From College to the Pros - The US soccer ladder

Saturday, December 15, 2007

2008 College Cup Final Set...

Wake Forest, the strongest team during the regular season, that should have been the number 1 seed, has made it to the final. They will play Ohio State Sunday in the final, live on ESPN2.

Ohio State defeated giant killer UMass 1-0 while Wake defeated a strong Virginia Tech team 2-0. The final will showcase many prospective pros including combine invitees:
M/F - Xavier Balc - Ohio State
D - Eric Brunner - Ohio State
GK - Brian Edwards - Wake Forest
GK - Casey Latchem - Ohio State
D - Pat Phelan - Wake Forest
D - Julian Valentin - Wake Forest

You'll also get a chance to see the top freshman in the country, Corben Bone, playing for Wake.

Enjoy the match up!

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posted by Bonji at 10:43 AM

2 Comments:

  • I appreciate your excellent coverage of the youngsters. Of course, it is difficult at best to separate the wheat from the chaff when the overall player level is so low that the good players are limited in the opportunities. Moreover, seeing these players in action is a logistical nightmare.

    However, I do feel that the weekend matches helped to hi-light some major deficiencies. 1) Casey Latchem - very limited athletically, too short, too hot-headed, absolutely NO chance at an MLS career! 2) Eric Brunner - His asset is being 6'4" his liability is his one-footedness and overall limited technical ability. A creative forward will relogate this guy to the junk heap! 3) UMass not a single good player on the entire side. Coach so limited that he packed 8 at the back and prayed. 4) Shuffling players in/out of match must stop. It gives the coaches a false sense of control and diminishes players fitness and ability to find solutions to problems.

    On the plus side: Xavier Balc may have MLS potential - he showed well. You are right that a Freshmen stood out - Roger Espinosa of Ohio State out-shone Corben Bone of Wake. Both players have MLS potential and must get away from their mediocre coaches and the overall college soccer experience if they hope to grow in soccer. Indeed, the young Aurora, Colorado lad was the most welcomed sight of the weekend.

    Again thanks,

    WJ Marx

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:35 PM  

  • I don't know if you're implying that Espinoza is a freshman, but he's actually a Junior. He had to go to JuCo first, then transferred to tOSU. Bone didn't get much PT, but Ike was easily the best Frosh on the pitch.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:15 PM  

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