USL News Release
Thursday, January 8, 2009
TAMPA – Four players who honed their skills in United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League last season announced yesterday that they would enter the professional ranks for the 2009 Major League Soccer season. Danny Cruz (Des Moines Menace), Stefan Frei (San Jose Frogs), Peri Marosevic (Chicago Fire) and Steve Zakuani (Cleveland Internationals) make up four of the nine Generation adidas players for the 2009 season.
Three of the four players, Cruz, Marosevic and Zakuani, hail from the PDL’s Central Conference, while Frei played in the Western Conference. Of the four, Zakuani logged the most time in the PDL last season, appearing in 11 of the Internationals’ 18 matches. In nearly 900 minutes of action, Zakuani accumulated 22 points from nine goals and four assists.
Just off Zakuani’s pace, Chicago’s Marosevic logged 625 minutes for the Midwest Division Champions. In that time Marosevic netted three goals and one assist. Playing less time than Marosevic, Cruz was more productive for the Menace, scoring three goals and two assists in just 479 minutes. Frei played in four matches for the Frogs.
Last year's class of nine Generation adidas players produced six of the first eight overall selections in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft, including the top three selections - Chance Myers (Kansas City Wizards, No. 1 overall), Brek Shea (FC Dallas, No. 2), and Anthony Beltran (Real Salt Lake, No. 3). Myers played for the PDL’s Ventura County Fusion in 2007 while Beltran starred for the LA Legends.
The players who join MLS as part of the Generation adidas program receive unprecedented opportunities to develop their game and hone their skills at the professional level in MLS. In addition to training and playing with one of MLS’s 15 professional clubs, Generation adidas players receive educational grants to further their college education. Generation adidas players do not count against an MLS team's salary budget.
All nine players will participate in the adidas MLS Player Combine Jan. 9-13 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The Combine gives MLS coaches and general managers a final chance to evaluate talent in preparation for their draft day selections.
Marosevic and Frei are among the top rated collegiate players. Marosevic ranked second in the Big Ten with 13 goals and was named First Team All-Big Ten. Frei is the only goalkeeper selected to this year's Generation adidas class. He started 21 games for the University of California and had a 0.77 goals against average. He was named adidas/NCSAA First Team All-American in 2007.
Cruz, 19, is the youngest member of the Generation adidas class. A standout youth football and hockey player, Cruz began playing soccer during his freshman year of high school. He adapted quickly to the sport and is now a member of the U-20 Men's national team and in 2007 was the first UNLV Rebel named Conference Newcomer of the Year.
Zakuani, a sophomore forward from University of Akron, led the nation in goals (20) and points per game (2.14). He had seven game-winning goals on his way to being named the Mid-American Conference Player of the year, NSCAA/adidas NCAA Men's Division I All-America Team, and the Soccer America Player of the Year. He is a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, honoring the country's top Division I collegiate soccer player. The award will be announced Friday, Jan. 9 in St. Louis.
The class of nine Generation adidas players range in age from 19 to 22 years old, and they represent a broad area of the country. Three players are from the Midwest of the United States (Illinois, Ohio), two from the East Coast (Maryland), two from the south (Texas and Florida), one from the southwest (Arizona) and one player from California by way of Switzerland.
