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MLS Combine Day 3 Recap

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By FRANCO PANIZO

The MLS Combine has come to a close, and the final day of action saw some of the lesser-known players raise their stock.

Both of the day's games ended 1-0, with defender Tennant McVea heading home the winner in F50i's match vs. Predator X, and a long-range blast from midfielder Eric Alexander proving to be the difference in Condivo's win over Jabulani.

Alexander and McVea ended their four-day stays in South Florida with solid performances, but they weren't the only ones. Midfielder Michael Stephens looked good, showing off some creativity with his nifty passing while also coming close to finding an equalizer by hitting the crossbar with a shot from distance.

U.S. U-17 defender Zac Herold also shone in chilly Fort Lauderdale, showing off some toughness at right back and center back in his match on Tuesday. Herold, one of the younger players at the combine at 17-years-old, feels he performed relatively well in his three matches.

"Overall I think it was a pretty good week," said Herold, a native of Port St. Lucie, Florida. "I came in here just trying to increase my stock and I feel like I did that a little bit, not much, but I feel that I played well."

Another player involved with a U.S. youth national team that played well was Brian Perk, who was unquestionably the best goalkeeper at the combine. Perk made a pair of nice saves against Jabulani to record his only shut-out of the Combine.

"I thought today was my best performance, but I also had the most to do (compared to the first two days)," said Perk. "I don't think any of us have played in a month or so, so as the week progressed everyone collectively got better and that's what you expect from a camp like this."

Some of the other day's top performers were Irving Garcia, Justin Morrow, Ronnie Bouemboue and Conor O'Brien. Among the disappointing outings were the performances of Tim Ream, Freddie Braun and David Walker.

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What do you think of some of these Day 3 assessments? Who do you hope your team drafts on Thursday? Intrigued by either Perk or Herold?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Thanks for your response jonk. We are looking at Da Luz and Wiedeman in the positions I have listed. They can be assets in both areas in our system. Thanks for your thoughts though!

    Reply
  2. Umm, if you’re gonna spam your opinions all over the place try getting some basic facts correct. You’ve got de Luz as a forward and Wiedeman in the midfield. And while I wasn’t acually at the combine as you claim to have been, Wiedeman has been singled out in every report I’ve read as being one of the most invisible players.

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  3. It’s hard to take you seriously when Tchani has been consistantly called out as the best player at the combine. Try again.

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  4. Does anyone know how this works with the pending lockout for all of the draftees ?

    For instance, some big, fast new star who signed with MLS. He might be worth some money but now he is a free agent ? No transfer fee ?

    What about Landon ? Anyone can sign him and not pay MLS anything ?

    It just seems like the owners have a LOT to lose here, with their ‘property’ being out there for free.

    I have no idea on any of these questions, so how am I wrong ?

    Reply
  5. Interesting that Tchani has moved up in a lot of peoples opinions to the point most seem to think it’s an even bet who goes at 2 between he and Opara. Dallas needs him more than a fwd, who I think they will look for a vet to fill the need, which leads me to think if Tchani is gone by 5, Dallas packs it’s bags and trades both picks for cash, future picks. They need someone who is ready to contribute now, too many projectable players on the roster, so if they can get rich off those picks, from say Toronto, they will do it. Maybe Robinson comes over with a nice chunk of his salary picked up by TFC?

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  6. You might as well have said,

    I’m not asking for the NBA or NFL preview, but some type of treatment.

    The treatment being getting screwed again.

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  7. Honestly, this is the first year that I’ve done more than read the recap of the MLS draft. Ives, Franco or anyone out there, do you know to what degree good performances at previous combines have predicted success at the MLS level?

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  8. i’m projecting this for top 5:

    1. Philly-Mwanga

    2. NY- Tchani

    3. SJ- Opara

    4. KC- Bunbury

    5. FCD- Akpan

    this assumes no trades. Of course I hope NY takes on the project that is Duka, and Tchani falls to us. KC still gets Bunbury and Dallas gets Opara. don’t have the energy to speculate on the rest of the first round…

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  9. Day three these are my top picks at each position:

    Forward:

    1) Mwanga (not at combine – mixed game notes on day two before, please disregard)
    2) Da Luz

    Midfield:

    1) Wiedeman
    2) Gavin

    Defenders:
    1) Opara
    2) Sinovic

    Narrowing the list this time around.

    Forwards:
    Why no Bunbury? His reliance on athletic ability has kept him very raw and will likely slow his progress going forward. A former #1 pick may slip to the middle of the first round. Akpan, while a commanding presence at times, seems to drift in and out a little too much.

    Midfielders:
    Wiedeman and Gavin speak for themselves. Throw them up top, out wide and let them tear up the center mid. Anyway you take these guys, you win.

    Defenders:
    Everyone knows Opara, not going to waste my breath. However, with four left footed defenders in the draft this year, a premium will be paid for this asset. After this mornings performance, Sinovic may have played his way into the first round.

    Reply
  10. Can’t wait for tomorrows updated mock draft. Hoping FC Dallas can bring in someone who can help on Defense and another forward who can help Cunningham as he dose some natiopnal team duty.

    Reply
  11. Good recap… but I think Sinovic is a player who is overlooked & probably one of the strongest defenders with great attacking skills down the sideline as a lefty. Quality work ethic too.

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  12. That’s why I wish ESPN would just give us a one-hour pre-draft show going over players, team needs, possible destinations, etc. It’d take like half an hour to cover the top 15-20 prospects, but you could cover more than that in the other half of the show.

    I’m not asking for the NBA or NFL draft treatment, but some type of preview would be nice.

    Reply
  13. haha i’m young and i get confused by all the different names which is embarrassing. i think it woulda helped had i paid more attention to the college game, the only names i recognize are the top ones like tchani who gets mentioned a lot and the US youth players, the rest i struggle to keep track of

    Reply

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