Preseason Game #4 - Chicago vs. Toronto FC

Today the Chicago Fire took on Toronto FC in their 4th and final preseason game at IMG in Bradenton. They played a regular game with two 45 minute halves and the Fire came out on top 1-0. Mike Banner scored the lone goal off a free kick in the 41st minute of play. Each team had some chances, but couldn't find the net. Richard Jata sat out this game to rest a tight groin, but he said that he's doing just fine and expects to be back in action when the team heads to Mexico on the 15th. Rolfe, Thorrington and Busch will also be traveling with the team to Mexico.

The starting lineup for the Fire is as follows:

GK: Nick Noble, D-Roland Paul Bebey Kingue, D-Dasan Robinson, D-CJ Brown, D-Daniel Woolard, M-Logan Pause, M-Tim Ward, M-Baggio Husidic, M-Mike Banner, F-Patrick Nyarko, F-Stefan Dimitrov

The starting lineup for Toronto FC is as follows:

GK-Sutton, D-Kenton, D-Harmse, D-Marco Velez, D-Jim Brennan, M-Ricketts, M-Robinson, M-Cronin, M-Smith, F-DeRosario, F-Barrett

7': Toronto's Chad Barrett carried the ball up the middle and took a hard shot that sailed over the cross bar. - So far, play has been even between the two sides.

9': Dwayne DeRosario took a hard shot to the leg and is taking a moment to recoup - the Fire take this opportunity to hear a few words from head coach Denis Hamlett on the sidelines

15': Mike Banner took the ball up the left side and sent a nice cross into the box, no fire players were there to finish but Nyarko sent another cross that was intercepted by Harmse

20':Johann Smith recieved a great ball from DeRo in the left corner and beat the Fire's Kingue on the endline to slip a cross into the box but the subsequent shot rolled far wide of the right post - CJ Brown is organizing his defensive line

22':Fire keeper Nick Noble tracks Barrett as he entered the box and smothered his shot to keep the game 0-0

27': Yellow card to Toronto's Ricketts for a hard tackle on Mike Banner at midfield

40': Daniel Woolard sends a ball up the field from the Fire defensive end to Dimitrov about 30 yards out. Dimitrov has a great first touch and streaks up the middle of the field, eliminating two defenders and taking a hard shot toward the left post - the shot was saved by Sutton.

41': GOAL CHICAGO - Mike Banner places a free kick just inside the left post upper 90! 1-0

44': Tim Ward one times a TFC clear from 25 yards out - the shot bounces off a TFC defender and looks like it is headed into the net - but it bounces just over the cross bar.

HALFTIME: Chicago leads Toronto 1-0

Second Half lineup is the same except GK Nick Noble is subbed for GK Adrew Dykstra

Toronto FC second half lineup is the same except:

Chad Barrett (Fuad Ibrahim 45'), Johann Smith (Gregory Richardson 45'), Greg Sutton (Brian Edwards 45')

51': Patrick Nyarko took a hard knock and came off - Brandon Prideaux is in at right back and pushed Paul Bebey Kingue up to right mid... Dimitrov and Baggio are your forwards

55': Stefan Dimitrov (Idrissa Kone 55'), Roland Paul Bebey Kingue(Austin Washington 55')

60': Fuad Ibrahim (Danny Dichio 60'), Carl Robinson(Kyle Hall 60')

65': Danny Dichio is into the match and sends a back heel pass into the box the shot from Sam Cronin toward the right post is saved by Fire keeper Andrew Dykstra

66' CJ Brown is off and Ramos Dyoub has entered the match

75': Jokull Elisabetarson enters for Baggio Husidic and Michel Moungue enters for Daniel Woolard

80': Alfonso Ripa comes in for Tim Ward

81': Dasan heads a ball forward from midfield and Kone runs onto the ball but is dragged down by two TFC defenders - there is no call on the foul just outside the box.

FINAL SCORE - Chicago Fire 1-0 Toronto FC

Preseason Game #3 & My New Best Friend

The Chicago Fire beat the Puerto Rican Islanders 1-0 yesterday in their third preseason game. McBride converted on a penalty kick after Nyarko was brought down in the 8th minute of play. The teams played two 45 minuted halves, but played an extra 20 minutes at the end so that all of the subs could get some playing time. Both teams had goals called back, but overall the Fire dominated the game.

