitment.
• Casey Latchem (OSU) yellow – awful. crosses were going over his flailing hands and the ones that he got to, he’d drop. Didn’t get out quick enough on the goal. He’s played much better.
• Luke Sassano (Cal) red – His passing and trapping was awful.
• AJ Kulp (ODU) red – playing left back today. Not sure he can defend well enough

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

• Brandon Owens (UCLA) yellow – 2nd day in a row. played centrally in the 2nd half.

Who was missing?

• Tony Beltran (UCLA) yellow – out on Sunday because of a sore neck. No update.
• Ben Shuleva (SMU) red -no update. I don’t expect to see him again.

 

2008 MLS Combine, Day 1 (game 2)

Game 2 was played much better. Quicker passing, more movement, definitely a notch above the first game.

adiPure (white) was the dominant team winning 1-0 over Trofeo (red). I think that Red may change to red cross with the numerous injuries that they received. Shuleva (calf injury) looks like he may be probably done for the combine. Balc (ankle) should be able to return. I think Ciaran O’Brien may have hurt his hand – I’m not positive that it was O’Brien.

All of the teams were primarily playing a 4-4-2 with either a diamond midfield or flat 2 central midfield. White (flat)/Red (diamond).

1st half:

Red:

F: Xavier Balc, Lukasz Tumicz

M: David Roth, Ben Shuleva, Ciaran O’Brien, Ryan Miller

D: Ryan Cordeiro, Andy Iro, Scott Bolkan, David Worthen

G: Josh Lambo

White:

F: Ricardo Pierre-Louis, Ely Allen

M: Alex Nimo, Peter Lowry, Dan Stratford, Shea Salinas

D: Matt Hatzke, Eric Brunner, Yomby William, Jonathan Leathers
G: Brian Edwards

2nd half:

Red:

F: Xavier Balc, Scott Campbell

M: David Roth, Luke Sassano, Ciaran O’Brien, Roger Espinoza

D: AJ Kulp, Andy Iro, Scott Bolkan, David Worthen

G: Josh Lambo

White:

F: Maximiliano Damiano, George Josten

M: Ely Allen, Peter Lowry, Dan Stratford, Geoff Cameron
D: Matt Hatzke, Eric Brunner, Yomby William, Jonathan Leathers
G: Brian Edwards

Who had a good game?

• Ciaran O’Brien (UCSB) red – very composed on the ball. Tight passer.
• Scott Bolkan (Stanford) red – Nice in the back. Big, fights to win high balls against a strong opponent (Pierre-Louis)
• Jonathan Leathers (Furman) white -MOTM for me. He played right back and showed me real speed (that I wasn’t sure that he possessed) to get forward. He exhibited good dribbling players. He’s special.
• Shea Salinas (Furman) white – Combined on the right side, willing to take players on with the dribble. Very nice.
• Peter Lowry (Santa Clara) white – Good tackler. Made terrific passes.

Who was adequate?

• Xavier Balc (OSU) red – Typical Balc. Drifts for long periods of the game, then makes a killer pass. Set up what should have been a red goal.
• Ryan Miller (Notre Dame) red – good touches, neutralizing the right side of midfield. Good lungs.
• Andy Iro (UCSB) red – didn’t make any mistakes. Good in the air.
• Yomby William (ODU) white – started out rusty. Looked apprehensive on the ball.
• Eric Brunner (OSU) white – Solid in the back, allowed too much space between him and Hatzke that Tumicz was able to penetrate early.
• Ely Allen (Washington) white – Assertive attacks, terrific decisions when to dribble and when to pass. Good off the ball runs.
• Ricardo Pierre-Louis (Lee) white – Strong, big body. Step-over beat Iro in first half, but his shot was right at Lambo. Long runs with the ball were difficult for him.
• Maximiliano Damiano (Argentinan) white – Tall, quick feet. Made a beautiful move going over Worthen in the second half that should have gone for a goal but for Nimo taking too much time on the ball.
• George Josten (Gonzaga) white – Goal scorer. Powerful shot that was hit into the corner. Not sure that he’s mobile enough. Big.

