Three Huskies Take The Stage At MLS Combine

CARSON, Calif. (January 13, 2006) - Three former members of the University of Connecticut soccer team will compete this weekend in the 2006 adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine, held for the third consecutive year at The Home Depot Center on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, Calif. from Jan. 12-15. Willis Forko (Houston, Texas), Mpho Moloi (Soweto, South Africa) and Adam Schuerman (Brookfield, Wis.) completed stellar Husky careers this past season before entering the MLS SuperDraft, set for Friday, Jan. 20.

The 2006 adidas MLS Player Combine features 74 athletes divided into four teams with doubleheaders taking place at The Home Depot Center on the mornings of January 13, 14 and 15. Moloi was placed on adidas 7406, along with fellow BIG EAST player Matt Groenwald (St. John’s). The squad is coached by Ken Lolla, who recently took the head coaching position at conference foe Louisville after leading Akron for the last 13 years. Forko will be playing with adidas Plus 10, a team that features two members of the national championship Maryland squad along with two others from College Cup semifinalist teams.

Schuerman will be one of two goalkeepers considered a pool player and will rotate between teams.

Participants in the 2006 adidas Player Combine were 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 and additional collegiate players from NCAA Division II schools, are also included.

The coaching staffs and general managers from all 12 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent for the 2006 MLS SuperDraft held on Friday, Jan. 20, 2006, in Philadelphia, Pa. Of the 48 players selected in the four rounds of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, 39 had participated in the 2005 adidas Player Combine, including UConn’s own Esteban Arias (Bakersfield, Calif.). Easton Wilson (Hartford, Conn.) was later taken in the supplemental draft, bringing the Huskies’ all-time draft picks to 12.