Jata sat out to get some rest, but most likely will return to action on Monday. All of the players had Sunday off. The team will finish up at IMG with a training session tomorrow, followed by their 4th preseason game against Toronto FC on Tuesday. The team will then head back to Chicago for a few days before departing to Mexico on February 15th. I expect the team to make some cuts before their next trip, but I think all of the draft picks will stay on no matter what. David Sias and Jokull Elisabetarson have both been sitting out due to injury, but they should be ready to return to action soon.

I went down to Bradenton to see Richard and things seem to be going very well. He's rooming with Baggio Husidic and it looks like they're really getting along great. They both had nothing but good things to say about each other and I expect to see a lot out these two in the future. With the entire starting squad returning from last season, playing time will be hard to come by, but with all of the extra games in the schedule this year I think we'll get to see both of them play at some point in time. I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks, but I will bring you an update on Tuesday following their game with Toronto FC.

Preseason Game #2 - Fire vs. KC Wizards

Today the Chicago Fire took on the Kansas City Wizards in what would be their first true test after routing UCF 5-0 just a few days earlier. Instead of playing three 30-minute segments like they did in the first game, they played two 45-minute halves.

Richard Jata played the entire second half. He started at forward, but switched to right mid after the Fire gave up three unanswered goals. Jata had a good chance to score when he caught a ball sent over his head on his right foot and took it towards goal. Unfortunately, the Kansas City keeper guessed right and made a great save to deny Jata of his first preseason goal with the Fire.

This was the 1st half lineup for Chicago:

1st 45' - GK-Nick Noble, D-Brandon Prideaux(Roland Paul Bebey Kingue 33'), D-Bakary Soumare, D-Dasan Robinson, D-Gonzalo Segares, M-Marco Pappa, M-Baggio Husidic, M-Logan Pause, M-Justin Mapp, F-Patrick Nyarko, F-Brian McBride

The Fire dominated the first half and in the 38th minute their hard work finally paid off. Roland Paul Bebey Kingue served a cross from the right side to Patrick Nyarko, who headed it home for his first preseason goal. In the 40th minute Nyarko added another goal from 18 yards out to give the Fire a 2-0 lead going into halftime.

This was the 2nd half lineup for Chicago:

2nd 45' - GK-Andrew Dykstra(Tyler Kettering 60'), D-Roland Paul Bebey Kingue(Marco Calich 70'), D-Ramos Dyoub, D-CJ Brown(Igor Lozo 70'), D-Tim Ward, M-Austin Washington, M-Anton Peterlin, M-Peter Lowry(Idrissa Kone 70'), M-Michel Mongue(Alfonso Rippa 70'), F-Richard Jata, F-Stefan Dimitrov

In the 49th minute Kansas City finally got on the board when Aaron Hohlbein headed home a Kevin Souter corner kick. In the 53rd minute Graham Zusi was taken down in the box and awarded a PK. Davy Arnaud shoots left and the keeper guesses right, scoring with ease to tie the game up 2-2.

At the 60-minute mark, Fire GK Andrew Dykstra was subbed out for Tyler Kettering and just minutes later the Wizards scored again to grab the lead. Zusi played a corner kick into the box and Rauwshan McKenzie hits a well placed header just under the bar for the final goal of the game.

Idrissa Kone had an opportunity to tie the game in the closing minutes when he found himself one on one with the Wizards' goalkeeper, but was denied.

Even though Chicago lost 3-2, things aren't as bad as they might seem. They're still missing Jon Busch, Chris Rolfe and John Thorrington, all of whom are still training with the U.S. Men's National Team in California. The rest of the starters from last year only played the first 45 minutes and Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Mike Banner didn't play at all.