Who needs to improve?

• Lukasz Tumicz (Rhode Island) red – Took too long on Balc’s beautiful pass 1v1 with Edwards.
• Ryan Cordeiro (UConn) red – Didn’t Salinas was eating him up in the first half.
• Roger Espinoza (OSU) red – Passing was eratic. Doesn’t defend enough to be a left back.
• David Roth (NW) red – His first touch was failing him today. I’ve seen him play much better.
• Luke Sassano (Cal) red – His passing and trapping was awful.
• Matt Hatzke (Santa Clara) white – didn’t get forward enough. His passing wasn’t as bad as his defensive coverage allowing Tumicz to run wild on his side.
• Brian Edwards (WF) white – pretty good, but continues to have one clearance each game that is a roller.
• Alex Nimo (U17) white – some crosses were into the box, but made too many bad decisions. For example, with just the GK to beat in the box, he didn’t release his shot quick enough.

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

• Josh Lambo (U17) red – won’t happen, but he isn’t very good. He calls for the ball when he has no chance at getting to it.

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

• AJ Kulp (ODU) red – playing left back today. Not sure he can defend well enough
• Scott Campbell (UNC) red – started in the second half at forward? ???
• David Worthen (UNCG) red -
• Ben Shuleva (SMU) red -
• Dan Stratford (WV) white -
• Geoff Cameron (Rhode Island) white -

Who was missing?

• Eric Avila (UCSB) red – U23
• Julian Valentin (WF) red – U23
• Pat Phelan (WF) white – U23
• Sean Franklin (CS-Northridge) white – U23

 

2008 MLS Combine, Day 1 (game 1)

The 2008 MLS combine first day is in the books. It was a warm cloudy day in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – perfect weather for watching soccer. Both games were terrific examples of the short-comings of the 2008 MLS draft lacking goal scoring forwards. There was only 1 goal scored in both games.

First Game

First game, in a word, dreadful. In the first half, both teams seemed scared to attack. It almost made me believe that the players were instructed to play simple (which generally is a good rule). In this case, it translated into tentative play.

Predator PowerServe (green) had the better of play over AdiTunit (yellow) in the scoreless match.

All of the teams were primarily playing a 4-4-2 with either a diamond midfield or flat 2 central midfield. Green (flat)/yellow (diamond).

1st half:

Green:

F: Kai Kasiguran, Kevin Forrest

M: Eric Burkholder, Andrew Jacobson, Pat Healey, Joe Germanese

D: Mike Zaher, David Horst, Rauwshan McKenzie, Adrian Chevannes

G: Dominic Cervi

Yellow:

F: Keith Savage, El-Hadj Cisse

M: Pavle Dundjer, Cesar Zambrano, Jeremy Barlow, Jonathan Sabbatini

D: Andre Sherard, Julius James, Matthew Britner, Brandon Owens

G: Andrew Kartunen

2nd half:

Green:

F: Pat Healey, Kevin Forrest

M: Mike Zaher, Brian Grazier Kai Kasiguran, Joe Germanese

D: Lucas Fernandez, David Horst, Corey Sipos, Adrian Chevannes

G: Dominic Cervi

Yellow:

F: Keith Savage, El-Hadj Cisse

M: Brek Shea, Cesar Zambrano, Jonathan Sabbatini, Pavle Dundjer

D: Andre Sherard, Julius James, Hugh Cronin, Matthew Britner

G: Andrew Kartunen

Who had a good game?

