Furman’s Leathers, Salinas Invited To 2008 Adidas MLS Combine
Greenville, S.C. -- Furman’s Jon Leathers and Shea Salinas have been selected, along with 52 other NCAA Division I seniors, to participate in Major League Soccer’s 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine January 11-15, at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., it was announced on Thursday.
The combine gives coaches and management of all 14 MLS teams a chance to scout and evaluate the top college talent in the country prior to the 2008 MLS Superdraft on January 18, in Baltimore, Md.
“It is great for Furman University to be represented by two players at the combine,” said Furman coach Doug Allison. “We are excited for Shea and Johnny. They have worked extremely hard and deserve the opportunity at success in their professional careers.”
A defender, Leathers was named the 2006 and 2007 Southern Conference Player-of-the-Year. The College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer All-American pick was a four-time All-SoCon selection and helped guide Furman to a 19-4-0 record and SoCon regular season and tournament titles this season.
Salinas, a two-time first team All-SoCon pick, garnered NSCAA All-South Region honors as a junior in 2006. The midfielder from Grapevine, Texas, tallied five goals and added nine assists while helping Furman to the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament and a No. 20 national ranking.
The initial list of players for this year’s combine was determined by a select panel of Division I college coaches representing all conferences who nominated and voted for players in conjunction with MLS coaches. Youth players from the Generation adidas program will join additional collegiate players from NCAA Division II and III schools, NAIA schools and Division I alternates to finalize the 2008 adidas Player Combine.
The players will separated into four teams and feature two games per day at Lockhart Stadium on Jan. 12, 13, and 15. Each team will be led by an experienced Division I coach and will be assigned a youth coach, to be named at a later date.
UNCG’s David Worthen invited to MLS Combine
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro senior defender David Worthen is among 54 graduating players that have been invited to participate in the 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine. The annual player combine will be held at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, FL from Jan. 11-15, 2008.
The 54 players represent 33 institutions. The coaching and management staffs of all 14 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent at the 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine, which concludes three days before the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. The 2008 MLS SuperDraft will be held on Friday, Jan. 18, 2008 in Baltimore, MD.
The list of invitees includes seven players who are semifinalists for the 2007 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, NCAA soccer's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Leading the way is the 2006 award winner Joseph Lapira (Notre Dame), and Andy Iro (UC Santa Barbara), Julius James (University of Connecticut), Stephen King (University of Maryland), Peter Lowry (Santa Clara), Julian Valentin (Wake Forest University) and Michael Videira (Duke University).
The initial list of players for this year's combine was determined by a select panel of Division I college coaches representing all conferences who nominated and voted for players in conjunction with MLS coaches. Youth players from the Generation adidas program will join additional collegiate players from NCAA Division II and III schools, NAIA schools and Division I alternates to finalize the 2008 adidas Player Combine. These players will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Worthen, a native of Morehead City, NC who will graduate from UNCG this spring with a degree in biology, earned All-Southern Conference honors four times with the Spartans. He appeared in 86 matches at UNCG, starting 85 of them. During his time at UNCG, the Spartans advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 16 three times. The Spartans won two Southern Conference Tournament titles and three SoCon regular season crowns in his four seasons with an overall record of 62-23-5 during that span.
Last year, Worthen’s former teammates Randi Patterson and Scott Jones attended the MLS Combine. Patterson was eventually drafted by New York, while Jones was selected by FCS Dallas.
Two other Southern Conference players were selected to attend. Furman’s Jonathan Leathers and Shea Salinas were also among the 54 invitees. Leathers and Worthen are two of 19 defenders invited to the camp.
The 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine will separate all players into four teams and feature two games per day at Lockhart Stadium on Jan. 12, 13, and 15. Each team will be led by an experienced Division I coach and will be assigned a youth coach, to be named at a later date. Former MLS coach and current assistant head coach at Duke University Mike Jeffries has been selected to coach Team Predator PowerServe. Ed Kelly, head coach at Boston College for the past 20 seasons, will coach Team adiTunit. Bobby Muuss, in his first season as the head coach at Denver University after six years as the top assistant coach at Wake Forest University, will lead Team adiPure. Tim Lenahan, head coach of Northwestern University has been chosen to coach Team Trofeo.
The Sheraton Yankee Trader Hotel will serve as the official headquarters of the adidas MLS Player Combine and the host hotel for players and coaching staffs.