Kansas City Wizards 1st Half Lineup:

1st 45' - GK-Hartman, D-Leathers, D-Conrad, D-Hohlbein, D-Harrington, M-Souter, M-Beres, M-Lopez, M-Arnaud, F-Thompson, F-Wolff

Kansas City Wizards 2nd Half Lineup:

2nd 45' - GK-Pardo, D-Leathers(Myers 60'), D-McKenzie, D-Hohlbein, D-Harrington(Besler 60'), M-Beres, M-Souter(Watson 60'), Arnaud (Morsink 60'), M-Zusi, F-Thompson(Pizarro 60), F-Kraus

Scoring Summary

(38') CHI - Patrick Nyarko - assisted by Roland Paul Bebey Kingue
(40') CHI - Patrick Nyarko - unassisted
(49') KCW - Aaron Hohlbein - assisted by Kevin Souter
(53') KCW - Davy Arnoud - unassisted (PK)
(63') KCW - Rauwshan McKenzie - assisted by Graham Zusi

Preseason Opener - Chicago Fire vs. UCF

The Fire handled business in their first preseason match yesterday against the University of Central Florida. The final score was 5-0, with Chicago dominating all three 30-minute segments. Brian McBride scored the first goal of the match and the game-winner in the 25th minute. Justin Mapp crossed a ball from the left corner of the field and McBride headed it home to get things started.

Stefen Dimitrov added two goals in the 31st and 51st minute of play. Richard Jata assisted on the third goal by placing a great thru ball to Dimitrov who chipped the keeper from approximately 30 yards out. Jata also had a scoring opportunity later on after being fouled just outside the box. His free kick attempt from 19 yards out was on target, but the UCF goalkeeper made a great effort to deny him of his first preseason goal.

The Fire finished strong with two goals late in the game from Michel Moungue(87th minute) and Idrissa Kone(89th minute).

The next game for Chicago will be against the Kansas City Wizards on February 4th at IMG Academy.

Here's the Chicago Fire Lineup and Scoring Summary:

1st 30' - GK-Nick Noble, D-Tim Ward, D-Bakary Soumare, D-CJ Brown, D-Gonzalo Segares, M-Mike Banner, M-Logan Pause M-Peter Lowry, M-Justin Mapp, F-Patrick Nyarko, F-Brian McBride.

2nd 30' - GK-Tyler Kettering, D-Tim Ward, D-Dasan Robinson, D-Bakary Soumare, D-Roland Paul Bebey Kingue, M-Mike Banner (Michel Moungue 45'), M-Baggio Husidic, M-Peter Lowry, M-Austin Washington, F-Richard Jata, F-Stefan Dimitrov.

3rd 30' - GK-Joe Nasco, D- Roland Paul Bebey Kingue, D-Igor Lozo, D-Dasan Robinson, D-Daniel Woolard, M-Michel Moungue, M-Baggio Husidic, M-Gerson dos Santos, M-Austin Washington, F- Robson Chavez Santana, F-Idrissa Kone.

Scoring Summary

(25') - Brian McBride - assisted by Justin Mapp
(31') - Stefan Dimitrov - unassisted
(51') - Stefan Dimitrov - assisted by Richard Jata
(87') - Michel Moungue - assisted by Roland Paul Bebey Kingue
(89') - Idrissa Kone - assisted by Dasan Robinson

Quick Preseason Update - Bradenton, FL

Were just three days into the preseason and things are already picking up. The team spent the first couple of days doing drills and playing small sided games(6 vs. 6), but today they stepped it up a notch in preparation for their first preseason game against UCF this Sunday. The team is still missing Chris Rolfe, John Thorrington and Jon Busch, all of whom are still training with the U.S. Men's National Team. They will be absent at least until the USA vs. Mexico World Cup qualifier on February 11th. Then we'll find out if they are going to stay with the national team for a longer period of time. Two highly regarded players that have made their way to training camp are McBride and Blanco. With their presence they bring experience, great competition and leadership to what some may consider a young team.

Today the team played 11 vs. 11, but instead of playing a full 90 minutes, they cut the two halves down to 25 minutes each. I'm assuming the coaches are still taking things somewhat lightly(if you can believe that), however, I did hear that they have already let a couple of players go.

