Upper St. Clair’s Mertz, Pitt’s Perez among 60 invitees taking part in MLS combines this week

The starting point of the year across all divisions of the revamped U.S. soccer pyramid really begins in earnest this week with MLS college soccer combines — and then on Friday, teams will select players in the SuperDraft, with recent Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC nemesis, FC Cincinnati selecting first overall.

Players taking part in the combines are almost entirely from NCAA Division I schools with a few exceptions.

Along with MLS coaches, USL Championship and USL League One coaches are in Orlando scouting players — including Riverhounds Head Coach Bob Lilley.

A few players of local interest that are taking part in the combines include Robbie Mertz, a former Upper St. Clair/Century United player, who completed his four year career at the University of Michigan last Fall and Javi Perez, who in the past two years has been an instrumental part of the beginning of the turnaround for Pitt men’s soccer.

GOALS OF THE YEAR
No. 8 — Aug. 27 vs. USF
Robbie Mertz nets his first goal of the year with this brilliant run and header at the near post. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/ZiZ2EcY3IJ

— Michigan Men's Soccer (@umichsoccer) December 13, 2018

Mertz, a sharp technical player who is 5-foot-7 inches, has played primarily as a central midfielder with the Maize and Blue, was a United Soccer Coaches All-North Region (second team) and All-Big Ten (first team) selection in 2018. He played in 76 matches (55 starts) over his four-year collegiate career, scoring nine goals and picking up 12 assists. A two-year team captain, Mertz started all 21 matches in 2018, tallying two goals and four assists. He was voted one of the 10 finalists for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award. Recently, Mertz has trained with the Riverhounds Pathway to the Pros program prior to his senior campaign at Michigan.

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Pitt midfielder Perez, who will play for Team Predator and wear No. 61 throughout the combine is the second Pitt men’s soccer player to be invited to the MLS Combine, with former teammate Pol Planellas being the first invitee last year. 

Perez was the Panthers’ captain in his final season and earned Second Team All-ACC honors for the second consecutive year, while also receiving United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Third Team honors. The Valencia, Spain, native played a major role as the team leader and was an integral component to the Panther midfield. Perez ranked second on the team in points (11), goals (four) and assists (three) in 2018.

Wishing the best of luck to Javi Perez as he enters his first day at the MLS Combine!#H2P pic.twitter.com/6nJzW8ROO4

— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) January 3, 2019

Mertz and Perez are two of 60 of college soccer’s top players that are showcasing their talent over two days of matches (Saturday and Wednesday) and one-on-one meetings with technical staffs from MLS clubs. .

Each hopes to hear his name called when the first two rounds of the SuperDraft take place this coming Friday, January 11 in Chicago.

A year ago, preparing for his first season with the Riverhounds, Lilley went to the MLS combine in a very similar place, having 11 players signed to the roster — and looking to fill another 11 to 13 spots.

Lilley will be on the lookout for diamonds in the rough, much as he did a year ago. One player that ended up in Pittsburgh who took part in the MLS combine was Thomas Vancaeyezeele.

Even though Vancaeyezeele stood out as a No. 6 on both days, breaking up play in tough spots and completing all his passes — he went undrafted.

Vancaeyezeele, who would remain unsigned, was invited to Hounds’ preseason camp in February only after Lilley saw him play again in a preseason friendly when he played with his college teammates from Charleston University. After signing shortly after going on trial with the Hounds, Vancaeyezeele would go on to lead the USL team in appearances, games started and minutes played as a versatile player that played multiple positions. Vancaeyezeele has since earned an extension to his contract with the club holding his option for the 2020 season.

Hounds re-sign Vancaeyezeele to contact extension that includes club option for 2020

While the MLS combine and SuperDraft will dictate how the dominoes will fall in terms of where players end up on MLS rosters, and eventually to those that find opportunities to earn roster spots in USL Championship and League One, Lilley isn’t exactly convinced that Division I players from power conferences and top flight programs are ever a sure thing. That’s why he’s methodical in his approach to signing players, and the combines only offer a glimpse at some players, and are only one part of the player procurement process.

“It’s almost like ACC players are like community property. They have the highest powered agents. They cost more than we’re willing to risk paying,” Lilley told Pittsburgh Soccer Now in November. “Liking a player on what he’s done in college and knowing what it will translate into the pros is still guess work. Hopefully, more you find out about the player,about their character, it helps, but it’s still educated guess work to find out if they can make the adjustment.”

Pitt’s assistant Behonick among coaches at combine

Pitt men’s soccer assistant coach Michael Behonick will serve as one of eight coaches at the 2019 adidas MLS Player Combine currently being held in Orlando, Fla.

Behonick is joined by Johnny Torres (Creighton), Bo Oshoniyi (Dartmouth), Damon Rensing (Michigan State), Mike Noonan (Clemson), Matt Chulis (Virginia), Steven Totten (Princeton) and Jeff Matteo (Seton Hall).