AGATE
ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY SCHOOL
Boston College (3)
Sherron Manswell
Brown University
Matthew Britner
California State University - Northridge (1) Sean Franklin
Duke University (2)
Joe Germanese
Michael Videira
Furman University (2)
Jonathan Leathers
Shea Salinas
Gonzaga University (1)
George Josten
Michigan State University (1)
Rauwshan McKenzie
North Carolina State University (2)
El Hadj Cisse
Hugh Cronin
Northwestern University (1)
David Roth
Old Dominion University (3)
David Horst
Yomby William
AJ Kulp
Ohio State University (3)
Casey Latchem
Eric Brunner
Xavier Balc
Providence College (1)
Ryan Maduro
University of Rhode Island (2)
Geoff Cameron
Lukasz Tumicz
Saint Louis University (1)
Brian Grazier
Santa Clara University (2)
Matt Hatzke
Peter Lowry
Southern Methodist University (3)
Ben Shuleva
Steve Sandbo
Adrian Chevannes
Stanford University (2)
Andrew Kartunen
Scott Bolkan
Towson University (1)
Pat Healy
University of California (2)
Andrew Jacobson
Luke Sassano
University of California at Los Angeles (2) Brandon Owens Mike Zaher
University of California at Santa Barbara (1) Andy Iro
University of Chicago - Illinois (2)
Pavle Dundjer
Cesar Zambrano
University of Connecticut (2)
Julius James
Ryan Cordeiro
University of Maryland (1)
Stephen King
University of North Carolina (1)
Andre Sherard
University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1) David Worthen
University of Notre Dame (2)
Ryan Miller
Joseph Lapira
University of Tulsa (2)
Dominic Cervi
Eric Burkholder
University of Virginia (1)
Jeremy Barlow
University of Washington (2)
Ely Allen
Kevin Forrest
Wake Forest University (3)
Brian Edwards
Julian Valentin
Pat Phelan
West Virginia University (2)
Dan Stratford
Andy Wright
2008 ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY POSITION GOALKEEPERS (5): Dominic Cervi (University of Tulsa); Brian Edwards (Wake Forest University); Andrew Kartunen (Stanford University); Casey Latchem (Ohio State University); Steve Sandbo (Southern Methodist University);
DEFENDERS (19): Scott Bolkan (Stanford University); Matthew Britner (Brown University); Eric Brunner (Ohio State University); Adrian Chevannes (Southern Methodist University); Sean Franklin (California State University Northridge); Matt Hatzke (Santa Clara University); David Horst (Old Dominion University); Andy Iro (University of California - Santa Barbara); Julius James (University of Connecticut); Jonathan Leathers (Furman University); Rauwshan McKenzie (Michigan State University); Ryan Miller (University of Notre Dame); Brandon Owens (University of California - Los Angeles); Andre Sherard (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill); Julian Valentin (Wake Forest University); Yomby William (Old Dominion University); David Worthen (UNC Greensboro); Mike Zaher (University of California - Los Angeles); Geoff Cameron (University of Rhode Island);
MIDFIELDERS (23): Jeremy Barlow (University of Virginia); Eric Burkholder (University of Tulsa); El Hadj Cisse (North Carolina State University); Hugh Cronin (North Carolina State University); Pavle Dundjer (University of Illinois - Chicago); Joe Germanese (Duke University); Brian Grazier (Saint Louis University); Pat Healy (Towson University); Andrew Jacobson (University of California); George Josten (Gonzaga University); Stephen King (University of Maryland); AJ Kulp (Old Dominion University); Peter Lowry (Santa Clara University); Ryan Maduro (Providence College); Pat Phelan (Wake Forest University); David Roth (Northwestern University); Shea Salinas (Furman University); Luke Sassano (University of California); Ben Shuleva (Southern Methodist University); Dan Stratford (West Virginia University); Michael Videira (Duke University); Andy Wright (University of West Virginia); Cesar Zambrano (University of Illinois -Chicago);
FORWARDS (7): Ely Allen (University of Washington); Xavier Balc (Ohio State University); Ryan Cordeiro (University of Connecticut); Kevin Forrest (University of Washington); Joseph Lapira (University of Notre Dame); Sherron Manswell (Boston College); Lukasz Turnicz (University of Rhode Island)