As far as Jata is concerned, I've gotten word that he's playing like a man on a mission. Today's game ended in a 0-0 tie, but Jata played attacking mid and got off a few good shots in the first full field game he's played since the MLS combine. In just three days the team will take on the University of Central Florida and I'm hoping to make it there to see Jata show the coaches what they never expected to see out of a 4th round draft pick. Check back in on Monday for more updates....

Chicago Fire Preseason Schedule

This weekend Jata will travel to Chicago for team physicals and then it's off to Bradenton, Florida for the next couple of weeks. There they will train and play against a number of teams at IMG Academy before heading back to Chicago. The team's Preseason Schedule is as follows:

• Saturday - Jan. 24: Preseason physicals (Toyota Park)
• Sunday - Jan. 25: Preseason physicals (Toyota Park)
• Sunday - Feb. 1: vs. University of Central Florida
• Wednesday - Feb. 4: vs. Kansas City Wizards
• Saturday - Feb. 7: vs. Puerto Rico Islanders
• Tuesday - Feb. 10: vs. Toronto FC

Hopefully Jata will play his best, which should give him a great shot at making the team this coming season. He should feel right at home playing down at IMG because he's played there many times since high school. Jata played for the IMG PDL team when he was just 16 years old and he tallied 35 goals and 19 assists in two years for the IMG club team. I suspect I'll be making it to one or two of the games, so I'll be updating Jata's progress as soon as I know more.

Here It Is! Richard Jata Draft Speech

Well, I finally found it! The 2009 MLS SuperDraft speech by Richard Jata. An unbelievable moment for any player, but for Jata it was something more than that. You can see the pure joy and humility on display as he took the podium late in the draft. This is probably one of the most true and unrehearsed speeches I have ever seen, which makes it even that much more enjoyable to watch. It gives hope to the kids out there, all over the world, who have the dream of playing professional soccer. As Kevin Garnett once said, "Anything is possible."

2009 MLS Superdraft speech by Richard Jata starts at the 3:54 mark

JATA DRAFTED BY THE CHICAGO FIRE

With the 13th pick of the 4th round in the 2009 MLS Superdraft, the Chicago Fire select, from Campbell University, Midfielder, Richard Jata. Moments later Jata walks up and receives his scarf. He then proceeds to the podium to make a speech. After about five minutes, Jata makes reference to the fact that he had been talking for a long time. "I hope it's okay though, because I've been sitting there for an awfully long time waiting."

I heard that Jata's speech actually brought some observers to tears. After he left the podium he was immediately interviewed by the media. Then he was escorted to the hospitality room where he was interviewed once again.

Campbell Head Coach Doug Hess(left), Richard Jata, Ed Jata(right)
This is what Ives Galarcep and others had to say about Jata's moment at the draft:

Live Chat with Ives from the Draft:

Ives Galarcep: (5:52 PM ET) Richard Jata just went to Chicago at 58

Ives Galarcep: (5:52 PM ET) Richard Jata may be giving the first speech every delivered by a fourth-rounder at a professional draft. Touching moment.

Phil (Mass): Did the Jata speech take the crowd by surprise? How was it received?

Ives Galarcep: (5:58 PM ET) It was great. He was funny and sincere and is the type of kid who is easy to root for. Now he just has to make the team.

"Seems like Jata is a hit!!"

Another observer had this to say about Jata:

"I was at the draft. I had initially planned to leave after the 3rd round but decided to stick it out one more round and Jata's speech absolutely made it worth it. His speech brought the house down as officials from every team applauded him. A few gave standing ovations. "

"Got a chance to talk with Jata after he got fed through media row, and the kid was just on Cloud 9. I really hope he can make this team, and make it better, because from what I gathered from him, he's a great kid and would be valued on any team. A really good story so far."

Jata will be one of four other draftees set to attend training camp in Chicago starting January 24th. He will then have the chance to make the final squad and sign a contract with the team.

There will be more to come about the day of the Superdraft, training camp in Chicago and Jata's future, so check back soon.

2009 MLS Combine - Final Day/Last Chance

Today was the final chance for the players at the combine to make a lasting impression. For some players it was really hard to get comfortable with their teammates and at times it seemed like nothing was working for them. I didn't get a chance to see the first game today, but I watched the second game and once again was impressed by a number of players on the Adidas Tunit squad. These are my observations from the 2009 MLS combine.

