The second day of the 2010 MLS Combine is about to get underway and it's a MUCH better day weatherwise. Players are anxious to build on (or forget) day one, so today should offer better insight into the draft class.
I will be providing live commentary throughout the day so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action:
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5:31pm– Final- F50i 1, Jabulani 0. Jabulani was far and away the better team, but couldn't put in an equalizer. I'll be back later with a breakdown of today. Thanks for following along and free free to share your thoughts on today's action below.
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5:20pm– Amobi Okugo is looking smooth today. It's impressive that he's only 18.
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5:15pm– Bunbury just raced by Cardenas.
Team Jabulani is losing this game 1-0 but has dominated play. Team adidas F50i is the worst team here. Their coaches didn't draft well.
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5:14pm– I think it's fair to say that the two best teams in the Combine were the two teams who played in the first game.
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5:11pm– Duka races back to tackle Millien who was running free on a break. Nice wheels from the Jersey kid.
Game is getting a bit testy. Good to see some tempers frayed.
Schilawski's showing some flashes. I'm liking Chris Schuler. He's a big centerback who doesn't have a terrible touch (there have been some awful touches from centerbacks this Combine).
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5:09pm– Duka with a nice cross that Schilawski can't quite get to.
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5:06pm– One thing that isn't mentioned enough about Dilly Duka is that the kid has some bite. It's easy to think he's a soft finesse player but he'll get in on tackles.
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5:04pm– Pascal Millien makes a nice move to break in on goal, but Olukorede Aiyegbusi chases him down. Lots of speed there.
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5:01pm- Bunbury's acceleration is impressive. He's definitely staying a Top Five player.
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4:56pm– Nice shot goes wide from David Estrada.
Bunbury forces a good one-handed save from Moore.
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4:56pm– Herold is moving well. Can't tell right away that he's one of the youngest players here.
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4:53pm– I[m liking Collen Warner's game. He has a good burst and moves well with the ball.
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4:51pm– Second half is underway and Duka is involved early, trying to force the issue.
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4:37pm- Who looked good in the first half?
Dilly Duka, Drew Yates, Conor O'Brien, Irving Garcia, Zac Herold did well working the right flank. Wiedeman has done a bit more than day one. Sarkodie still isn't showing a desire to get forward much. He's got the speed to move, but isn't getting forward.
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4:35pm- It's halftime and it's 1-0 F50i.
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4:28pm- No more goals this half.
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4:19pm- Dilly Duka, otherwise known as the Montville Messi, has looked okay today. He's playing centrally today and that should help him after being mis-used on the wing on day one.
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4:16 pm- Drew Yates looking good yet again. He was good on the first day and has shown a classy touch today as well.
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4:10 pm- Second match is underway and Irving Garcia wasted little time, scoring a nice goal in the 19th minute. Andrew Wiedeman's deflected shot fell to Garcia, who hit it well.
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3:40pm- FINAL. Condivo 2, Predator 1. I'll be back with some observations after we do some post-game interviews.
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3:35pm- GOAL CONDIVO. Andrew Hoxie scores again, finishing off a pass from Eric Alexander.
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3:31pm- GOAL PREDATOR. Michael Seamon streaks in from midfield and chips one over Brooks Haggerty to tie the score.
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3:29pm- GOAL CONDIVO. Michael Thomas just hit a beautiful curling free kick into the top corner.
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3:27pm- Mike Seamon looks sharp again, nice touch and vision, though he can't quite get on the same page with the forwards.
Bright Dike has not looked good today. Still looks a touch slow and hasn't posed much of a threat.
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3:25pm- Not many chances to speak of. Chinn does well to show some good work rate.
Opara just chased down Akpan like he wasn't even trying. Akpan's looking a bit stiff today.
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3:21pm- Da Luz is playing centrally in the second half. Tim Ream is playing centrally and just hit his first good pass of the day after a rough first half at left back.
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3:15pm- Justin Morrow is beating Andre Akpan in the Corben Blue Fro contest. Much more bounce in Morrow's do.
Not much in the way of marauding runs from Morrow today. Maybe he's been told to actually defend some today after getting forward 100 times on day one.
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3:12pm- Da Luz continues to impress and Opara is cleaning up all threats. He just crunched Akpan on a nice challenge.
Connor Chin is in the match. All Star Kick jokes aside, he impressed coaches on day one and is sporting some BRIGHT yellow boots today so he must be ready to shine.
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3pm- Tchani is the early front-runner for Combine MVP. The kid looks VERY good. The Red Bulls surely are taking notice.
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3pm- Tyler Barry isn't looking bad as a centerback. Thought he'd play strictly as a left back, but has looked good today in the middle.
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2:56pm– Andre Akpan vs. Opara should be a good match-up to watch.
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2:56pm– Second half is underway. Tchani is still in the match, Opara is now in.
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2:44pm– It's halftime and there were some quality match-ups put together. Tony Tchani got the better of Corben Bone in their battle, but Bone did have his moments. Austin Da Luz did well against Zach Loyd, showing some good touch on his long passes. I'm liking Harvard centerback Kwaku Nyamekye. Brian Perk looks sharp and Othaniel Yanez hasn't looked bad.
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2:30pm– Apologies for the delays. The setup at the Combine is a logistical nightmare for the media here. Apparently MLS didn't realize some media might cover this thing.
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2:25pm– Dangerous free kick for Predator. Headed away by the defense. No score about 25 minutes in.
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2:23pm– Here are the Game One lineups:
CONDIVO
————–Hoxie——–Kissi——–
Elenz-Martin—-Tchani———-Braun
Peterman—-Edwards—Barry—Loyd
——————-Perk——————-
PREDATOR
———McInerney——Noone————-
Da Luz—–Joseph—–Bone——–Appiah
Ream—-Nyamekye—-Edgington—Borak
——————Bubonja——————–
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2:11pm– Just finished speaking with Diego Restrepo, starting goalkeeper for the national champion Virginia Cavaliers. He's a Miami-area native and is checking out some of his former college and club teammates. He could be the first goalkeeper taken in the 2011 MLS Draft if he decides to go the MLS route. If you watched the College Cup you know how good he is.
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2:10pm- Game one is underway and I will get rolling with the comments shortly.
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Before I get going with the commentary, I will be taking part in MLSNet's Combine Coverage. Here is our live pre-game preview: