MLS Combine Notebook: Resolution on Day Three

A pair of close games closed the book on the 2010 MLS Player Combine. Kyle McCarthy files his last dispatch from South Florida as he prepares to head to Philadelphia for Thursday's SuperDraft.

Jan 13, 2010 12:02:38 AM

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Zach Loyd, MLS Combine (MLS/Andy Mead)

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By Kyle McCarthy

LAUDERHILL, Fla. – The chance to influence the future is now out of the hands of the approximately 75 players that took part in the MLS Player Combine. Now the wait begins.

In the end, this year's Combine shook out like all combines do even with the foibles introduced by the peculiarly chilly weather in South Florida. Some highly-touted players impressed, some didn't. Some unheralded players found their way onto the map, while others made observers wonder why they were even invited in the first place. Everyone had an ample chance to show why they should be drafted.

MLS coaches and executives will spend the next two days discussing potential trades and separating the wheat from the chaff. Given the relatively high standard of play at the Combine and the additional evidence provided by those who participated, they'll have plenty of work to do to sort out out their priorities and their draft boards before the SuperDraft kicks off on Thursday afternoon.

Condivo goes three-for-three with narrow victory: Eric Alexander (Indiana) notched his second goal of the Combine to assure Condivo of top spot in the four-team round-robin tournament with a 1-0 win over Jabulani.

The Jabulani midfielders failed to close down Alexander 30 yards from goal, all but inviting him to try his luck one minute before the halftime interval. Alexander's resulting drive screamed into the lower left-hand corner, leaving Brooks Haggerty (North Carolina) with no chance to save it.

Andrew Hoxie (William & Mary) nearly added a second nine minutes from time after he headed Michael Thomas' (Notre Dame) corner kick towards goal, but Korede Aiyegbusi (N.C. State) cleared the effort off the line.

F50i closes out tourney with second straight win: Tennant McVea's (Loyola-Maryland) early header handed F50i a 1-0 victory over Predator X in the final match of the Combine.

McVea climbed highest to nod home Conor O'Brien's (Bucknell) corner kick – with plenty of help from the underside of the crossbar – to stake F50i to a lead after 17 minutes.

Predator X improved after the goal and missed out on their best chance to level the proceedings seven minutes later. Michael Stephens (UCLA) thundered a long-range effort off the bottom of the crossbar and the rebound fell kindly to Andre Akpan (Generation adidas/Harvard). Akpan, however, could only watch in frustration as John Moore (Stanford) rushed out to block his effort.

Check your watches: After playing 40-minute halves on Saturday and 45-minute stanzas yesterday, the games returned to 40-minute halves to close out the Combine.

Watch out for knocks: Ike Opara came out halfway through the first half after colliding with Wake Forest teammate Zach Schilawski, presumably as a precautionary measure. Dilly Duka (Generation adidas/Rutgers) didn't take the the field after suffering an ankle injury.

Juiciest piece of gossip: Troy Perkins is signed and delivered to MLS with a salary that pays him well north of $200,000 per season.

Three stars of the day
1. Stephens – A breakout day, at least in this pundit's eyes, because he finally showed the touch and the vision expected of him.
2. David Estrada (U.C.L.A.) – Another Bruin who saved his best for last by moving well and displaying impressive close control.
3. Drew Yates (Maryland) – Think of this placement as an award for three consistently above average days of soccer.

Three questions to answer
(In the spirit of interactivity, I'll pick out a few choice questions each day during draft week and answer them in this space. Get in the game by following along on Twitter – @kylejmccarthy – or dropping me a line via e-mail.)

1. How did Milien fare for F50i over the event? Is there a chance he gets drafted as U-Tampa's Ryan Maxwell did last season?
@tbsoccerblog, via Twitter

The player in question is speedy Tampa midfielder Pascal Milien, a late addition to the Combine list. Maxwell, a previously little-known right midfielder from the same school, fared considerably better last year – he was good enough and fast enough at the Combine to play himself into the back half of the first round. Milien didn't impress nearly as much as Maxwell; his pace isn't as blazing and his production isn't as prolific. That being said, I can see Milien's name popping into the SuperDraft picture as a late-round pick.

2. Who do you see as the top 2nd round picks after the combine? Did Stephens and Nakazawa improve their standing?
@chorrudustweets, via Twitter

The question names one of them: Stephens. The U.C.L.A. midfielder emerged from a pair of innocuous performances to garner man-of-the-match honors in F50i's 1-0 win over Predator X. He's a tidy little midfielder with good vision, though he's going to have to play more defense to stick at the next level. Nakazawa didn't stand out for me this weekend, but he'll probably find his way into the mix in the middle rounds. Two other guys who might come off the board in the second round: Notre Dame's Justin Morrow and Portland's Collen Warner.

3. Do you think that having so many games in such few time is a good thing for players? The combine could use a few more days.
@polyesterfreak, via Twitter

It certainly shouldn't be any longer than this four-day stretch and I'd hesitate to truncate it, too. The current setup does a good job of doing three things: (1) giving players more than one chance to display their wares, (2) testing whether the players kept up with their fitness and (3) allowing teams to spend time with the players to get a sense of their personalities. It's not the perfect system, but it works well enough for what it needs to do.

They said it...

“I haven't been approached by this many agents ever.”
– Yates, after reflecting on what his Combine performances have done for his draft prospects.

“If you want to be one of the top couple of draft picks, it's not just about going down to the Combine. It's about going down and being the best player at the Combine. That has to be your goal.”
– Harvard coach Jamie Clark, dispensing a sage piece of advice that a few players – including his own star forward – should have followed. Clark, the son of Notre Dame coach Bobby, played two-and-a-half years for San Jose and spent a couple seasons playing in Scotland.

Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page.

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