Players that DID impress on Adidas Tunit were:

Stefan Frei - GK
Chris Pontius - F
AJ Delegarza - D
Peri Marosevic - F
Babajide Ogunbiyi - D

Players that played well on Adidas Tunit, but didn't stand out were:

Richard Jata - M
Josh Boateng - M
Rodney Wallace - D
Andrei Gostmanov - M
Kyle Patterson - M
Brandon Barklage - M
Trevor Banks - D/M
Pav Castenada - D/M
Kyle Russell - D

Players that DIDN'T impress on Adidas Tunit were:

Matt Poole - M
Daniel Revivo - F
Paul Gerstenberger - D

Overall, the combine was a great opportunity for some players to really increase their stock, but at the same time it hurt some players too. Only 60 of them will be selected come Thursday, which will make tomorrow one of the longest days' ever for many of them. Who will go first? Who will go in the first round? Who won't get picked at all?

Hopefully the coaches got to see what they wanted from all of the players, even though many of them never had the opportunity to showcase their full potential. I'm interested to see how things turn out.

I know Richard Jata has the ability to play at the next level, I just don't know where he's going to be heading. He'll definitely be one of the sixty players selected, but I can't pinpoint what round he'll go in. He definitely wont go in the first round because the Generation Adidas players don't affect a teams' salary cap, making them highly coveted and most likely first round selections. However, from the second round to the fourth round it's game on. Where will have the chance to play next year? Check out ESPN 2 on Thursday at 2pm to watch the first round of the 2009 MLS Superdraft. After the first hour of coverage ends, tune in to mlsnet.com to see who gets drafted in the remaining rounds.

Here are some pictures from the final day at the 2009 MLS Combine

Day 3 of the Combine - How We Doin?

The second day of games is usually a little more promising than the first and it gives players the opportunity to rise or fall depending on how they did day one. The Adidas Tunit Squad took on Adidas Tiro in the first game of the day, in what seemed to be a somewhat slow, but interesting game. Jata started the game as an attacking center mid, but the midfield lacked cohesiveness making it harder on Jata to shine. A couple players were playing out of position leaving too much room for the opposing team to take the ball down the line and start and attack.Day two was rough on some of the players because they haven't been playing as much and its easy to get sore from going all out on day one. Gostmanov didn't play at all because of an injury so the midfield lineup changed a little bit from yesterday. Poole started at the D-Mid position, with Boateng playing at left mid and Barklage was on the right. Marosevic and Revivo started up front and at the back(from left to right) was Wallace, Castenada, Ogunbiyi and Russell. Frei played keeper once again because he's the only one they have.

Boateng played a nice through ball to Marosevic on a diagonal run at the top of the box who finished it past Kocic midway through the first half. Adidas Tiro tied it up about ten minutes after some nice ball movement by Maxwell. The score was 1-1 at half.

The second half lineup changed a lot, but I think they played a little better as a team than they did in the first half. Jata started the second half on the bench, but made an appearance with about 20 minutes left in the game. Boateng was subbed in with him as well. They both went back to where they were playing the first half. This time Jata played much better. He played some good balls and looked quick on his feet. The game ended with the score tied at one a piece, but I feel that both teams still weren't playing up to their full potential.
Adidas Tiro looked strong in the back and I was really impressed with George John. He looked strong, agile and seemed to have everything under control. He was also very into the game and spoke to his teammates the entire time he was on the field. Kevin Alston also impressed me from right back as he did the day before. Adidas Tunit did much better with AJ Delegarza starting the second half. but he was subbed in place of Ogunbiyi which didn't help their lack of size at defense. Delagarza looked good as he did in the first game. Talkative, calm, fit and very good with the ball. These four defenders did nothing to hurt their stock on day two. If anything, they increased it.

In the second game of the day, Adidas Predator PowerSwerve beat Adidas AdiPure 2-0, but I didn't stay for this game so I don't have much to say about it. I heard that Quicny Amarikwa scored both goals, but that the first one might have actually been an own goal off a Sam Cronin corner kick.