• Rauwshan McKenzie (MSU) green – Was solid in the central back, supporting the outside defenders. In the second half, he looked uncomfortable as a wide defender.
• Andrew Jacobson (Cal) green – Brilliant passing. When he left the game in the 25th minute, green lost the midfield and never recovered it. Seemed winded before he left.
• Brek Shea (U17) yellow – MOTM for yellow. Showed tremendous composure after relieving Pavle Dundjer in the 28th minute. He was taking it to Chevannes. His tactical acumen is still underdeveloped (e.g., first touch to the open space).
• Julius James (UConn) yellow – solid in the back, strong on the ball and reads the game very well.

Who was adequate?

• Joe Germanese (Duke) green – made some good crosses and was causing problems on the right side, but his touch was inconsistent.
• Dominic Cervi (Tulsa) green – didn’t make any mistakes which is his primary problem.
• David Horst (ODU) green – generally good. Mistimed a tackle on Keith Savage.
• Brian Grazier (SLU) green – made an aggressive attacking run, but followed it with a bad cross.
• Jonathan Sabbatini (Uruguay) yellow – very composed on the ball. His teammates were unable to handle his passing or follow his thoughts. He might become pretty good.
• Jeremy Barlow (UVA) yellow – combined with Sabbatini at the end of the first half delivering a cross through the box that Savage was unable to convert.
• Hugh Cronin (NC State) yellow – good defensive anticipation. only played 2nd half.

Who needs to improve?

• Lucas Fernandez (Argentina) green – looked uninterested, lazy, petulant. I thought he was pouting because he was playing out of position. Docs have him as a defender. So that is not it. His passing is poor. He did get forward to take a few late shots that were weak or off-target. I’m not writing him off, but he needs to raise his game.
• Adrian Chevannes (SMU) green – Shea was able to continuously get behind him late in the first half. After 35 minutes, Adrian looked spent. He did get forward earlier in the first half, but not enough. I’ve seen him play better, he needs to take it up a notch.
• Kai Kasiguran (Messiah) green -mixed feelings. Took too much time on the ball. His off the ball runs were lacking.
• Kevin Forrest (Washington) green – Didn’t score. Seemed to want to give up the ball rather than taking ownership/responsibility to score. Had 1 hard shot from 30 yards in the second half. a step slow.
• Pavle Dundjer (UIC) yellow – tweaked his “calf?” in the 28th minute. Before this he looked slow. In the second half, he was making amateur mistakes (e.g., turning into pressure).
• Cesar Zambrano (UIC) yellow – he didn’t play well. He played much better against UMass. His passing (both the accuracy and weight) were off.
• Andre Sherard (UNC) yellow – playing left back. Didn’t seem comfortable, but more worrying was the passing inaccuracy.

Who should consider just enjoying a couple of days on the beach before starting a regular job:

• Pat Healey (Towson) green – horrific. Hopefully studied hard at Towson. His touch was bad, his speed of thought was visibly painful to watch and his technical skills were pathetic. GOTM (goat of the match). His one positive is that he connected from a Burkholder cross but his head shot was off target.
• Corey Sipos (Akron) green – only redeeming quality was that he didn’t play in the first half. His passing was awful.
• El-Hadj Cisse (NC State) – seemed pressed, just didn’t do enough to score.

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

• Mike Zaher (UCLA) green
• Eric Burkholder (Tulsa) green
• Matthew Britner (Brown) yellow
• Brandon Owens (UCLA) yellow
• Andrew Kartunen (Stanford) yellow
• Keith Savage (West Florida) yellow – mixed feelings, bad 1st half, more energy in 2nd.

Who was missing?

• Patrick Nyarko (VT) green – attended the Hermann trophy presentation and was flying in to play on Sunday. This will significantly help the green attack.
• Tony Beltran (UCLA) yellow – out today because of a sore neck.
• Sherron Manswell (BC) yellow – out today for an undetermined reason.
• Stephen King (MD) yellow – U23 camp.
• Chance Myers (UCLA) yellow – I didn’t hear why he wasn’t playing. Odd.

 

Combine Rosters

Updated combine rosters will be coming out tomorrow…

I’ll be updating all of my rankings (position and overall) before the combine.