MLS Combine Notebook
Monday, January 12, 2015
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The countdown is on for this Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft, and for potential top selection Cristian Roldan, the ceremony in Philadelphia can’t arrive soon enough.
“I think if someone would have told me two years ago that I would be in this situation, I would have been like, ‘you’re lying’,” Roldan said after Sunday’s scrimmages. “It’s definitely a life-changing experience. I can’t wait;, Thursday is way too far away.”
A former Washington Crossfire standout, Roldan has lived up to his Generation adidas billing in the opening two games at the Central Broward Regional Park. A consensus top-two selection alongside Cyle Larin, the University of Washington standout has done nothing but leave a strong impression on those in attendance.
For his part, Roldan said he appreciated what the Crossfire offered him both as a youth player and in the PDL. The standout scored six goals in 13 appearances across during the past two seasons, and appreciated the additional minutes of game action and practice he was able to accumulate as he continued to progress toward the professional ranks, where he hopes to follow in the footsteps of fellow Crossfire alum and current New England Revolution standout Kelyn Rowe.
“I can’t emphasize how much PDL has prepared me for not only here, but the college season,” Roldan said. “It’s a good transition., I know I used it when I went from high school to college, I used PDL to level that transition a little bit more, so I’m glad I took the opportunity and made the most of it.”
ALASHE AIMING HIGH: In addition to competing for the Crossfire in the PDL, Roldan was also part of the Portland Timbers U-23s representative team that competed in the MLS Homegrown Game at the All-Star Game this past summer.
Alongside him in the Timbers line-up was Michigan State midfielder Fatai Alashe, who spent the summer in the Pacific Northwest to help prepare for his senior season with the Spartans. Alashe said getting the chance to go up against the young professionals at Providence Park was a highlight of his time with Portland.
“It was really fun,” Alashe said. “That’s an experience that you don’t usually get when you’re playing in college - to play against a bunch of guys that are already pros, you know - and it was a very big learning experience for us. It was humbling to see those guys that have come up through the ranks being homegrowns, and just to be able to test yourself against those guys ahead of your senior season., Tthose are the guys that you look at that you want to be in a year from then.”
Alashe was nursing an injury in Fort Lauderdale, and sat out both of the scrimmages as a precaution, but the powerful midfielder is considered a solid bet to be a first-round selection on Thursday. Wherever he ends up, Alashe said there are lessons he took away from this time in Portland that will hopefully help in his rookie season.
“I think it will be a little bit different, because we were a U23 team, but I think it’s a good building block,” Alashe said. “It’s something you have to see, and they did well to teach us a lot of the professionalism aspect of it. Simple things like how you handle yourself in the locker room - you’ve got to show up on time - stuff like that. I think that all goes to making yourself a better professional, and that’s something they taught us up there.”
MONTAGUE MAKING MOVES: Adam Montague put in a solid shift in the second round of scrimmages on Sunday, flicking home a good near-post finish as his Navito side was edged out 4-3 by Predator.
For the 6-foot-3 forward, who played both for the Chicago Fire U23 and Michigan Bucks in the PDL, getting a chance to add to his resume in front of the scouts in attendance was a big part of this the weekend’s event.
“I think first and foremost I want to show off what I can do, and maybe find a team that there’s mutual interest in,” Montague said. “I’m a guy that’s going to work hard until I get dragged off the field, and I hope a team sees that and gives me a shot. I think I can bring a lot to the team early coming off the bench early as a rookie, and hopefully developing as a player and becoming a lifer.”
Montague enjoyed playing for the Bucks in 2012, but this summer went to Chicago to compete for the Fire U23, where he made six appearances this summer. With a deep squad, the competition for playing time was intense, and Montague enjoyed the opportunity to work in an MLS environment before his senior season at Michigan State.
“It was great;, you’re playing and training right in Toyota Park,” he said. “You’re playing under guys that have coached the Fire, and know what they’re looking for in a professional environment. Obviously, it’s a lot of Chicago guys, and every day was a battle - you’re trying to make a roster for the weekend - so I think it definitely prepared me going into the college season and just gave me a glimpse of what a professional environment could be like.”