Hopefully the off day will give all of the players time to rest up for the final showdown on Tuesday morning. I'm looking for Jata to take over the game on day three because he has the ability to play much better, even though he's already doing more than most of the competition anyways.

Tuesday, January 13 - Matchups

9:15 AM - Adidas Predator PowerSwerve vs Adidas Tiro
11:15 AM - Adidas AdiPure vs Adidas Tunit

Day 2 of the Combine - Who Impressed?

Well, the first day of games are over and we know a little bit more about each player now. The first game between Adidas Tunit and Adidas Predator PowerSwerve ended 2-0 with Pontius scoring the first goal and Marosevic grabbing the second. The first goal was a right footed blast from approximately 20 yards out into the upper left side 24 minutes into the game. Senior or not, this kid is a first round pick no questions asked. Marosevic scored the second goal, but there really wasn't much to it. The 1st half ended with the Tunit squad up 2-0.

Jata came in for Gostmanov to start the second half, but Pontius played the entire 90 minutes. Richard played well, rarely loosing the ball. He displayed good ball skills and was quick on his feet. Jata had a chance to take a free kick from 20 yards out, but Joshua Boateng took it instead because he drew the foul. Jata then served a cross into the box from the left side to Pontius, but he didn't get enough of a head on it to get it past the opposing keeper. The game ended 2-0 with the Tunit squad dominating on both the offensive and defensive side.

Tomorrow I expect Jata to start because in my opinion he was definitely one of the best 11 players on his team. He has the skills and the pace to keep up with the rest of the players, but he brings much more to the table than the average midfielder. I am looking forward to watching him play at the combine tomorrow.

Players on the Adidas Tunit squad that DID impress were:

Chris Pontius - F
AJ Delegarza - D
Richard Jata - M
Babajide Ogunbiyi - D

Players on the Adidas Tunit squad that DIDN'T impress were:

Matt Poole - M
Daniel Revivo - F
Andrei Gostmanov - M

The second game ended 1-0 with Adidas AdiPure knocking off Adidas Tiro. The lone goal was scored by Jordan Seabrook after Jokull Elisabetarson played a brilliant thru ball over the top of the defense. Both teams had their chances to score in what seemed to be a pretty evenly matched game. For the most part the defenses on each team faired well, making it hard for both teams to score.

Tomorrow's matchups are as follows:

Sunday, January 11
3:00 PM - Adidas Tunit vs. Adidas Tiro
5:00 PM - Predator PowerSwerve vs AdiPure

2009 MLS Combine - Day 1 (Training Session)

The first day of the MLS Combine was highly beneficial to all of the players with the training session at Holiday Park lasting about two hours. The four teams went through a 10-15 min warmup followed by various drills and eventually a light scrimmage. Some of the teams played goal to goal on a small field including keepers and the other teams played without keepers.

I had the opportunity to watch all of the teams, but I focused most of my time watching Adidas Tunit. I didn't know every player on the field, but some of the players that stood out to me were Chris Pontius, Peri Marosevic and AJ Delegarza. Pontius looked strong and quick, Marosevic the same(even though he lacks the size) and Delegarza looked sharp and quick. Pav Castaneda also played well. He showed good ball control, endurance and movement on the field.

Richard Jata had good skill and control in the small sided drills and his passing was extremely accurate in the final scrimmage. Even though Jata started out slow, in my opinion he finished the day well and was one of the top performers on the field for the Tunit squad.

I was impressed by a few other players and dissapointed with some as well, but I'm hoping it was due to a lack of competition in the last two months.

Saturday will be interesting to see how the teams work together on the field because after watching them scrimmage, some of the teams were getting pretty physical with one another. Alex Gonzalez was absent for the entire training session, but I heard he was supposed to arrive in time to play on Saturday.

Overall, it was great to see all of these players training together at the same time and I'm looking forward to tomorrow, in what will be a highly anticipated first matchup between Adidas Tunit and Adidas Predator PowerSwerve at 2:30pm.

Check back in tomorrow for updates on both games!

