The MLS Combine is done and dusted, and soon all eyes will turn to Chicago for the first two rounds of the 2019 SuperDraft on Friday; we will, of course, have Live Coverage for you. But until then, there is still some unfinished business as to who impressed, and what occurred during Wednesday’s games in Orlando.
First off, Needham native Harry Swartz played only 12-plus minutes of the second game Wednesday.
The Northeastern man went down after suffering a knock just under his left knee and was down for about a minute and a half. We observed him holding the area under his knee, but he ended up walking off the pitch under his own power. He was replaced by North Carolina/Generation Adidas defender John Nelson for the remainder of the first half of Game 2, and did not return for the second 40-minute session.
Swartz has had a history of injuries during his time on Huntington Avenue, so we’re thinking that if someone drafts him, he would be a depth piece. If not, a USL club could find a way to include him in their plans.
Secondly, BC’s Simon Enstrom had a better performance Wednesday.
The Swedish striker, who modeled his game and his approach to the game after former Revolution striker Charlie Davies (a fellow alum of The Heights), scored a sweet goal in the first half of Game 2 on a rather solid volley by Sam Junqua (California defender). Enstrom basically one-timed it off the crossbar and off the back of UNC goalkeeper James Pyle. Enstrom was more aggressive in attack Wednesday than Saturday.
Geoffrey Dee did, too.
If you’ll remember from Monday, I noted that the University of Louisville midfielder didn’t perform that well on Saturday. On Wednesday, much better. We opened the Game 1 stream — which suffered from technical difficulties 30 seconds into the broadcast until the 34th minute — with Dee serving up a solid free kick that Providence College goalkeeper Colin Miller charged off his line and leaped to catch in traffic, but he also came on in the second half (alongside East Lyme, Conn.’s Logan Gdula) and had a perfect volley that Sebastian Patino buried into the net at the back post.
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Andre Shinyashiki is For Real.
Not that I didn’t doubt what I watched last week, but the University of Denver record holder for goals (51 in his intercollegiate career, 28 in his senior season) put on a show during his 70 or so minutes on the pitch in Game 1 Wednesday. Of the 50 minutes we saw, Shinyashiki scored once with a brilliant touch, and had chances all over the place. He’s going to be worth the international slot.
Anderson Asiedu continued to impress.
Asiedu had an interception in space and came up the pitch 25 yards or so before finding Shinyashiki for the goal.
Mitchell Osmond is also worth the international slot.
The Aussie defender was outstanding in the second game Wednesday: he denied Enstrom with a perfect, well-timed tackle in the early goings, and then did a number on Syracuse/Generation Adidas striker Tajon Buchanan a couple of times. On one occasion, he had slowed Buchanan down enough; Buchanan got an extra touch on the ball, but in these situations, coaches want to see how you recover and react if you get beat. Osmond managed to recover, all right, and got around and in front of Buchanan to win the ball. I don’t think he’ll be a high first-round pick, but he could be a value steal in the second round if certain late first-round clubs don’t want to spend the international slot, or don’t have it to begin with.
Other players who performed well, by our count:
Luis Barazza, Marquette goalkeeper: He had a nice denial of Kentucky/Generation Adidas striker JJ Williams (we like his pace) early in Game 2. Showed real command of the box in his 40 minutes of play.
DeJuan Jones, Michigan State striker: Some clubs may rate him as a right back, but he showed good pace off the ball, and also showed just how well he can read the game. Amir Bashti had a pass into space that no one in a black jersey went for. Jones swooped in, had a nice run — and a nice go from distance that blasted over.
Robbie Mertz, Michigan midfielder: Mertz has a motor, and the Pittsburgh native can make things happen with his first touch. He scored an absolute curler on Dayne St. Clair (Maryland/Generation Adidas goalkeeper) after three touches.
Dayne St. Clair: Outside of Mertz’s goal, which he wasn’t stopping to begin with, he made up for his error from Saturday with some good play in the box.
Rashid Nuhu, Fordham goalkeeper: He faced a lot of pressure Wednesday and performed well.
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