Behonick is no stranger to the MLS, as he was a combine invitee in 2003 following a standout career at American University. He then went on to play professionally for seven years as a goalkeeper, spending time with MLS clubs DC United and New York Red Bulls, NASL side Puerto Rico Islanders and USL side Charleston Battery, winning a USL championship while playing with Charleston.

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2019 adidas MLS Combine Invitees

Player	School	POS	Hometown	Citizen
Asiedu, Anderson	UCLA	M	Dormaa Ahenkro, Ghana	Ghana
Barraza, Louis	Marquette	GK	Santa Teresa, NM	USA
Bashti, Amir	Stanford	F	Cupertino, CA	USA
Basic, Jakov	UMass-Lowell	M	Zagreb, Croatia	Croatia
Bone, Tucker	Air Force Academy	M	Granite Bay, CA	USA
Borges, Marcello	Michigan	D	Kearny, NJ	USA
Brown, Sam	Harvard	M	Ann Arbor, MI	USA
Bruening, Nils	UNC	F	Hamsburg, Germany	Germany
Buckmaster, Rece	Indiana	D	Auburn, IN	USA
Bunk-Andersen, Pat	Clemson	D	Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark
Camara, Mamadi	Simon Fraser	F	Montreal, Quebec	Canada
Castenheira, Dylan	Columbia	GK	Landing, NJ	USA
Coffee, Kyle	Washington	F	Syracuse, UT	USA
Comsia, Alex	UNC	D	North Vancouver, BC	Canada
Cuello, Emil	SMU	M	Orem, UT	USA
Dee, Geoffrey	Louisville	M	Germantown, TN	USA
Delhomeele, Hugo	Syracuse	M	Rennes, France	France
Dotson, Hassani	Oregon State	M	Federal Way, WA	USA
Dunwell, Brad	Wake Forest	M	Grand Rapids, MI	USA
Elney, Sebastian	Maryland	F	Boca Raton, FL	USA
Enstrom, Simon	Boston College	F	Huddinge, Sweden	Sweden
Figbe, Prosper	Virginia	D	Ilorin, Nigeria	Nigeria
Gasper, Chase	Maryland	D	Alexandria, VA	USA
Gdula, Logan	Wake Forest	D	East Lyme, CT	USA
Greenberg, Dylan	Connecticut	D	Dix Hills, NY	USA
Hague, Jimmy	Michigan State	GK	Walled Lake, MI	USA
Hauser-Ramsey, Jacob	Connecticut	D	Seattle, WA	USA
Hein, Lennart	Saint Louis	D	Hamburg, Germany	Germany
Jones, DeJuan	Michigan State	F	Lansing, MI	USA
Kadono, Shinya	California – Berkeley	F	Irvine, CA	Japan/USA
Kenton Fadel, Kervin	Coastal Carolina	D	San Jose, Costa Rica	Costa Rica
Loebe, Janos	Fordham	F	Kierspe, Germany	Germany
Lundt, Ben	Akron	GK	Berlin, Germany	Germany
Mbacke Thiam, Abdu	Connecticut	F	Dakar, Senegal	Senegal
McCabe, Tommy	Notre Dame	M	South Orange, NJ	USA
McDonough, Brendan	Georgetown	D	Matthews, NC	USA
Mertz, Robbie	Michigan	M	Pittsburgh, PA	USA
Miller, Colin	Providence College	GK	Bel Air, MD	USA
Miller, Kamal	Syracuse	D	Pickering, Ontario	Canada
Mohammed, Abdi	Akron	D	Westerville, OH	USA
Montgomery, Callum	UNC Charlotte	D	Victoria, BC	Canada
Nuhu, Rashid	Fordham	GK	Accra, Ghana	Ghana
Osmand, Mitchell	Rio Grande	D	Sydney, Australia	Australia
Patino, Santiago	FIU	F	Orlando, FL	USA
Perez, Moshe	Denver	M	Shim’a, Israel	Israel
Perez Burgos, Javi	Pittsburgh	M	Valencia, Spain	Spain
Piatczyc, Joey	West Virginia	M	Lee’s Summit, MO	USA
Pyle, James	UNC	GK	Charlotte, NC	USA
Riley, Camden	Pacific	M	Dallas, TX	USA
Rivas, Sergio	Seattle	M	Albuquerque, NM	USA
Rydstrand, Joel	Creighton	M	Almunge, Sweden	Sweden
Samuels, Andrew	Maryland	D	Tampa, FL	USA
Sejdic, Amar	Maryland	M	Louisville, KY	USA
Shinyashiki, Andre	Denver	F	Sao Paulo, Brazil	Brazil
Sierakowski, Ryan	Michigan State	F	McHenry, IL	USA
Swartz, Harry	Northeastern	F	Needham, MA	USA
Tchilao, Don	Oregon State	F	Chandler, AZ	Benin
Ueland, Thomas	Notre Dame	F	Lexington, KY	USA
Verstraaten, Wouter	Pacific	D	Heeze, Netherlands	Netherlands
Ward, Akeem	Creighton	D	Vienna, VA	USA

 

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