Friday, December 3, 2004 - MLS News Release - www.mlsnet.com

 

NEW YORK -- Major League Soccer announced the names of 66 college seniors who were selected to participate in the annual 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. Of the 66, 43 have played in the USL Premier Development League.

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. A total of 42 players who participated in the 2004 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 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:

ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY POSITION

Player [PDL team (College)]

GOALKEEPERS (6): Dan Kennedy [Orange County Blue Star 03-04 (UC-Santa Barbara)]; Jay Nolly (Indiana); John O'Hara [Richmond Kickers 03-04 (George Mason)]; Noah Palmer [Chesapeake Dragons 04, Williamsburg 02-03 (Maryland)]; Christopher Sawyer [Indiana Invaders 02-04 (Notre Dame)]; T.J. Tomasso [Michigan Bucks 04, Texas Spurs 03, Chicago Fire Reserves 02 (Southern Methodist)]

DEFENDERS (23): Stephen Arias (Connecticut); Drew Cavanagh [Bradenton Academics 01 (College of Charleston)]; Chris Corcoran (St. John's); Dan Gargan [Chesapeake Dragons 04 (Georgetown)]; Kevin Goldthwaite [Indiana Invaders 02-03 (Notre Dame)]; Ugochukweu Ihemelu (Southern Methodist); Ryan Kelly (St. John's); Craig Klaas [Chicago Fire Reserves 01, Rockford Raptors 00 (Washington)]; Cameron Knowles [Chicago Fire Reserves 04 (Akron)]; Matt Kovar [Orange County Blue Star 02-03 (Loyola Marymount)]; Jeff Larentower (Brown); Tony Lockhead [Orange County Blue Star 04 (UC Santa Barbara)]; Aaron Lopez (UCLA); Guy Melamed [Worcester Kings 02 (Boston College)]; Tim Merritt [Carolina Dynamo 04, Boulder Rapids Reserve 03, Seattle Sounders Select 02 (North Carolina)]; Matt Oliver (Virginia); Aaron Pitchkolan [Boulder Rapids Reserve 04, 02, Boulder Nova 01, Colorado Comets 00 (West Virginia)]; Nick Pollard [Chicago Fire Reserves 03-04, St Louis Strikers 03 (SW Missouri)]; James Riley [Carolina Dynamo 04, Colorado Springs Blizzard 04, Denver Cougars 01-02, Colorado Comets 00 (Wake Forest)]; Troy Roberts [Orange County Blue Star 02 (UC-Berkeley)]; Gonzalo Segares (Virginia Commonwealth); Jack Stewart [Indiana Invaders 02-03 (Notre Dame)]; Danny Sullivan (Bowdoin College)

MIDFIELDERS (19): Hans Bevers (New Mexico); Mubarike Chisoni [Indiana Invaders 04, Cocoa Expos 02-03 (Coastal Carolina)]; Michael Enfield [Orange County Blue Star 04 (UCLA)]; Kevon Harris [Chesapeake Dragons 02 (Old Dominion)]; Chris Karcz [Jersey Falcons 04, 02, South Jersey Barons 03, North Jersey Imperials 01 (Rutgers)]; Thabiso Khumalo [Chicago Fire Reserves 04, Michigan Bucks 01-03 (Coastal Carolina)]; Jeffrey Krause [Indiana Invaders 03 (New Mexico)]; Luke Kreamalmeyer [Chicago Fire Reserves 04, St Louis Strikers 03 (Bradley)]; Doug Lascody [St Louis Strikers 04, Sioux Falls SpitFire 03, Chicago Fire Reserves 02 (SW Missouri)]; Amir Lowery [Carolina Dynamo 04, Chesapeake Dragons 01 (Wake Forest)]; Domenic Mediate [Chesapeake Dragons 04 (Maryland)]; John Minagowa-Webster (Michigan State); Danny O'Rourke [Chicago Fire Reserves 04, Columbus Shooting Stars 03, Dayton Gemini 00 (Indiana)]; Steven Rhyne [Carolina Dynamo 04, Austin Lightning 03 (Clemson)]; Ian Rodway [Chesapeake Dragons 03-04 (Maryland)]; Simone Salinno (St. Johns); Jamal Shteiwi [Carolina Dynamo 04, Dayton Gemini 00-01 (Kentucky)]; Marcus Storley [Carolina Dynamo 04 (North Carolina)]; Nick Van Sicklen (Wisconsin - Madison) 

FORWARDS (18): Knox Cameron [Michigan Bucks 03-04, Brooklyn Knights 01-02 (Michigan)]; Justin Cook [Central Florida Kraze 00-02, 04, Columbus Shooting Stars 03 (Ohio State)]; Jamie Holmes (Birmingham Southern); Antouman Jallow (Wisconsin - Milwaukee); Ryan Latham [Texas Spurs 03 (Southern Methodist)]; Jerrod Laventure (Seton Hall); Chris Lee (Marquette); Alon Lubezky (Hartford); Julian Nash [Chicago Fire Reserves 04 (Creighton)]; Orlando Ramirez [Fresno Fuego 03-04 (Fresno Pacific University)]; Chris Rolfe [Chicago Fire Reserves 03-04, Dayton Gemini 02 (Dayton)]; Edwin Ruiz (Hartwick); Scott Selay (Wake Forest); Eugene Sepuya (Alabama A & M); Chad Severs [Reading Rage 04, Jersey Shore Boca 03 (Penn State)]; Abe Thompson [Chesapeake Dragons 01, 04, Boulder Rapids Reserve 03 (Maryland)]; Mychal Turpin [Michigan Bucks 02-04 (Michigan)]; Usiel Vasquez (Southern Connecticut);