MLS Combine Teams and Schedule Announced

Today the rosters were announced for the 4 teams set to participate at the combine this years MLS combine. Both Mike Grella and Marcus Tracy have decided not to attend, which will give others the opportunity to move their name further up the draft board. All of the teams have 18 players and 2 Generation Adidas players except for Jata's team, Adidas Tunit. They only have 17 players on the roster and 3 of them are Genration Adidas. Personally, I think they are the strongest team at the midfield an attacking positions, but their defense isn't to shabby either.

I'm interested to see how this weekend pans out, with the first game between Adidas Tunit and Adidas Preadator PowerSwerve being possibly the best game all week. Most of these players have had limited playing time in the last month or two so I wouldn't be surprised at all if it takes them a couple of days to get their game back. This would mean that the best games might come on the last day, but I don't see all of the players going hard all weekend, especially those who are highly coveted already.

I'm leaving for Ft. Lauderdale on Friday so check back in for updates on the games!

The players listed in yellow have all signed a contract with Generation Adidas.

2009 MLS Combine Teams

Adidas Tunit

Trevor Banks (Old Dominion University)

Brandon Barklage (Saint Louis University)

Josh Boateng (Liberty University)

Pav Castenada (Duke University)

AJ DeLaGarza (University of Mayland)

Stefan Frei (University of California)

Paul Gerstenberger (Boston College)

Andrei Gotsmanov (Creighton University)

Richard Jata (Campbell Univeristy)

Peri Marosevic (University of Michigan)

Babajide Ogunbiyi (Santa Clara University)

Kyle Patterson (Saint Louis University)

Chris Pontius (University of California - Santa Barbara)

Matt Poole (University of Virginia)

Daniel Revivo (Winthrop University)

Kyle Russell (Coastal Carolina University)

Rodney Wallace (University of Maryland)

Coaches - Cam Rast (University of Santa Clara) and Marc Nicholls (Greensboro Youth Soccer)

Adidas adiPure

Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe (George Mason University)

Jean Alexandre (Lynn University)

Darrius Barnes (Duke University)

Matt Besler (University of Notre Dame)

Graciano Brito (Quinnipiac University)

Aaron Clapham (University of Louisville)

Raphael Cox (University of Washington)

Danny Cruz (University of Nevada Las Vegas)

Alec Dufty (University of Evansville)

Jokull Elisabetarson (University of North Carolina – Greensboro)

Juan Guerra (Florida International University)

Jeremy Hall (University of Maryland)

Neal Kitson (St. John's University)

Wes Knight (College of Charleston)

Otto Loewy (Winthrop University)

Paul Nicholson (Rio Grande University)

Jordan Seabrook (University of South Florida)

Jack Traynor (University of Notre Dame)

Coaches - Bobby Clark (University of Notre Dame) and Jeremy Alumbaugh (Springfield Soccer Club)

Adidas Predator PowerSwerve

Lyle Adams (Wake Forest University)

Quincy Amarikwa (University of California - Davis)

Rhett Bernstein (Brown University)

Evan Bush (University of Akron)

Oscar Castillo (University of Connecticut)

Sam Cronin (Wake Forest University)

Doug DeMartin (Michigan State University)

Omar Gonzalez (University of Maryland)

Jeffery Harwell (Southern Methodist University)

Bryan Irwin (University of Portland)

Keum Sung Kim (Loyola University)

Yohance Marshall (University of South Florida)

Sean Milligan (Dartmouth University)

Ryan Mirsky (Southern Methodist University)

Patrick Murray (Furman University)

Akeem Priestly (University of Connecticut)

Steve Zakuani (University of Akron)

Nick Zimmerman (James Madison University)

Coaches - Caleb Porter (University of Akron) and Bobby Muuss (University of Denver)

Adidas Tiro

Kevin Alston (Indiana University)

Calum Angus (Saint Louis University)

Evan Brown (Wake Forest University)

Steward Ceus (University of Albany)

Chris Clements (University of Tulsa)

Dylan Curtis (University of California – Davis)

Alex Grendi (University of Pennsylvania)

David Hertel (Michigan State University)

Baggio Husidic (University of Illinois - Chicago)

George John (University of Washington)

Milos Kocic (Loyola College (Md)

Michael Lahoud (Wake Forest University)

Ryan Maduro (Providence College)

Ryan Maxwell (University of Tampa)

Nick Perera (University of California - Santa Barbara)

Chris Salvaggione (UNC – Charlotte)

Ross Schunk (Redlands University)

Graham Zusi (University of Maryland)

Coaches - Chaka Daley (Providence College) and Janusz Michallik (National Director of SoccerPlus Camps)

MLS Combine Game Schedule

Saturday, January 10

2:30 PM - Predator PowerSwerve vs. Adidas Tunit (Lockhart Stadium)

4:30 PM - AdiPure vs. Adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)

Sunday, January 11

3:00 PM - Adidas Tunit vs. Adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)

5:00 PM - Predator PowerSwerve vs AdiPure (Lockhart Stadium)

Tuesday, January 13

9:15 AM - Predator PowerSwerve vs Adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)

11:15 AM - AdiPure vs Adidas Tunit (Lockhart Stadium)

2009 MLS SuperDraft Order

Here's the official listing of all 60 draft picks. Trades are likely to happen, so expect this to change before and during the draft.

1st Round
1. Seattle Sounders FC
2. Toronto FC (from San Jose)
3. Los Angeles Galaxy
4. Toronto FC
5. FC Dallas
6. D.C. United
7. D.C. United (from Colorado)
8. Kansas City Wizards
9. Chivas USA
10. New England Revolution
11. FC Dallas (from San Jose, Houston)
12. Real Salt Lake
13. Toronto FC (from Chicago)
14. New York Red Bulls
15. New England Revolution (from Columbus)

2nd Round
16. Seattle Sounders FC
17. San Jose Earthquakes
18. FC Dallas (from Los Angeles)
19. Chivas USA (from Toronto)
20. Colorado Rapids (from FC Dallas)
21. D.C. United
22. Kansas City Wizards (from Colorado)
23. Kansas City Wizards
24. New England Revolution (from Los Angeles, Chivas USA)
25. New England Revolution
26. D.C. United (from Houston)
27. FC Dallas (from Salt Lake)
28. Chicago Fire
29. New York Red Bulls
30. Columbus Crew

3rd Round
31. Seattle Sounders FC
32. San Jose Earthquakes
33. Los Angeles Galaxy
34. Toronto FC
35. Colorado Rapids (from Dallas)
36. D.C. United
37. Colorado Rapids
38. New England Revolution (from Kansas City)
39. Toronto FC (from Dallas, Chivas USA)
40. New England Revolution
41. Houston Dynamo
42. Kansas City Wizards (from Salt Lake)
43. Chicago Fire
44. New York Red Bulls
45. Columbus Crew

4th Round
46. Seattle Sounders FC
47. Colorado Rapids (from San Jose)
48. Los Angeles Galaxy
49. Los Angeles Galaxy (from Toronto)
50. Kansas City Wizards (from Dallas)
51. Colorado Rapids (from D.C. United)
52. Chicago Fire (from Colorado)
53. Kansas City Wizards
54. Real Salt Lake (from Chivas USA)
55. New England Revolution
56. Houston Dynamo
57. Real Salt Lake
58. Chicago Fire
59. Colorado Rapids (from New York Red Bull)
60. Columbus Crew

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! (Highlight Video)

Well, January is finally here and the combine is only a week away. Even though Jata hasn't been recognized as a top prospect, I still think he has a chance to be first round selection. Jata has pace, he reads the game incredibly well, he creates opportunities for others and he knows how to score. What some people may not know is that Jata has some of the best ball skills I've seen at the college level. In the past few weeks I have had the chance to witness this first hand. I'm eager to watch him play at the combine because I really want to see him take on some of the best college players in the country. I'm also interested in seeing the look on people's faces when he proves to all the doubters that he can ball with the best of them.

Check back next Saturday for an update on his progress at the combine. I will posting something new after each game.

For a list of the Top 50 Midfielders by Buzz Carrick from 3rddegree.net click here!

Oh, and here's the final Highlight Video I just finished. Enjoy!